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Aviation History
1911
1911 - 0189.PDF
Wheels on Wing Tips. [1090] Seeing the number of accidents, in one or two cases with fatal results, that have been caused through a wing-tip touching the ground in making a turn, I am rather surprised that constructors do not fit wheels to the ends of the planes as Mr. Cody does on his biplanes. I think I am right in saying that the Dunne aeroplane was recently smashed under such circumstances, when the pilot was forced to make a sharp turn to avoid an obstacle. Would not such accidents be prevented by doing as I have suggested ? It would be interesting to hear the views of some experienced person on this point. Palmers Green. E. R. BROWN. [It is not uncommon practice to fit some form of guard or light skid for the above purpose, but wheels to be of any real service must be etrong and add more weight than is desirable on a light machine.—Ed.] Gliders. [1091] Recently you gave directions how to make a " Voisin man carrying glider." Does the glider have a motor as it was not mentioned in FLIGHT ? Leyton. CHARLES ROWE. [Our correspondent is apparently under a misapprehension as to what a glider is. A glider is an aeroplane without a motor and its essential purpose is to afford a relatively inex pensive flying machine whereon an experimenter may obtain considerable acquaintance with the actual riding of the air, although his flights are necessarily limited in duration and extent inasmuch as they must take place down hill. Gliding is accomplished down the side of a suitable slope.—ED.] Gyroscopic Control. [1092] As wild and impractical ideas seem to be at present in the air, will you allow me to draw your attention to my own pet scheme. It seems to me that the gyroscope affords the only possible solution to the problem, and the gyroscope that I would suggest would be quite small, almost a toy, electrically driven, and always re volving horizontally; it would be mounted in the manner of a ship's com pass, that is the aero plane would be able to swing either laterally or longitudinally without in any way affecting it. To make myself clear, let us take the lateral movement alone. Round the inner ring of the gyroscope is placed an electrical contact, as in the sketch marked A. As long as the areoplane remains horizontal there is no contact with B and C, but as the plane tilts the contact is made, and the current passes round an electro-magnet, which brings the engine into play, and the aileron on the low side would be jerked down, and remain down until the contact is broken. This could be done in a great number of ways, and experiment alone would show which was going to be reliable. My own rough experiments with the gyro scope seem to point to ultimate success along the lines I have suggested. Glasgow. D§ GREIG. Bird Flight. [1093] Can any reader of your valuable paper explain to me how it is that a bird with a mutilated tail (in some cases merely a stump) can fly and soar equally as well as one with this particular member in perfectly sound condition. It certainly appears to me that a bird, when in soaring flight, has no use for its tail to preserve stabihty. Is this so ? Balham, S.W. S. FAULKNER. [Opinions differ on the use of the tail in bird-flight. Some birds unquestionably can fly quite well with a mutilated tail; others, however, cannot. If the bird can fly without its tail, then the set of its wings is such as to give it stability, and the use of the tail is probably an adjunct to facilitate direction and for special manoeuvres such as alighting.—ED. MODELS. Model Harm an [10941 Seeing, ^that you encourage model-makers by publishing their results in your valuable paper. I venture'to send herewith a photo of a model Henry Farman biplane I have just finished. It is I in. to 1 ft. scale, the drawings appeared in your paper, No. 42, October 16th, 1900. A model of this description is not expensive to construct considering that the one in the enclosed photo cost under 4s. 6d. for materials. It is jointed together, no nails, screws or bolts being used. This makes it just as strong and does not require so much patience. I herewith send a list of materials used, where I got them and the price :— Birch wood, Hobbies, Ltd., 42 ft., is. 2d. ; floral wire, R. Dyas, 3 reels, 3d. ; varnish, R. Dyas, 2d. ; wheels, Gamages, 2 pairs, is. lod. ; fabric, nainsook, 1 yd., 5^. ; gelatine, R. Dyas, 4d. ; gum, R. Dyas, 3 tubes, 3d. Total, 4s. $d. Hoping this may be of use to fellow readers. Clapham. A NOVICE. Kites [1095] In reply to Mr. J. W. Lane's query in FLIGHT, No. 936, my kite No. 4 is 9 ft. high and 9 ft. broad. It consists of two triangular boxes and wings, and the fabric used is linenette. The other dimension will be seen in the diagram. Round' deal 1 in. diameter is the wood used throughout. Cord run' 9 fee* -. round the outside of the wings to keep them from frayingr out. The entire area is 80 sq. ft. If this information is in sufficient I hope Mr. Lane will let me know. Thames Ditton. C. B. RIDLEY. Longitudinal Dihedral. [1096] I have been experimenting on and off for the last two years with models of the o-P-1-1 type and I have noticed in particular that, within certain limits, an increase or decrease in the fore and aft dihedral angle of the planes affects very appreciably both the longitudinal stability and the speed of flight, to the extent that an increase in this dihedral angle- augments the stability whilst at the same time the speed is reduced, and conversely that a decrease in the angle has just the opposite effects both as regards speed and stability until, the value of the angle is o°, then the stabihty vanishes. When, 191
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