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Aviation History
1912
1912 - 1040.PDF
[fjjGHT] one were to shoot an arrow with the feathered end foremost, the flight of the missile would undoubtedly be very erratic and inefficient, even if its motive power were comparable to a non-gyroscopic engine ; but if there were any gyroscopic tendencies in its propelling force, the fault of its unnatural position would be made much more serious thereby. So it may be easily imagined that the action of the " tractor-screw" in drawing behind it the more air-resisting factors of the aeroplane structure, is somewhat comparable to the true flight of an arrow where the feathered end is being dragged behind. The Deperdussin, by the way, takes still further advantage of the " arrow- feather " effect by having an unusually large and powerfully-lifting tail, which does a large share of the work of supporting the machine in the air, and at the same time helps to give this highly successful machine its great directional stability—its wonderful steadiness of flight. So important are these principles that I am contending for, that it is not too strong a statement to say that had these principles been applied to all aeroplanes of the past and present, there would not have been one half so much loss of life. There is now a rapidly growing tendency to make even the biplanes " tractor," which is a great step toward safety and efficiency. Let us hope that in the near future there will be no propeller (not tractor) used on monoplane, biplane or otherwise, for such a consummation would undoubtedly mean the saving of many valuable lives. Chicago, October 10th. J. B. MCQUEENY. Wind Estimating in Flight. [1667] I should be interested to hear the opinion of a practical aviator or designer upon the following method of finding the velocity of the wind while in the air. It is well known that a machine with badly-designed vertical surfaces will not fly straight across wind, but will tend to edge up into the wind, or away from it, according to whether the c.p. on the vertical surfaces is abaft or forward of the e.g. of the machine. Suppose a machine to be deliberately designed to be unbalanced in this respect, having its c.p. for a side wind well.in advance of its e.g., it will tend to fall off down wind, and will need a certain amount of rudder to keep it on its course. The pilot notices the direction on the ground, goes up, and flies until he is flying dead against the wind. This direction can be found by the fact that the machine will fly quite straight, and will not fall off. He notes the compass-bearing and turns 4 points, that is, flying dead across the wind. He then notices the position in which the rudder has to be placed to keep the machine straight on her course. By trying this experiment in several different winds of known velocities a table can be drawn up showing the relation between the position of the rudder and the velocity of the wind, and so having standardised the machine it can always be used in this manner for determining the velocity of the wind at any height. Cambridge. R. M. HAINES. ® ® ® ® The Gordon-Bennett Balloon Race. THE victory in the balloon race for the Gordon-Bennett Trophy, which started from Stuttgart on October 27th, resulted in favour of France, M. Bienaime securing the first place with a voyage of 2,200 kiloms. to Riga, while M. Leblanc was second, with 2,050 kiloms., a few kiloms. north-east of Pouga. Both these performances beat the world's record. Mr. Honnywell in an American balloon, was third, with 1,700 kiloms., while the British representative, Mr. Francia, finished ninth, with 1,200 kiloms. There were nineteen competitors, and Mr. Watts, the American competitor, whose balloon was damaged, started hors concours in a German balloon, Dusseldorf II. He landed at Pskoff, Russia. Successes of the Mercedes Motor. THE Rumpler monoplane, which, piloted by Hellmuth Hirth, was the only machine, apart from the military ones, to complete the South German circuit in the specified time, was fitted with a 95-h.p. 6-cylinder Mercedes motor. It was on a machine similarly equipped that Hirth secured his successes in the Berlin-Vienna race, the Upper Rhine Meeting and other German competitions. The Accident to Hart in Australia. SOME particulars are now to hand from Australia regarding the accident to Mr. W. Hart, at Richmond, New South