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Aviation History
1912
1912 - 0674.PDF
I/O GHT JULY 27, 1912. THE MILITARY COMPETITION— THE MACHINES. THE MAURICE THE Aircraft Co. of St. Stephen's House, Westminster, have entered for the forthcoming Military Trials at Salisbury one Farman biplane. It is the identical machine that Verrier has been flying at Hendon these last two or three months that will represent them. This in itself is remarkable. Many, we might almost say most, of the constructors entering for the Trials have designed and built special machines to comply with the published requirements. So great a faith have the English representatives of the Farmans in the product under the design of the brother Maurice that they are supplying a machine, as it were from stock, to uphold their reputation. All the more honour to them if they do well. It FARMAN BIPLANE. would be unnecessary to recall at length the characteristics of this machine, for we described it fully as recently in the issue of July 6th. The photographs we publish, together with a resume of its main features, will suffice. Main characteristics:— Motor... 8-cyI. 7o-h.p. Renault! Area; main planes 552 sq. ft. Length 39 ft- io ins. j Area: tail 120 ft. Span: upper ... 50 ft. 6 ins. Area: elevator ... 28 sq. ft. Span: lower 37 ft. Speed 55 m.p.h. Total area... 700 sq. ft. approx. I Useful load ... 800 lbs. THE BRISTOL OF the four machines entered by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Co., two will be tractor biplanes of the type designed by Mr. E. C. Gordon England, and the remaining two will be monoplanes of the well-known military type. The tractor biplanes will be flown by Messrs. C. H. Pixton and Gordon England, the monoplanes by Messrs. H. Busteed and James Valentine. Truly, with fuch a display of excellent machines and expert pilots, they should be successful in carrying off some of the more important awards. Next week we hope to publish photographs and complete descriptions of each machine. For the present, however, we must be content to mention their main characteristics : — Main characteristics:— Bristol Military Tractor Biplanes. Motor... 14-cyl. 100-h.p. Gnomel Span ... ... ... 40 ft. Length ... ." 31 ft. I Area of main planes 400 sq. ft. AEROPLANES. Weight Speed Motor... 4-cyL 70-h.p Mercedes Length Span Area of main planes 1,474 lbs. I Propeller diameter 9 ft. 6 ins. 60 m.p.h.j Pilot ... Mr. C. H. Pixton Motor.. Length Span Area of wings Weight ... , Daimler-j Weight 1,650 lbs. Speed 57 m.p.h. ... 31 ft. Propeller diameter (4-bIaded) ,,, 40 ft. Pilot...Mr. E. C. Gordon England 400 sq. ft. I Bristol Military Monoplanes. 7-cyl. 80-h.p. Gnome Speed ... ... 70 m.p.h. 28 ft. 4 in.'Propeller diameter ... 8 ft. ... 40 ft. 3 ins. Pilots... Messrs. H. Busteed and 242 sq. ft. I James Valentine 792 lbs. I W»* THE DEPERDUSSINS. BY courtesy of Mr. Lawrence Santoni, managing director of the British Deperdussin Aeroplane Co., Ltd., we were able some days ago to secure a few advance photographs of the Deperdussin machines entered for the military trials now in course of construction. At the time of writing, however, they stand practically complete in the Company's excellently equipped works at Highgate. To-day will probably see one of them—the one fitted with the 100-h.p. Anzani motor—tested in flight at one of our large flying grounds. There are two British-built Deperdussins entered for the tests, the one of which we have just spoken, and another very similar machine fitted with a 14-cylinder Gnome of 100-h.p. Broadly speaking, they are of the same dimensions throughout. They may, however, readily be dislinguished from each other, in that the Anzani machine has wings of " butterfly pattern," i.e., the ' Kligm ^uyyr.gni. THE MILITARY COMPETITION MACHINES. The mounting of the 100-h.p. Gnome engine in the Deperdussin monoplane that will represent the British Deperdussin Co. in the War Office trials. 674 wings are wider at the tip than at the shoulder—as were the wings of Vedrines' 100-h.p. Deperdussin racer, a machine we reviewed some few months since—whereas the wings of the 100-h.p. Gnome Deperdussin have parallel leading and trailing edges. There are one or two other minor differences. For example, the Gnome machine boasts regulation hockey-stick-like skids projecting in front. Those of the Anzani-engined monoplane are cut off short. The mountings of the motors, and the cowls that cover them, too, differ slightly. The 10-cyl. Anzani being non rotary is very easily and conveniently fixed in place by bolting the crank-case direct to a vertical plate that caps the front of the fuselage. Through a large diameter circular hole cut in this plate, the oil pump and magneto of the motor project into the body, where they may be reached through aluminium inspection doors. The carburettor—a G. and A.—is fitted outside the body, directly under the crank-case, where, if it likes, it can drip petrol all day long without causing any very serious danger of fire. With an interior fitted carburettor, the regulation semi-cylindrical hull of the Deperdussin monoplane forms a much too convenient sump for stray petrol than is to our complete liking. This, of course, can easily be obviated, and is so in most cases, by the fitting of a funnel to collect the drips and conducting them away by a tube. Stray lubricating oil does not matter, except for the mess it makes. After noticing the massive carburettors with which Renault engines are fitted, this little G. and A. seems remarkably tiny, and rather causes one to wonder how it can efficiently atomise sufficient petrol to keep the motor turning at 100-h.p. That it does so, however, there is not the slightest doubt. More than that, this particular engine gave a full 130-h.p. when tested on the bench for the first time at Anzani's Courbavoie works. One or two points about the general construction may be new to most of our readers in this country. The tail surface, in this machine, is applied to the top of the fuselage instead of to each Side, and is held there by four bolts and by two tubes that brace the rear. These tubes also serve to take the lift and depression of the elevators, which, by the way, are of very ample area to provide a sensitive control over a machine so short in overall length. The length of the fuselage is only 24 ft. as compared with its 41J ft. span of wing. A noticeable point regarding the tail is that the levers operating the elevator flaps and rudders are built up of ten laminations of wood. So strong are they that there is no necessity to brace these organs further with wire. Quite an appreciable amount of head resistance is avoided in this way. Pilot and passenger sit in tandem. They are protected against the rush of air by a neat little coachbuilt body that is fitted to the top of the fuselage. It is made of three-ply wood, roughly to stieamline form, and only weighs about 8 lbs. The "run-off" of the body, behind the pilot's back, is used as a locker, in which may be stored away spare parts, a Thermos flask, or any accessories of a mechanical or personal kind that he may choose to carry.
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