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Aviation History
1913
1913 - 0070.PDF
Longitudinal stability : I have so far been unable to determine accurately whether there is any serious improvement here over other decently designed machines on standard lines. Longitudinal control is usually so easy that one would not notice this much ; it should be tested by having some means of holding the elevator control fixed, which is not possible by hand alone. I think she must have some thing subtle in her longitudinal arrangement, as, in spite of the passenger's feat being right back in rear, the difference between 16 stones and 6 stones make no appreciable difference to balance or control in the air. . She answers her elevator well, but gives the impression of having that control rather low geared, too; possibly that impression is helped by somewhat increased moment of inertia due to passenger g position ; anyway, I very noticeably use more motion of the control column to land than I am accustomed to do on other machines. She has a very good gliding angle—about the same as the Avros (say I in 6-5)—and is consequently very easy to land in an aerodrome, particularly as her undercarriage is very " squashy " and with no tendency to bounce; I believe its springs are worn out. She runs rather a long way, as the tail skid keeps her tail somewhat high. . Her rudder has a good aspect ratio, and, though unbalanced, its control is very light ; I only rest my toes on the bar. The seating accommodation is most excellent, far better than is usually found, both pilot and passenger get excellent protection from the wind, except just their heads. ® ® WHAT a needless waste of two most useful lives was the accident in the Thames at Erith on Monday last, wh n Leslie Macdonald, the clever Vickers pilot, and his mechanic, England, were drowned. Evidence available at the present time points strongly to a badly misfiring engine as the direct cause of the accident. While recognising Macdonald's undoubted ability at piloting, one cannot help but decry the lack of caution that prompted him to start off when it was evident that his engine was not pulling so well as it should have been. It is not an uncommon occurrence for an engine, which misfires a little when first started up, to get into its stride and develop its full power after it has been running a minute or so. Probably with this thought in his head Macdonald and his companion started off. Instead of the power increasing, unhappily, it fell off, with the terrible result that we have all read about and sorrowed over. The sad accident that overtook Lieut. Wilfred Parke and his passenger Mr. Hardwick may be attributed to the same cause. And what are the lessons to be learned from these occurrences? As far as I can see at the present time there is no new lesson to be learned. It is the case of an old lesson brought home with increased force. The moral to the pilot is—be careful not to attempt too much on your machine unless the engine is running to your complete satisfaction. If the engine is running badly no great amount of harm can come to him if he keeps to straight line flights within the confines of his aerodrome. It is manifestly unsafe to attempt anything more, much less cut across country, if the motor is not working up to a speed closely approaching its normal number of revolutions. And there is no excuse for a pilot not knowing when his engine is running badly. If a misfire is the cause of the poor running of the motor, it can generally be distinctly heard. If the mixture is at fault, a glance at the revolution indicator will confirm any suspicion. Failing that, and supposing the pilot had started off, I In conclusion, she really flies, and, for pure pleasure of flying in, is miles ahead of anything else I have ever been in as pilot or passenger. She is, to my mind, an extremely safe and excellent machine. Handley Page Monoplane (70 Gnome). November 15 th, 1912. I had this machine out for the first time last Saturday. She was flown a little at the Military Trials by " Petre the Painter," but has since been reconstructed with different wings. She is extremely interesting compared with the " 50" machine. Longitudinally she is dead stable—i.e., I held the elevator control, as far as I could tell, rigid, and she never varied a bit. The '* 50 " is good, but not quite so good as this. Laterally, >he rolls in a most unpleasant way, and banks to an absolutely appalling angle if left alone ; I did not after the first time. Though rolling heavily, she recovers herself perfectly without any use of the warp ; she appears to have a very regular periodicity, which I hope to be able to time. She lacks the v.s. directional stability of the " 50"—i.e., on a roll she requires a little rudder to prevent her swinging to the low side. This use of the rudder is distinct from the use I very often make of it to stabilise a machine by sharp little pushes. In turning, as soon as she approaches a uniform curvature, one con tinues to turn with a negative pressure on the rudder—i.e., on the outside thereof. I have not previously experienced this, even on the all-enclosed Avro, though I am told several types have it, notably Ogilvie's Wright and the B.E. 2. ® ® believe I am right in saying that the pilot's own instinct, aided by his sense of touch and hearing, will tell him the moment he eases his lever back for ascent, whether the machine is flying as well as it ought to. If a machine is " right" it should, figuratively, fly on its own. It should not need any special forcing or, as aerodrome people say, "hoicking" to get it to climb. The pilot, if he has that sympathy with his machine that every pilot ought to have, knows immediately if the machine is not up to the mark for work. Instead of continuing in the hope that "it will be all right in a minute," he should, or more forcibly he must, come down at once and have his engine attended to. Otherwise there will be a recurrence of accidents such as have happened to Lieut. Parke and Mr. Macdonald, with both their passengers. The lesson is indicated strongly enough. Let pilots take it to heart now. At the New Year celebrations among the pilots and pupils at Buc held at the recently erected temporary pavilion there, M. Bleriot announced that he was about to erect on the ground a thoroughly up-to-date club house for the use of the aerodrome habitues. The central section of the building is to constitute an enormous hangar, sufficient to house thirty or forty machines, and from the roof, which will be turned into a roof garden, visitors, whilst partaking of refreshments, will be able to watch the exploits of the flying men. The club house will further have sleeping accommodation, a restaurant, a garage, an American bar, and various rooms set apart for billiards and fencing, and recreations of that character. • • • • There was to have been erected a club house at Hendon last year. Perhaps this year may see it built and established. It is certain that, with such a club house, the Hendon ground would become even more of a popular rendezvous than it is at the present time. Carrying the idea still farther, it is not outside the bounds of conception to imagine that the venture would become as popular as Hurlingham or Ranelagh, even if it were not quite so exclusive. Also, would not such a club 70
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