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Aviation History
1913
1913 - 0044.PDF
a twenty-mile radius north of the aerodrome in an effort to determine his whereabouts. • • • I hear that the principal documents in connection with the formation of the new private company of A. V. Roe and Co., Ltd., were signed on Monday last, and that by the time these lines appear the company will have been registered. Two who have become largely interested in the concern are Mr. J. Grimble Groves, J.P., formerly M.P. for Salford, and Capt. Lutwyche, late of the 5th Royal Warwickshire Regiment. The former gentle man is a man of great experience in business matters, and, as Mr. H. V. Roe points out, his services will be a very valuable asset to the firm. Capt. Lutwyche saw active service in South Africa, and so it may be relied upon that he knows the value of the military application of the aeroplane. He was one of the first to take up motoring as soon as the red flag restriction had been removed. He was a pioneer—and he has joined pioneers. • • • They intend to find new works, for, owing to the growth of their business, they have extended from time to time, until to-day there is not another inch of room available at Brownsfield Mills. They have, so I hear, found a difficulty in coming across new premises suitable for the purpose. They hope to have finished their search by the end of this month. There is a rumour around to the effect that the celebrated Bristol Co. of aeroplane manufacturers are directing their attentions towards the production of a new tractor biplane for military purposes. It will be of a type somewhat on the lines of their present tractor biplane designed by Mr. Gordon England, but influenced, pro bably, by the BE type of Army aeroplane. Coanda, their clever designer, has the work in hand, and I am assured that the machine will be one of unusual promise. • * -• I believe I mentioned before at some time what a lot of musical and general talent, apart from that they show in the course of their business, there is among flying men. Starting with Ewen, he was, before he took up aviation, one of the cleverest organists in Scotland. Grahame-White can sing a sentimental song with anyone. Fleming, when he was amongst us, provided many a happy diversion with his mandoline. Pizey, following in his brother instructors' footsteps, acquired considerable efficiency on a one-stringed fiddle. Wheatley, who was for some time at the Brooklands Avro school, played the piano extraordinarily well, and Messrs. Ronald L. Charteris and Lang are amateur actors of no mean order. Capt. C. M. Waterlow, of the Royal Flying Corps, must also take his place, and a prominent one, amongst those who have abilities in this direction. Last Tuesday night he produced at the Farnborough Town Hall, a musical fairy play, " Stella and the Elves," which he had written, composed and rehearsed. I am rather wondering whether he had more trouble in the producing of it than in the writing and composing combined, for there were 33 children in the cast. « • » Of the new 35-h.p. Grahame-White biplane just com pleted, a batch of six are to be constructed, some of which are to be set aside for the use of the pupils learning to fly at the Grahame-White School. JANUARY II, 1913. Another Grahame-White machine, in the designing of which Mr. H. Barber has had a large share, will probably make its appearance early next week, and its test flights will be carried out by M. Louis Noel. It is an ex- tensioned biplane, driven by a 90-h.p. 6-cylinder Austro- Daimler motor. One of the main features of the design is that the engine is arranged in front of the pilot, while the propeller is to his rear—a disposition that, while making for great safety, increases the value of the machine from a military view-point. The tail is supported by an open fuselage of triangular section, the top member of which runs from the body to the tail, passing through the propeller-boss. The body, it is interesting to note, has a plan form identical with the strut cross section with which Mr. Alec Ogilvie obtained the best resulis in his recent efficiency tests. The landing-gear is, to a certain extent, reminiscent of that with which the Sommer biplane was equipped at the last Aero Show in Paris, except that it is much more soundly constructed, and double-tyred wheels are provided. But for the trouble the Grahame-White works have had with the fuel tank that was originally intended for the machine, it might have been flying before now. It is to be hoped that readers will show, in a practical way, their sympathy for Mrs. Hardwick, who, through the sad accident that caused the death of her husband and Lieut. Wilfred Parke, has been left with three children of tender years, without adequate means of support. A fund has been instituted to relieve her needs, which has been headed by Messrs. Handley Page with a subscription of fifty guineas. Subscriptions, made pay able to Mrs. Hardwick, in the case of cheques, should be forwarded to Messrs. Handley Page, Ltd., 72, Victoria Street, London, S.W. * * • A new 100-h.p. all-steel aero motor, upon which the works of the A.B.C. Engine Co. have been busy of late, is expected to be finished in a little over a week's time. Their smaller 50-h.p. model, which appeared not long since, is one of unusual interest. It is an 8-cylinder air-cooled motor of V-type, with its cylinders, of 2^-in. bore and 2^-in. stroke, mounted on a tubular crank-case. The crank-shaft revolves at a normal speed of about 4,200 revolutions per minute, and through a 6 to 1 reduction gear drives the propeller-shaft, set in the V between the cylinders. The propeller-shaft is also made to serve as a cam-shaft. The motor only weighs 112 lbs. • • • My congratulations to another well-known pilot who has become a bridegroom, and the same wish to his bride. On Wednesday last, at Wraysbury, Lieut. Barrington-Kennett, of the Royal Flying Corps, married Miss Violet Hargreaves, elder daughter of Capt. Hargreaves of Newenham Park. * • • I am glad to see that Mr. W. H. Ewen has won the case he entered against the Kirkcaldy Horticultural Society, claiming ^50 that they should have paid him under his contract with them to fly at Raish Show. I am thinking that those responsible for the conduct of the Society are sorry now they did not pay Mr. Ewen his just dues in the first case without demur, for in addition to his claim there is that very elastic little item —costs ! " OISEAU BLEU." 44
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