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Aviation History
1913
1913 - 1339.PDF
DECEMBER 13, 1913. owing to a sideslip and consequent dive from a height of some 40 ft. Luckily no one was hurt. " The following extract from a letter of mine which appeared in the Aero in December, 1911, may be worth repeating, since it contains my deductions made at the time, and which I still hold except for one or two modifications. First, I believe that towed flight is dangerous unless the ropes are in the hands of experienced towers, and also attached at the correct places. These positions in my opinion, are at the two front end corners of the main planes fr Strainer Socket •with a rope on the elevator if the pilot has no control over the same. The rope, should at first not have a greater length than 10 ft to 15 ft. in order to prevent the machine from rising too high. For should the pilot suddenly find himself taken up alone to a height of 30 or 40 ft. for the first time, it is enough to cause him to lose control, as indeed actually happened in the case of' Haddon I.' "With regard to free flight, I have come to the conclusion that for use on the hill which we have on the Birmingham Aero Club •grounds, a glider with a loading of not more than f lb. per sq. ft. is necessary in order to obtain free flights oi any length. "The loading of ' Haddon 1 ' was about I lb. per sq. ft., and its gliding angle was equal to the steepest part of the hill, which is about 1 in 7, so that a free glide of more than 40 yards was not possible with a heavy pilot, say, of 12 stone. " Mr. Trykle was the next to complete a glider. This was built entirely of bamboo, and the fabric was proofed with gold size, which is not, however, either so cheap or so satisfactory as boiled linseed oil. "It was of a similar type to the club glider, with the exception that the bottom plane was only 20 ft. span and the top plane had upturned tips. Some good towed flights were made with it, although it was slightly tail heavy, except in a good wind. " About this time (January, 1912) my second glider, ' Haddon No. 2,' was completed. This was also constructed of bamboo, and some very good towed flights were obtained. Three ropes were used for towing, a centre rope and a rope attached to each front end corner of the bottom plane. All the towers were on the centre rope, and one at each end to steady the glider laterally. No free flights of any account were made except when the glider overtook the towers, •which it did on several occasions, these times being rather exciting, since the towers had on such occasions great difficulty in getting out of the way when the glider was landing. This glider was eventually smashed in a gale in November last year. At the beginning ol this year the club glider was built from the remains of this and Mr. Trykle's glider. This again was constructed of bamboo, and was single-surfaced and covered with calico proofed with boiled linseed oil. " None of the bamboo gliders with single-surfaced planes had so great a lift as the first Haddon glider, built of red deal and fitted with correctly cambered, double-surfaced planes. The plane section was approximately Philips' entry, but with a less pronounced dipping front edge. " Below I tabulate as accurately as possible the difference between the two Haddon gliders :— Glider. Span. Chord. Surface. n u Weight, Speed, Camber. & per r ' approx. s(£ ft approx. Double 130 '97 lb. 25 Single 120 "69 ,, 25 Wood... 34 ft. 4 ft. 292 sq.ft. Bamboo 32 ,, 6 ,, 416 ,, • "The sockets for the bamboo glider wer2 made by slotting a stout gauge weldless steel tube, and bending as shown in the sketch. These were bound on to the bamboo spars with stay tape, and then painted over with white paint. " We have found that for a glider which is left in the open, this •is the best thing that can be used, since it protects and holds the tape well together, and will not wash off in the rain like glue. We have also found that if bamboo spars are painted over they will not crack, however long the machine be left in the open. The ribs •were constructed by being heated over a gas flame and then bent on a template. To save shocks on landing, which were sometimes iheavy, we used a suspended swing seat, in which it was possible for ifi'G"T the pilot to drop on to his feet before the glider, and so take the strain off the chassis. This was found to be quite successful with a few, but the less agile members preferred to stop in the seat and take the bump that way. " A monoplane glider has now just been completed by one of our members, Mr. N. Stamps. It is of the Bleriot type, and is a very neat machine, and some good results should be obtained from it : all controls are fitted. Bamboo is the material used, and the chief dimensions are: Span, 30 ft. ; chord, 7 ft. ; Ungth, 20 ft. " From the experience obtained with all the previous gliders, we have come to the conclusion, that it is worth ihe extra trouble and expense to build a glider of wood with double-surfaced planes, covered with calico, and proofed with boiled linseed