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Aviation History
1913
1913 - 0149.PDF
FEBRUARY 8, 1913. Vickers, Ltd. Two machines, of excellent design and construction, will represent Messrs. Vickers, Ltd., at the Olympia Show. One will be a military biplane, driven by one of the new Wolseley 60-80 semi-air-cooled semi-water-cooled mo'ors. Their other machine will be a monoplane similar in almost every respect to the one which flew in connection with the Military Trials at Salisbury l'lain. Unlike that machine, however, it will be driven by a 70-h.p. Gnome motor. From the side elevation sketch we print can be gathered an idea of the arrangement of the new Vickers biplane. It may be con sidered as an all-steel machine, for wood only enters into its constiuc- [/EL machine that will appear at the show, it will be seen that Messrs. Vickers have mounted a Maxim gun, which can be swivelled through an angle of 30 degrees on either side of, and below am! above, the longitudinal axis of the machine. In a box, arranged inside the cockpit at the centre of gravity of the machine, will be stored 1,500 rounds of ammunition. This box is so fitted that it may slide forward on wires and so be brought witftn easy reach of the man who is operating the gun. The pilot sits in the rear seat. but both pilot and passenger are provided with controls by which they may drive the machine. The landing gear is similar in delign to that fitted to the B E a Army biplane. Like that latter machine, "Flight" Copyright. The 70-h.p. Gnome'Vickers monoplane. tion for the manufacture of ribs and skids, and for the " stream-lining " of steel tubular struts. The planes.which are staggered, are each built about two wood-filled tubular steel spars, over which the ribs are loosely threaded in such a way that it is impossible for the plane skeleton to become fatigued through continual warping. For this reason also the rear spars in the sections of the planes which warp are hinged to the spars of the rigid central section. The upper and lower planes span 40 and 30 ft. respectively. They are separated by steel stanchions, which are assembled to the planes by means of a special design of socket, by which the planes can be dismantled in a very short space of time. The body of the machine is of steel construction, covered by a "stream-lining" of Duralumin. Pro jecting in front of the machine, as it does, it affords the observer, who occupies the front seat, an uninterrupted view. More important than that, this design makes it possible for the biplane to be used as a machine for offence purposes. On the "Flight" Copyright. The 60-80-h.p. Wolseley-eriglned Vickers biplane. too, the Vickers biplane may easily be steered at slow speeds over the ground. A Vickers-Levasseur propeller will be used. As for the monoplane they will be showing, we have already mentioned that it will be almost identical to the one that figured in the Military Trials at Salisbury, excepting that the Show machine will be fitted with a 70 h.p. Gnome motor. With an engine of this power and type, the monoplane has been timed to do 63 miles an hour, and to lift a useful load, consisting of passenger, pilot, and fuel sufficient for a 3J hours' flight, at the rate of 250 ft. per minute. Pilot and passenger will be seated side by side, and they will be provided with duplicate controls. Although it is a moderately fast machine, it can be flown in perfect comfort without the necessity of the occupant wearing goggles. This is obtained by the fitting of transparent wind screens in front of pilot and passenger. A similar machine to this one, but fitted with an 80-h.p. Gnome motor, has attained over 70 miles per hour. FLIGHT ENGINES AT OLYMPIA. The Aircraft Manufacturing: Co., Ltd. On their stand in the Motor Section will be shown two Gnome motors, an 80-h.p. 7-cylinder and a 100-h.p. 14-cylinder model. Perhaps we could not pay a higher compliment to this make of engine when we say they are so well known as to need no further description. The Austro-Daimler Motor Co. The motors shown by this firm will be of special interest, for it must be remembered that it was with the assistance of their I20-h.p. 6-cylinder model that Mr. S. F. Cody carried off the first prize of .£5,000 with his biplane at the recent British Military Aeroplane Trials. The firm have, by the way, supplied motors to the War Office and the Admiralty and, besides, to private customers including Messrs. Grahame-White and Sopwith. Three models will be shown by the firm, a new 65-h.p. motor and their familiar 90-h.p. and 120-h.p. engines. The 65 h.p. is a four-cylinder engine and the others shown will be six-cylindered. All .three are fitted with double independent ignitions and may, in consequence, be started from the pilot's seat. The arrangement of the new 65-h.p. engine, is slightly different from the other models, for the lubricator, magneto, water pump, and revolution counter are disposed at the end of the motor opposite to the propeller boss taper, in which position, whether the motor is used for either a tractor or an engine- behind machine, these fittings will always be readily accessible. These motors are listed at ^495. ^625, and ,£850 respectively. The firm also list a 40-h.p. four-cylinder model which they will, however, not be showing, priced at ^"315. British N.A.G. Motor Co., Ltd. Two motors will be shown on this stand, their model F2, rated at 50-h.p. and their model F4 rated at 150-h.p. Altogether the N.A.G. firm market four types of motors for aeronautical purposes, three aviation motors of 50, ico, and 150-h.p. respectively, and one intended for dirigible balloon work, rated at 110-h.p. The F2 50-h.p. model that will be shown is a four-cylinder motor, its cylinders being mounted on an aluminium crank-case. The cylinders are turned inside and outside so that they may be perfectly even in their thickness, and that they may suffer no distortion. Five bearings support the crank-shaft. i-orced lubrication is employed. All valves arc mechanically operated, and II.T. magneto ignition is fitted. This model can develop 55-h.p. at 1,600 r.p.m. The F4 model is a six-cylinder motor having similar characteristics to the F2. Its maximum output is 150-h.p., this being developed at 1,250 r.p.m. As an indication of the popularity of the N.A.G. aviation motor on the Continent, it may be interesting to remark that the makers claim that no fewer than a hundred engines of their manufacture are in constant use on aeroplanes, especially those used in military service. The Brompton Motor Co., Ltd. Here will be shown the 100-h.p. Benz aero engine, made at the Benz works in Mannheim, which recently gained the Kaiser Prize for aeroplane engines. It is a 4-cylinder water cooled, developing its rated power at from 1,250 10 1,300 revolutions per minute. In the build of this engine reliability and low petrol consumption have received special at'ention from the designers. Thus, when we see the engine at Olympia wc shall find that two magnetos are fitted, driven by separate gears, both firing two distinct sparking-plugs in each cylinder at the same time. The oil-circulating pump and the fresh oil pump will be found to be driven from two different direc tions. Its cylinders are turned from a special grey casting, as the Benz people find that cast iron is a rather more advantageous metal to use than steel. The water jackets are of steel, and are welded to the cylinders by the Autogenous process. Probably the motor's low petrol consumption is partly accounted for by the fact that this carburettor is embodied in the crank- case where it is warmed, a physical condition which leads to more perfect atomization of the petrol. In the tests for the Kaiser prize, the petrol consumption of this motor was found to be less than 210 gr. per h.p. hour. The water circulation is carried out by a centrifugal pump of ample dimensions, and such is the statical and dynamical equalisation of all moving parts, that the motor exhibits remarkably little vibration, even when run at top speed. General Aviation Contractors, Ltd. In all probability eight different motors will be shown on the stand (No. 41). Five of them will be air-cooled Anzani motors, and the remaining three will be of Laviator manufacture, built on the 149
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