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Aviation History
1912
1912 - 0455.PDF
MAY 18, 1912. 1912. In this flight the rubber dropped oft on one end, causing the machine to descend very rapidly. Now, flights of between 50 and 60 sees, are made so often as to attract no attention. " The official records of this club, and also of the United States, are as follows :— " Distance—1,814 ft., by Percy Pierce, December 26th, 1911. " Distance in competition—1,743 ft., Stuart Easter, March 10th, 1912, " Duration—91 sees., by Percy Pierce, March 17th, 1912. " Distance, rising from ground (indoors)—263 ft., Stuart Easter, March 25th, 1911. " No distance or duration contests for models rising from the ground have been held for sometime. " Unofficial hydro-aeroplane flights have been made. In regard to "altitude records it has been a matter of guesswork, yet about 250 to 300 ft. is a conservative estimate of the height attained on February 25th, 1912, by a if-oz. model with celluloid planes, built by George A. Page, Jun. In spite of a swift descent it remained in the air exactly 30 sees, after the propellers stopped. " Unofficial distance flights of between 2,000 and 3,000 ft. have been made by about six members flying six different models. " The New York Model Aero Club is fully prepared to meet any club or group of model flyers in the world. Unfortunately, the great distance separating us from England is a great hindrance to international competition. Even this might be overcome if we were to send one or two representatives to England, yet this limited number is very unsatisfactory to us, as six or even a dozen flyers would be just what we want. For the present, nothing would please us more than to have Mr. Mann or any other English flyer arrange with an agent in the vicinity of this city, whereby he can have a model of his fly in one of our contests at Van Courtlandt Park, and in my honest opinion, I believe he would have some difficulty in being placed. " It has not been my object to belittle English mcdel flyers, for they are held in high respect among us, yet I do want to remove the impressions that it is necessary to import an English model if we wish to make a record of 1,691 ft. or 60 seconds." The Latest Australian Record. Mr. H. P. Wood (Melbourne, Australia) writes us further :— " Since writing you last, I have had more success with my 9-oz. model. On March 31st, with my father (Engineering Draughtsman Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works) and a friend, Mr. W. P. Chancellor (Chief Engineer at Johns and Waygood, Ltd.), as timekeepers, I set out to try and beat the duration record of 100 sees, put up by the " Mann " monoplane (FLIGHT, January 20th, 1912). The weather conditions were ideal, almost complete calm; time, 4.30 p.m. The first flight was one of 113 sees., but later on the machine did a flight of 118 sees., doing two complete circles with a net travel from point of discharge to landing of 600 yards (my longest flight with this machine is 720 yards). The following is a description of the machine :—Length, 4 ft. ; span, 4 ft. ; two propellers, 11 ins. diameter, 19 ins. pitch, each driven by 8 strands of J-in. strip rubber wound 1,000 times. The above duration was mainly owing to the altitude attained by the model, as the glide took 45 sees, after the propellers had stopped revolving." Commenting on the above Mr. Wood omits altogether to state the nature of the ground on which this record was made ; for instance, it makes all the difference whether these flights were made on level ground or from the top of a hill. If the former then presumably there is another little heap of "ashes" to bring back from Australia. Model Flying During the Eclipse. Mr. H. Kerruish says : " Apropos of a remark made by Mr. Beeching, of the Ealing District Ae.C, that his model would not fly during the eclipse. I should like to state that I experienced the same thing, my monoplane flew well in the early morning, also in the evening, but during the eclipse would only perform alarming ' stunts' and finally tried to get underground, apparently awed by the phenomena." [/JJGHT] Experiments on Wimbledon Common. We give, this week, an illustration showing the altered chassis of our steam-driven model. Early on Saturday morning, May nth, a successful though but short flight was made on the above ground. Knowing full well the bad nature of the ground for a self-rising model, a strip of linoleum 9 ft. long and 2 ft. 6 ins. wide was taken. The model rose just as it was leaving the strip, that is after a run of not more than 9 ft., a breeze was rapidly springing up, and a great gust of wind caught the model after it had travelled a short distance (it was rising rapidly) causing it to dive to the left, as it came down the engine ceased running. The gust had apparently blown out the lamp (a most unusual occurrence) in any case the lamp was out when the model was reached. The landing had slightly damaged the elevator, this was, however, put right in a few minutes, and pre parations were commenced for a second attempt, before, however, Mr. V. E. Johnson's steam model, showing altered chassis.— The front wheel swivels about a vertical axis, the rear wheels are rubber sprung, and the skid Is to protect the propeller. they could be completed a gust came along, which turned the machine clean over on to its back in the neatest possible manner without doing the slightest damage. Under such circumstances it was considered wisest to postpone any further trials. The model is clearly over surfaced—except for comparatively speaking calm air ; for flying in gusty weather, where speed is such an important factor in reference to stability, less surface and a greater speed would be decidedly an advantage. Reply to J. A. B.'s Query. Mr. W. S. Ledward sends the following reply : " First plane up a board quite flat—slightly larger than the plane. Then draw a full sized plan of the plane on the board and knock some brads just inside it—spaced about 2 ins. apart. Now cut the wire a little larger than required and bind the two ends together with thin twine. Then stretch it over the brads. Now put some brads outside the wire (between those inside). Leave it like this all night; then take it out, solder the ends, and solder four or five ribs on. The plane will appear slightly twisted but it can be straightened with a little patience. Replies in Brief. F. H. H.—Glad to hear the advice given was so useful. Try a somewhat larger elevator (of high aspect ratio) at a lesser angle. No ; you would have to take the requisite thrust necessary in each case, and calculate the number of strands required. The formula is not of an elementary character. G. HADDON WOOD.—Your interesting press cutting to hand. As you will see the matter is fully dealt with in this issue. ® ® ® ® THE KITE AND MODEL AEROPLANE ASSOCIATION. OFFICIAL NOTICES. Competitions.—Members are reminded that entries for the competition for the Baden-Powell Challenge Shield, for the best kite of the year, close on Saturday 18th, to-day, therefore those who have not yet posted them, should do so without delay. Visit to the National Physical Laboratory Teddington.— On Saturday, June 1st, members and friends will pay a visit to the laboratory. Programme : 1.45 train from Waterloo, arriving at laboratory about 2.30. Special tickets can be had from the hon. sec. at Is. \d. for the return journey. All members and friends wishing to attend will oblige if they will inform the hon. sec. by Saturday, May 25th, stating number of tickets required and enclosing P.O. for same. Hendon Meeting (London Aerodrome).—The date of the model day at Hendon has been fixed for Thursday, July 25th. Programme : Wakefield Gold Cup competition, for models rising oft the ground ; scout's competition for Grahame-White trophy, open only to Gordon Memorial School Troop ; also competition for scouts, open to all scouts in the British Empire, for the Grahame-White trophy. W. H. AKEHURST, Hon. Sec. 27, Victory Road, Wimbledon. 455
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