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Aviation History
1911
1911 - 0717.PDF
AOG-UST 19, 1911. IftlGHT USES OF THE AEROPLANE IN AUSTRALIA. BY SYDNEY E. SMITH. (From the Pastoralist's Review.) •So far Australia has taken no share in the practical solution of the •problem of flight, and the only machine to be flown across country here satisfactorily and carrying passengers is the Bristol biplane, which has been demonstrating in Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth < W.A.) Now that reliable machines are immediately available it remains for Australia to take her share in the evolution of flying by (providing the first real work to which the aeroplane of to-day may be put and in which it would prove itself invaluable and a profitable •investment. This work is to be found on the large sheep and cattle stations of Australia. The present means of communication from the nearest railway is by roads, which under the best conditions are "frequently in bid order, and after rain quite impassable. Nearly every one of the large stations are in themselves superior to the finest aerodromes of Europe, and provide the safest possible ground over which to fly, the plane surface of the ground ensuring a minimum of <gustiness of the wind. On the station the uses of the biplane would be many, in iparlicular for carrying the pastoralist on a tour of his outstations, for inspecting the fencing while flying about 20 ft. from the ground, for locating cattle or sheep at great distances, and for conveying the mails from the nearest township expeditiously. For station use the •standard type Bristol biplane is recommended, as although the aero planes and racing biplanes built by the same manufacturers and •others are speedier machines, the chief requirements are reliability, ease of repair, capacity for one or two passengers besides the pilot, or their equivalent in load, and facility of inspection of the ground from the machine. The speed of the standard Bristol biplane is 40 to 45 miles per hour, and it can safely be flown in steady winds up to 30 miles per hour, or in gusty winds of from 10 to 15 miles per hour. The weight of the machine is 700 lbs., and the shed required for its shelter should be 40 ft. wide by 45 ft. long, and the clearance in height should be 13 ft. Such a shed in timber •and galvanised iron need not cost more than £100. The cost of a Bristol biplane, fitted with 50-h.p. Gnome engine (a reproduction -of the machine demonstrated throughout Australia) is ,£ 1,000, •delivered f.o.b. Bristol ; freight, about £$0 ; duty, about £330 ; •carriage to station, say, £30—making, with some spare parts, a total cost of about ^1,500, delivered upon the station up-country. The running costs are small, as the petrol and lubricating oil consumed only amount to about 3 gallons and ij gallons per hour of •flight, or 40 miles distance, respectively. It is difficult to estimate at present the life of a machine, but the first biplane built by a well- known firm four years ago is still flying daily on Salisbury Plain, fitted with the first Gnome engine built, and this machine, though slow and somewhat out of date in appearance, has had very little repair during its life. The Bristol biplane which has been flying so successfully in Australia was built in July, 1910, and since that date has been in constant use. It was used by Captain Dickson in the last English Army manoeuvres, by Mr. Robert Loraine in wireless telegraphy experiments, and by many other well-known aviators, as well as having been used as a school practice machine in England. Since its arrival in Australia, where it has been flown by Mr. Hammond and Mr. Macdonald, it has flown 765 miles in seventy-two separate flights, thirty-two of which have been with passengers. During the whole of these flights not one pennyworth of damage has occurred to the machine in connection with any start, flight, or landing, and the machine is now in perfect order. These facts speak for themselves as to reliability, upkeep, and usefulness, and prove that the editor was by no means drawing unduly upon his imagination when he prophesied in the March issue of this " Review " that aeroplanes would shortly be considered more necessary on an up-to-date station than a motor car. It is true that with a properly cautious pilot the conditions of wind often make the use of the machine impossible or risky, but squatters will recollect that few days pass without some hours of suitable weather, while in winter in some parts of the country, scarcely a breath of wind is felt for weeks together. It must also be borne in mind that an aeroplane can cover a distance in one hour which would take a day's riding in the saddle, thus saving many hours for other purposes, or enabling great distances to be covered during the day. The difficulty in the minds of many may be that of learning to fly. It is the purpose of the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company to arrange shortly for purchasers of machines to be taught to fly them free of cost at a central school in Australia or on purchasers' own machines on their stations. The period of learning, given fairly favourable weather conditions, and an average intellect of the pupil, should not exceed three weeks. The machine and engine should be well looked after by an ordinary chauffeur, and in case the owner is not desirous of flying his own machine, he can get all the uses of the machine by having a man trained and himself riding as passenger. The terms of appreciation in which General Gordon and Colonel Antill, C.B., of the Commonwealth Forces, have spoken of their flights at Sydney, and the fact that the Russian Army has ordered eight and the British Army four* Bristols, should remove any doubt as to their effectiveness for military purposes, and what the pastoralist requires no less than the soldier is the best and quickest means of communication and observation. * These have been increased since. FLIGHT IN AUSTRALIA.—From New South Wales, Mr. A. H. Wakeford sends us the above interesting photographs of Mr. J. Hammond flying on his Bristol biplane at Ascot, Sydney, on May 5th last. On the left Hammond is crossing the main road during a trial spin, and on the right he is finishing the day with a high flight as the sun is setting. ® ® ® ® More Encouragement by French Government. THR Aero Club of France has received from the Minister of Public Works a sum of ,£20,000, being part of the credit voted by the French Parliament for the encouragement of aerial navigation. This money will be spent in connection with the preparation of the series of maps for aviators and aeronauts which the Club has in hand. 719
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