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Aviation History
1910
1910 - 0744.PDF
using it at a 3 ft. pitch. I am naturally awfully pleased, having made and designed her myself. It is a very small, but promising start anyway. Carmoney, Belfast. LILIAN E. BLAND. [* Why not now " Has flown " ?—ED.] J. RADLEY'S FLYING. [739] The answer to Mr. E. R. Whitehouse's note of inquiry is in the negative. Far from considering that J. Radley has " been for some time in the front rank of monoplane flyers," I could not conscien tiously hold him to have achieved any such position even to-day. He has become a good monoplane flyer, especially in the time at his disposal, but Mr. Whitehouse's experience of aeroplanists in action must be limited indeed if he would rank this promising beginner with the most finished pilots of the strengthened cross-Channel type Bleriot monoplanes such as Radley has lately been using. In these, as in other matters, proficiency can be judged by comparison only. The most proficient men of any given period can alone occupy the front rank in any special calling. H. MASSAC BUIST. ROTARY ENGINES. [740] Replying to letter No. 725, published in last week's FLIGHT from the Dreadnought Rotary Engine Syndicate, I quite agree that it is not a new rotary, as it is eight years since I protected this system, which has certainly taken some of the newness off it. With regard to the separating of the fuel from the lubricant, I do not mix them, nor have I ever done so. The Empress Rotary is an absolute fact. The anticipations have been realised, and it is built on practical lines. The guess made at the diameter of the engine by the Dreadnought Syndicate is a very bad one, they are just over half a yard out—the diameter is under 3 ft. With regard to the difficulty in the manu facture of the cylinders this is quite simple to practical engineers, and the little difficulties which they state do not exist. " Why " I put holes in the cylinder walls is best known to myself. I am pleased to note that the photo of the Empress Rotary has done good, this being my sole object in making it public, and I thank them for their compliments. I also thank them for their kind offer of assistance, and I shall be pleased to hear in what form their offer of assistance is suggested. C. A. FLETCHER. [741] The letters from "The Dreadnought Rotary Engine Syndicate " get more and more interesting as the time approaches when they will have to make some definite statement about their novel design. It would appear from letter No. 725, in last week's issue of your interesting journal, that the Syndicate imply that they have some patent rights in connection with rotary engine manufacture, and the writer of «the letter suggests very plainly that the makers of the newly advertised " Empress" engine may be making an infringe ment. Mr. Fletcher, on the other hand, claims that ho ha» been developing the rotary engine for the last eight years, and it follows that the Dreadnought people must have some prior patents to when Mr. Fletcher commenced his work. Why does not Mr. Bett publish the dates of his patents upon which the novelties in his design are based ? This would not in any way invalidate any rights which might be attached to his claims. If he is unable or unwilling to do this, then I shall certainly come to the. conclusion that so far as patent rights are concerned the Dreadnought engine is no better off than any other rotary engine. It is quite possible that Mr. Betts may have got some capable engineer to design him a thoroughly reliable and economical rotary engine, and I wish him every success with it, but I cannot under stand all this talk about patent rights in connection with a design which is quite old in general principles, and of which numbers of experimental engines have been made from time to time. CYLINDER. ANTOINETTE FRONT SKID. [742] With regard to your information re " Antoinette front skid," by " Oiseau," I would like to point out to you the little history attached to same. The sketch referred to was, no doubt, taken from Kuller's machine at Lanark. As you already know, his proper machine, together with Chavez's, were burnt in transit, and Kuller, having one pair of spare wings and a complete " fuselage," but no landing chassis (these parts were not burnt, they not being on the same train as the complete machine) he resolved to try and build up a machine for the Lanark Meeting. There were two things wanted ; they were the engine, which was sent from E.N. V.'s immediately, without being tested owing to its urgency, and a landing chassis. This latter had to be put up mostly by his SEPTEMBER 10, 1910. mechanics, after they had searched all over the aerodrome sheds for wheels and wood to answer their requirements. Naturally, the whole outfit was only a makeshift, and as " Oiseau " states is not the actual chassis of the standard machine. Hoping this will explain matters. Brondesbury. HAROLD SOLOMON. STRENGTH OF TAILS. [743] With reference to the lamentable accident to the late Hon. C. S. Rolls at Bournemouth, I notice on p. 547 of a recent issue of FLIGHT a theory as to the cause of the accident, advanced by Mr. Horace Short, which will, I think, commend itself to many as the most probable cause of the disaster. It occurs to me that any tailed biplanes of the type that are now so successful are peculiarly liable to a repetition of such an event, and that such " sideways buckling " of the outrigger spars could be obviated by suitably staying them to the rear spars of the main planes. Fig. 1 will explain my meaning, so far as lateral motion of the tail is concerned. To prevent any vertical or up-and-down motion of the tail, might I suggest that two of the rear struts between the main planes might be extended, as shown in Fig. 2, and stay-wires taken from the extremities of same to the tail out rigger-spars, and also to two of the front struts ? I am not aware from what sketches and photographs of tailed machines I have seen that this staying of the tail spars is resorted to, but I think you will agree that the adoption of such a precaution would obviate the danger of accidents from the buckling of tail spars. Further, the addition of the parts suggested would offer but very little extra head resistance to the machine in flight. With many thanks for much valuable information gathered from the pages of FLIGHT. Birmingham. FRED. T. HAWKEY. [Our correspondent's first suggestion (Fig. 1) is already standard practice on all the machines mentioned. (See scale drawings, FLIGHT, Vol. I, p. 642.) The arrangement shown in Fig. 2 is worthy of consideration. Fig. 3 illustrates how the two propellers on a Wright machine fitted with a tail necessitate a narrow placing of the outrigger spars, and the consequent weakness of the whole tail structure. The fact, too, that the tail plane is comparatively broad may perhaps render the girder as a whole more susceptible to twisting action along its own axis than is the case with the Farman type shown in Fig. 1.—ED.] LANGLEY'S LAW AND OTHER MATTERS. [744] In FLIGHT, July 9th, page 533, you refer to Langley's " law," and you give your own conclusions. As a great many people are puzzled by these theories, may I try to put it even more clearly than you have ? As the speed increases, the power required diminishes up to a certain point, because the resistance of the air is greater, and there fore the vertical pressure or lift is augmented, and at the same time the head resistance also decreases, because at high speeds the aero plane assumes a smaller angle of incidence. The "certain point" is when the minimum angle is reached, at which the action and reaction of the air will balance the impulse of gravity. If the speed is still increased, the head resistance will increase as the square of the speed, and the machine will ascend according to its velocity. Lately there have been several accidents, and people are always asking why some machines glide to the ground when the engine stops, and others fall like a stone. This must entirely depend on the height from the ground at which the engine stops. The aero- 742
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