oil, and to fit all controls. Should 1 build another glider, it would be constructed chiefly of red deal and ash, with joints of the steel plate type, these being the easiest and strongest to manufacture with the tools at the disposal of the average club. I should use planes having a span of 30 ft., a chord of 5 ft., a gap between the planes of 5 ft., and an overall length of 20 ft. I should also use a rear elevator. With refer ence to your suggestions Lr us to try a propeller on our glider, we should only be too pleased to do so, if you will let us have full particulars. I have consulted Mr. Stamps, and he would also be very pleased to try your propeller on his glider." [The propeller used by me is not mine, but was lent me by Messrs. J. Bonn and Co., 97, New Oxford Street, or I should only be too pleased to lend it to Mr. Stamps. There must be about the country a number of disused propellers of some 3 to 5 ft. diameter which their owners would only be too glad to see put to some use. Will any reader having such kindly offer the use of the same to tlu- above club ? The diameter of the propeller should not, in my opinion, be less than 4 ft. or greater than 6 ft. Personally 1 should choose a large diameter and rather tine pilch.—V. E. j.] The International Aero Show at Olympia. Several correspondents have written asking for further informa tion and particulars with respect to certain points in the Model Section. Will all such kindly address their communications direct to Mr. W. H. Akehurst, 27, Victory Road, Wimbledon, S.W. ? ® ® ® ® KITE AND MODEL AEROPLANE ASSOCIATION. Official Notices. British Model Record*. Single screw, hand-launched Duration D. Driver 85 sees. _. . . /Distance R.Lucas 590 yard*. Twin screw, do ^ Duration ... G. Hayden ... .37*0. „. , •»• j I Distance ... W. E. Evans ... 290 yards. Single screw.nse off ground j Uuration ... W.K.Evans ... 64»ecs. /Distance ... L. H. Slatter ... 365 yards. • \ Duration ... J. E. Louch ... a mins. 40 sees. ... C. I Twin screw, do. Single-tractor screw, hand-/ Distance . C. Dutton 266 yard.. launched ... ... ...\Duration ... J. E. Louch ... 91 sees 190 yards. 94»eci. 3J»ec«. 99 so s. 60 sees. . v.. Dutton Do., off-ground j Duration ... J. E. Louch Single screw hydro., off-|D ,b L. H. Slatter water J Single-tractor, do., do. ... Duration ... C. C. Dutton Twin screw, do., do. ... Duration ... L. H.Slatter Aerj Exhibition.—The official notices of the model section of thi» Exhibition were published in the model section last week. Secretaries and members will have the forms sent them as soon as possible, but any reader who does not belong to a club should, if he wishes to enter, send his address to the Hon. Secretary, who will forward forms. Handicap Competition.—A sealed handicap model duration competition will be held on Wimbledon Common on Saturday, Dec. 20th, starting at 3.30 sharp. Rules: 1. Competitors must be at the judges' flag at 2.15 sharp. 2. Models must weigh not less than 6 02s. 3. Entrance fee 6d., to be sent with entry, and a further t>d. to be paid by starters on the ground. Prizes will be awarded according to the number of entries. Entries close on the 16th, any received after that date will be returned. This has been arranged at the request of several members, and the Hon. Sec. hopes that a good entry will be the result, to that the rules committee can judge if it is worth while running these next season. Inter-Club Contest tor the McClean Medals.—It has been announced that Mr. F. K. McClean, A.F.Ae.S., has kindly offered medals for the contest tothe winners and runners-up. The secretaries and council have met and discussed the matter, and have decided as follows: That the competition be open to affiliated clubs showing at the Aero Exhibition. That the test be confined to Class »A. That the team making the best aggregate number of marks shall be the winners, the first six of a club to count. 1 he average number of marks in duration and stability will be taken. For the teams' guidance the stability marks will be awarded for evenness of the path of flight. All teams entering for this should at once notify the Hon. Secretary. Affiliation.—All applications for affiliation should be sent in at once, and it is hoped that all clubs of any standing will join, so that the Modellists shall become more united, and work together. Also all affiliated clubs will have a special reduction made in the case of collective exhibits. 27, Victory Road, Wimbledon. W. H. AKEHURST, Hon. Sec AFFILIATED MODEL CLUBS DIARY. CLUB reports of chief work done will be published monthly for the future. Secretaries' reports, to be included, must reach the Editor on the last Monday in each month. Aero-Models Assoc (N. Branch) (25, CHURCH CRESCENT, MUSWBLL HILL, N.). DKC. 13TH, handicap duration competition, 3 o'clock sharp. Dec. 14th, practice, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Dec. 18th, special general meeting at the Cabin, 8 o'clock. Important business. Dec. 20th, hand-launched tractor competition. 1365
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