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Aviation History
1911
1911 - 0076.PDF
fiMD JANUARY 28, 1911. was made by the machine, but although the aeroplane was badly broken up the General only sustained slight injuries to his face, whilst Cobianchi escaped with the fracture of one leg only. Pro ceedings for the day, however, were immediately stopped. Prince d'Udinc Flies. AT Padua, at the Bovolenta Aerodrome, Leonine da Zara, the chief military school pilot, has had the honour of carrying Prince d Udine for his initiation into flying. Da Zara also executed several flights at 200 metres high with Colonel Vanzo. This aviator has, in consequence of his devotion to the art, been nominated a Lieutenant of the special corps of Italian aviators. On Fire in Mid-Air. WHAT might have resulted in a fatal termination occurred on Monday at Copenhagen. Svendsen, who will be remembered as having flown last summer from Copenhagen to Sweden, was making exhibition flights on a Voisin biplane at the Copenhagen aviation ® ® New British Dirigible Pilots. IT is interesting to notice that at the last meeting of the Com mittee of the Royal Aero Club two dirigible-pilots' certificates were granted, the successful applicants being Capt. P. W. L. Broke- Smith, R.E., and Lieut. C. M. Waterlow, R.E. Instruction Work with " Beta." BOTH on Monday and Tuesday long flights were made with the Army dirigible, " Beta," in connection with the training of officers, and on Tuesday the airship was under the control of a non commissioned officer, whose work was supervised by Lieut. Waterlow. On Monday Lieut. Waterlow was in command, and took the airship to Guildford and back, the trip being of about an hour's duration. Siemens-Schuckert Airship Appears at Last. ON Monday the Siemens-Schuckert airship, which has been building for two years, made its fiist public appearance, and sailed over the German capital for some time. Rising from the ground outside the shed, which has been specially built for it at Biesdorf, the huge airship was steered by Captain Von Krogh over Berlin, ® ® IN a recent issue of the Naval and Military Record some instructive notes appeared from the pen of an expert upon compasses which at the present moment should commend themselves very much to aviators. The article in question is as follows :— " The lamentable result of the latest cross-Channel flight, added to at least one narrow escape from a similar disaster, forces one to the conclusion that, however full of pluck, and whatever their qualifications as ' airmen' or engineers may be, the great majority of our leading aviators are sadly lacking in the most elementary knowledge of navigation which would enable them to steer a course from one point with the reasonable prospect of arriving somewhere in the vicinity of another desired spot. The purely navigational problems to be solved may be compared, not unfairly, to those daily faced by captains of low-power steamers or sailing ships. The effects of current, wind, and sea have their parallel in the case of air craft in the variable force and direction of the wind, and this parallel is not so far fetched as is generally thought when we take into considera tion the great speed of the air craft in proportion to the very feeble wind forces in which alone cross-country or oversea flights are at present usually attempted. '' For the present, the aviator must be satisfied with the very simplest navigational instruments, and of these a sine qua non should be a reliable compass, properly placed and compensated for surrounding iron. In existing aeroplanes these considerations are absolutely ignored, surprise being expressed, for example, when a compass placed within 6 ins. of the end of a stout movable iron bar does not point cor rectly 1 " The bad reputation that the magnetic compass has apparently earned among aviators is principally due to the very faulty placing from a magnetic point of view, there being no attempt at compensation, and also partially to the use of instruments quite unsuitable to the peculiar conditions ground. After attaining a fair height his machine was noticed to be on fire, and, fortunately for Svendsen, the shouts of the onlookers below drew his attention to the danger before it was too late. Although the machine was practically ruined Svendsen was able by great presence of mind to reach terra firma uninjured. Nothing daunted he was soon in the air again with another machine making some excellent flights. American Duration Record. PILOTING a Wright biplane, Parmelee, at San Francisco last week, succeeded in beating the American duration record by flying for 3h. 39m. 495s. The previous record was 3h. 11m. 55s., made by Welch. U.S. Government and Aeroplanes. LAST week a vote of .£26,000 was passed by the Chamber of Representatives at Washington for the purpose of military aeroplanes. ® ® and returned to Biesdorf after about 40 minutes. It carried twelve passengers. The airship, which has been built for military purposes, was actually completed last March, but then it was found that the envelope was not strong enough, and accordingly it had to be taken to pieces and reconstructed. The envelope is some 387 ft. long and 43I ft. in diameter, and has a capacity of 31,000 cubic metres. Three cars are fitted, the centre one being for passengers, while those at the fore and after end of the balloon are for the machinery. Each of these two cars contains two German Daimler motors of 125-h.p., one driving two propellers and the other a single one. There are six propellers altogether. It is claimed that the airship can carry 50 passengers. In a second trial trip on Tuesday of half an hour's duration 14 passengers were actually carried. Trial Trip of New Italian Dirigible. THE new Italian dirigible " Ansonia II," built by Signor Picoli, accomplished a very satisfactory trial trip on Sunday last, cruising from its shed near Verona across the lake of Garda to Montichiari. ® ® which prevail. This evil reputation is quite undeserved, as the magnetic compass, when treated with the care the sea man has learned to give it, is capable of rising to its new duties. The excessive vibration in some machines is the cause of trouble, but if the naval aviators wish to have a reliable instrument, at any rate for experimenting with, they need go no further than one of the two latest types of small card liquid compasses used in torpedo-boat destroyers, or bridge compasses used in submarines. One of these compasses taken out of its gimbals and packed in a box filled with fibre, wool, or other damping material, will remain perfectly steady under any ordinary conditions. " Of course, other modifications are desirable, such as increased lightness, simpler and more distinct marking, the use of luminous paint, and in time to come possibly a more elaborate lighting arrangement. Another very desirable innovation would be the use of the new alloy ' duralumin ' for steering pedestals, &c, as in addition to many very valuable qualities it is non-magnetic, " A reliable anemometer for speed and a barometer for height recorder are also necessary to the aerial navigator, these instruments taking the place of the fog and sounding machine of the seaman. Charts on the same projection as those used for sea work, but with the features easily dis tinguishable from above, shown very prominently, will also be a necessity in the near future. "It is hardly necessary in this brief article, which will probably only meet the eyes of seamen, to point out that had the above conditions been complied with, the compass could probably be relied on to within a quarter of a point, and in addition had ordinary common-sense allowance for drift been made, such an accident as we have now to deplore should be impossible, and it is to be hoped that naval aviators who are now qualifying will soon be able to show that their sea training has been of use to them in the new element, and that their ' land falls ' will be more successful than has been the case hitherto." AIRSHIP NEWS. COMPASSES AND AEROPLANES. ,-s
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