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Aviation History
1913
1913 - 0424.PDF
I/OGHT APRIL 19, 1913- THE NIEUPORT HYDRO-AEROPLANE. When the Nieuport monoplane was exhibited for the first time in Kngland, at the 1911 Aero Show, it aroused great interest, chiefly, perhaps, on account of the extra ordinary speeds it was said to h we attained with an engine of only 30-h.p. Since then these machines have proved that they are capable of great speeds. Most notable among their successes is perhaps the Gordon-Bennett Race of 1911, when a Nieuport, piloted by Weymann, won the race for America. The Nieuport brothers, whose tragic deaths within so short intervals is a great loss to the science of aviation, were quick in realizing the possibilities of the hydro-aero plane, and it was only to be expected that they would be successful when they turned their attention to this branch of aviation. used in the construction of the main floats is cypress, the top of them being covered with canvas. Under the tail of the machine is a single, small egg-shaped float, connected to the fuselage by steel tubes. The power plant consists of a 14-cylinder 100-h.p. Gnome engine, driving directly an Integral propeller of 8 ft. 6 in. diameter, which has armoured tips in order to prevent splitting in case of water sprays hitting the blades. Behind the engine is the pilot's seat, which is of the bucket type. The machine is controlled by the usual Nieuport control system, which differs from most others in that the action of warping is carried out with the feet. A rocking shaft, sloping from the floor of the machine down to the lower extremities of the rear chassis struts, carries at its upper end a cross-bar on which the pilot rests his feet, and from a small crank lever on the lower " Flighi " Copyright. Attachment of main floats (on right) and (on left) the tail float on'the Nieuport hydro-aeroplane which was at the last Olympia Show. The machines at Monaco have a three stepped keel float. At St. Malo, Weymann, piloting one of these machines, won the Grand Prix of the meeting by flying from St. Malo to Jersey and back. Later he created a record for the longest over-sea flight in a hydro-aeroplane, by flying from Belgium to Vernon in France, also on a Nieuport. In its general appearance the hydroplane, which was exhibited at the last Olympia Show, resembles the land machines, with which our readers are familiar, excepting, of course, the chassis, which has been modified to accommodate floats instead of wheels. The two main floats, which have a single step about half way along their length, are set widely apart and support the body through a structure of steel tubes of streamline section. On either side of the rounded nose of each main float is a small metal wing, set at a comparatively great angle of incidence, the object of which is to keep the float from diving under in a rough sea. The material end of the rocking shaft, warping cables are taken to the rear spar. When the machine tilts to the left the pilot presses the cross-bar down with his right foot, thereby pulling down the trailing edge of the left-hand wing. A to and fro movement of the centrally pivoted hand lever operates the elevators, while a sideways motion actuates the rudder. On a dashboard in front of the pilot's seat is a complete set of instruments, while lower down in the cockpit is a starting handle, which enables the pilot to start the engine without the help of a mechanic. Behind the pilot seats are provided for two passengers sitting side by side. The fuselage is of the same shape as that which characterises the land machines, the section around the cockpit being very deep and tapering to a knife's edge at the rear, where are attached the tail planes, which are of the usual Nieuport type, as are also the main planes. ® ® <£ ® A Double Crossing of the Channel with Passanger. A NEW record was made by Mr, Gustav Hamel on Friday of last week when, accompanied by Mr. l>upre, he flew across the English Channel and back without stopping. Starting from Dover about ten minutes past nine. Mi. Ilamel at once steered his Bleriot OBI t" sea, and struck the French coast to the cast of Calais. Flying along the coast, Dunkirk was reached, and then the machine was turned in the direction of Dover, where a safe landing was effected. The time for the trip of about 120 miles was I hr. 35 mins., a very tine record considering the conditions, there being a strong wind blowing and a lot of snow clouds about. The average altitude during the trip was about 2,000 ft. Once duting the trip Hamel glided down to within hailing distance of a German liner, he receiving a great welcome from those on board. The first non-stop return flight across the Channel was made by the late Hon. C. S. Rolls, on his Wright, in June, 1910, but without passenger. Along the South Coast. ACCOMPANIED by Miss Trehawke Davies, Mr. Gustav Hamel made a splendid trip along the South Coast on Monday from Shoreham to Dover. The two-seater Bleriot made the trip of 74 miles in 63 mins. During the trip, Mr. Hamel brought the machine down almost to the water by spiral vol plants at Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings, and at Dover he planed down from a height of 3,000 ft. and circled over the harbour before landing at the Whitfield aerodrome. 430
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