Wales, on September 4th. It appears that Mr. Hart was testing the new monoplane he has built, and during the third flight, while at a height of 200 ft., the motor stopped. The machine then dived to the earth, and the crash was so great that the engine was buried in the ground. The pilot remained in his seat, but suffered very seriously, there being compound fracture of the right knee-cap and compound fracture of the left leg, while there were serious injuries to the head. He was taken at once to the hospital, and although the doctors at first despaired of saving his life, his sturdy constitution and cheery disposition will probably succeed in pulling him through. NOVEMBER 9, 1912. AERONAUTICAL SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Official Notices. Aeronautical Examination.—The Council have under con sideration a proposal that an elementary examination in aeronautics be instituted by the Society. Before proceeding further in the matter the Council would be glad to receive notification from anyone who would be desirous of sitting for such examination. Letters should be sent to the Secretary, at n, Adam Street, Adelphi, W.C. Meetings.—The first general meeting of the Society for this session will be held on Wednesday, November 13th, at 8.30 p.m., at the Royal United Service Institution, Whitehall, when General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien, K.C.B., will preside. Mr. A. E. Berriman, A.F.Ae.S., will read a short raper, to be followed by a discussion on " Aeroplanes in the Light of the Military Trials." Leading constructors, military officers and others have promised to attend. Members are requested to note that under the rules they are permitted to introduce visitors to general meetings. November 27th, Wednesday, 8.30 p.m., Royal United Service Institution, Brig.- Gen. F. G. Stone, R.A. "Aircraft as Targets for the Artillery." Wilbur Wright Memorial Fund.—The following subscrip tions have been received :—Amount previously acknowledged, ^530 145. lid. ; Lieut. C. J. Randall, £1 is ; Leeds University Engineering Society, £1 10s. Total ^533 5-J. lid. Gift to the Library.—The Council desire* to thank Capt. H. F. Wood for the gift of about forty lantern slides. BERTRAM G. COOPER, Secretary. ® ® ® ® Flying Over Pekin. EVEN the forbidden city has had to succumb to the aeroplane, as on last Sunday afternoon Kumenski, the Russian pilot of a Bleriot machine, three times circled above Pekin, passing over the Tartar, Imperial and Forbidden sections. Practically the whole city turned out to watch the aviator. ® ® ® ® NEW COMPANY REGISTERED. Aerial Navigation, Ltd., 13, Copthall Avenue, E.C.— Capital ^10,000, in 9,000 ordinary shares of £1 each and 20,000 deferred shares of is. each. ® ® ® ® PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. Sovereignty Over the Air. By Sir H. Erie Richards, K.C., &c. Oxford : The Clarendon Press. Price is. 6d. net. Draughtsman's Measurements; Complete Conversion Tables. The United Motor Industries, Ltd., 45, 46, Poland Street, W. Catalogues. " Gnoniol" Castor Oil. The General Aviation Contractors, Ltd., 30, Regent Street, S.W. " Anzani" Aero Engines. The General Aviation Contractors, Ltd., 30, Regent Street, S.W. ® ® ® ® Aeronautical Patents Published. Applied for In 1011. Published November jth, 1912. 22,260. T. W. K. CLARKE AND V. E. JOHNSON. Stability device. 22,809. PLANES, LTD. AND R. C. FENWICK. Flying machines. 22,820. L. A VERDET. Rotary explosion motors. 23,271. F. W. LANCHESTER. Stabilization of flying machines. Applied Tor In una. Published November ?tk, 1012. 1,674. E. BOUCHAUD-PRACEIQ. Aerial propulsion. 7,711. F. SCHERRER. Portable hangar for airships. 13,867. P. POULALION AND J. ARMANGK. Aerial deviation indicators. FLIGHT. 44, ST. MARTIN'S LANE, LONDON, W.C. Telegraphic address : Truditur, London. Telephone : 1828 Gerrard. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. FLIGHT will be forwarded, post free, at the following rates:— UNITED KINGDOM. ABROAD. s. d. s. d. 3 Months, Post Free... 3 9 3 Months, Post Free... 5 o 6 „ „ ... 7 6 6 ,, „ ... 10 o 12 „ „ ... 15 o 12 „ „ ... 20 o Cheques and Post Office Orders should be made payable to the Proprietors of FLIGHT, 44, St. Martin's Lane, W.C., and crossed London County and Westminster Bank, othei wise no responsibility will be accevted. 1040
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