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Aviation History
1913
1913 - 0792.PDF
i/nm inspire them with increased confidence. When such experienced pilots as Mr. Alec Ogilvie and Mr. Beatty are not ashamed to be seen with it on their machines, no one else need presume to suggest that it appertains to the days of " the apron." Besides the string, one thing else is needed materially to increase the safety of flying, and we never cease to be amazed that so many pilots continue to fly without it. We refer, of course, to the air speed indicator, which tells the pilot his velocity through the relative wind. Flying takes place in the atmosphere, the motion relative to the ground is incidental and of no consequence to the aerodynamic principles involved. Every machine has a proper flying speed at which it will fly horizontally in the attitude for which it was designed. The range of speeds above and below the normal are acquired by tilting the machine out of its proper attitude under the influence of the continuous action of the elevator. Experienced pilots with a good ear for their engine, generally know more or less when they are flying at the proper speed under power, but there are a good many who do not know all the same, and even the experienced pilots are very often at a loss to judge the proper speed while gliding. Just as the majority of pilots underbank at the turn, so do they come down over steeply in the descent. If they worked by the air speed meter they could descend bya glide with the same precision that they fly horizontally. Also, they would be able repeatedly to make their climbs under the best conditions, because having once determined by experiment the speed at which the particular machine was able to climb most rapidly, they would in future JULY 26, 1913. merely pull away at the elevator until the machine was brought down to that speed, and under those condi tions they would continue to climb as long as they Air speed meters are already on the market and there is no excuse whatever for not fitting them. The pilots of the Royal Aircraft Factory carry out all their experi mental flying by the aid of an air speed meter and they would never think seriously of flying a machine without one The instrument in question which was designed at the R A F.—but which is not therefore necessarily useless, in spite of popular prejudice against factory products—is manufactured and sold by the well-known instrument makers, Messrs. Elliott Bros. Another form of air speed meter is the Eteve, for which the Aircraft Manufacturing Company hold the English rights. In fitting it, one flies one's machine horizontally at its normal speed and notes the position of the indicator. On alighting, the instrument is adjusted until the red mark on the scale is coincident with the position occupied by the needle in flight. Whenever the machine is going through the air at the speed that it was flown during the preliminary tests, the needle will stand on the red mark. Whenever the machine increases its speed the needle will move in one direction, and whenever it decreases its speed it will move in the other direction. It does not matter whether the pilot is gliding or flying straight, he is always able to tell at a glance whether he has his proper air speed or not. In short, the air speed meter gives him, just as the string gives him, a ready- made knowledge that he might not satisfactorily acquire during a whole lifetime as a pilot. Mr. Gustav Hamel just about to -start fn* , Hi t • id. *ir. -r- , . „ " Flight" Copyright. on Sunday tm. $U. fiefcffi»*J5C VoOO ft "anl^ ^"AV** °£ the, ?"«*-«* « Brooklands u*a 10 nearly a.uuu tt., and in descending stopped his propeller at 6 OOO ft 818
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