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Aviation History
1910
1910 - 0371.PDF
MAY 14, 1910. part of the wind. An aviator flying above open flat country may be progressing through a horizontal wind, but on passing over some high natural obstruction he may suddenly encounter a wind with such an upward trend as would change the virtual angle of incidence by several degrees. Quite possibly it might bring the virtual angle into the neighbourhood of the critical value. It is, of course, a matter for the designer to guard against as far as possible, and we do not suppose that the actual travel of the centre of pressure on aeroplanes that have a high aspect ratio and, consequently, a short chord, is likely to be an amount that cannot be neutralised in advance. Where we do foresee that it may involve difficulties and possible danger, however, is in the case of experimenters who are seeking to attain a high degree of natural stability in aeroplanes without the use of supplementary surfaces in the form of tails. Natural stability essentially implies permanent coincidence between the centre of pressure and centre of gravity. The centre of gravity is totally unaffected, of course, by the position of the centre of # ® [/HED pressure, and directly any shifting of the latte» point takes place a couple is produced tending to destroy equilibrium. We have said enough to show the importance of this question, but we wish in conclusion to express the hope that the subject will be taken up in this country, and we should very much like to see the Sellers experiments checked at the National Physical Laboratory without further delay. It is to the interest of everyone that such fundamental information as this should be established by reliable authority at the earliest possible stage. The National Physical Laboratory has contributed, as the result of the air pressure experi ments made by Dr. Stanton, quite a considerable amount of most valuable information on the subject of flat planes. The flat plane and the cambered aerofoil, however, are two essentially different things, and the sooner the very closest research on the subject of cambered aerofoils is undertaken tile more quickly will progress be made along scientific lines. We *uggest that the data of Mr. Sellers would make an admirable starting point. WEIRD EXPERIENCES IN SUNNY SPAIN. IN our issue of the 30th ult., we referred to the action of the dis appointed crowd at Durango, near Bilbao, which, because the aviators did not fly when they were expected to, turned round, stoned the aviators, and burned their machines. A most interesting account of these experiences is furnished in the following letter received from Mr. Launcelot D. L. Gibbs, whose Farman machine was burnt, from which it will be gathered that " Sunny Spain " is anything but a happy hunting ground for flyers. Mr. Gibbs writes :— " Exciting times these for aviators, especially in Spain. " On April 20th I signed a contract in Paris to fly at Durango, in Spain, on April 24th, 25th, and 26th. I warned those responsible that it would be well-nigh impossible to fly on the 24th unless the machine was delivered at Durango before midday the 23rd at the aviation ground, and then I did not think that I should be able to fly before 6.30 p.m. " To this they said, ' Doesn't matter, you will try your best to be ready.' " At 11.30 p.m. on the 23rd, my machine, by means of special trains, &c, arrived, and at 3.30 a.m. on the following morning, before daylight, I went with my mechanics to put it together, and worked solidly all the morning and afternoon. During this time the people had been collecting, and towards 3 o'clock in the after noon the crowd had become some 30,000 strong. " At 4 p.m. the crowd became impatient, at 4.30 p.m. the crowd became more impatient; at 5 p.m. their impatience became so great that I was asked to bring the machine out of the shed to allow the crowd to see it, and to see the work being carried on. " Directly we wheeled it out the spectators pressed round it, sat on it, leant on it, and treated it so callously that I thought it advisable to return it to the shed in order to continue the work in peace before any damage was done, owing to ignorance on the part of the sightseers. " I took the opportunity of returning it to its shed while a Bleriot was brought out. " The Bleriot ran along the ground but did not rise, owing to its elevator being broken (that's what we were told). " Upon the return of the Bleriot the crowd began to throw stones, and at this juncture the mounted Guarda Civil charged with drawn swords. " Five minutes later, however, they returned more ferociously, hurling stones, &c., so that it was impossible to carry on any further work. My mechanic was disabled. Being unable to speak Spanish is a great drawback while the shed was being torn down. I tried to explain that we wanted a few more minutes to adjust the magneto. " At one point in the shed they tore a large opening with a knife, through which came a volley of stones. I went up to the opening smiling, and trying to explain about the magneto. I was met by a dozen wild individuals with a long pole pointed, with which they were going to ram. I smiled, or rather forced a smile, and talked fast in French, whereupon one of them—in bad French—whipped out his knife, and said they were going to knife me, as flying was impossible, there being no such thing as aviation, and they cried, ' Down with science, long live religion !' Whereupon I opened my coat, and pointed to where my heart ought to be, and said, ' Fire away, to avenge the motor,' still forcing a smile. Thank God, it struck him (the spokesman) in a humorous light, and he sheathed his knife, and babbled words to the effect that motors were bad things, and that he was sorry he could not hurt the motor. At this juncture I was advised to leave, under escort, with the rest, as the authorities said they would not be responsible for our lives if we stayed any longer, and possibly it might save the plane from being wrecked. " This I thought was good advice, and went under escort back to the judge's house, being stoned and struck the whole way back. I was promised that the plane would be perfectly safe under protection of the Civil Guard. Half an hour later I was informed that every thing had been burnt, lock, stock, and barrel. " Of course, now people are sorry, but you might warn aviators re Spain and the Spanish crowd. Burning is a very common affair here apparently. " Another half-hour and all would have been well ; however, it was not to be. " I have ordered a new plane, and shall be ready to fly in three weeks. At present I am staying here in order to see money refunded, and to institute proceedings if necessary. " Exciting times for the moment I can assure you, and I have since blessed the solid nature of the British public." A Monoplane, built by Master Dhoual Cameron, aged 16, of Castlewood College, Rathmines, Dublin.—He was born deaf, and has been educated on the pure oral system under Mr. Newburn, having been successful in passing several competitive examinations. He enters for Trinity College next year, and is building two models for the exhibition at Ballsbridge in June. 369
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