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Aviation History
1914
1914 - 0212.PDF
[/SGHT] FEBRUARY 28, I9H- SOM£ AMERICAN FLYING BOATS. IK view of the announcement that an attempt is to be made during the coming summer to cross the Atlantic in a Curtiss flying boat, and bearing in mind the popularity this type of aircraft has attained in the United States, the following brief descriptions of some of the most successful American flying boats will enable our readers to form some idea of the stage to which this form of hydro-aeroplane has been developed. It is a fairly safe guess that for any attempts made under American auspices machines of the flying boat type will be employed, for in no other country have so many different con structors turned their attention to this particular type. Since the Curtiss flying boat is the first to be entered, and as moreover its designer, Mr. Glenn Curtiss, is the pioneer of hydro- aeroplaning in America, it is only natural to begin this article with a description of one of the flying boats turned out most Span .. Length Chord . Gap boat, is 5 ft. 6 ins., and the chord is 5 ft. 7 ins. Mounted on very strong bearings between the planes is the engine—a 100 h.p. 8 cyl. Curtiss—driving directly a propeller situated behind the main planes. A very stout oblique strut runs from the front part of the engine bearers to the upswept nose of the boat, and serves to transmit the strains due to momentum from the engine to the boat on alighting. On either side of the engine, and slung from the struts by means of steel straps, are the two tanks which contain the fuel, of which a supply sufficient for a six hours' flight can be carried. Outside the tanks, and immediately under the top plane are situated two blinkers, the object of which is to counteract, to a certain extent, the side area of the boat. The ailerons, which are of the usual Curtiss type, aie pivoted approximately at their centre of pressure, so that little or no power is required to operate them, and they are inierconnected in such a manner that the drag on that of the lower wing is the same as that on the higher wing, so that there is no necessity to use the rudder in conjunction with the ailerons in order to maintain the direction of the boat. The general dimensions of the machine are :— 42 ft, 2 ins. Area 400 sq. ft. 23 ft. 7 ins. : Weight 1,520 lbs. 5 ft. 7 ins. ; Speed 53 m.p.h. 5 ft. 6 ins. 1 c«*T/ss The Curtiss flying boat. versatile constructor, more especially in view of the fact that the Curtiss machines are now being constructed in this country by Messrs. White and Thompson, Ltd., of Middleton, Bognor, Sussex. It is not easy to choose a model for description, for the dope has hardly had time to dry on the planes of one machine before a new and improved one is put through its trials. However, the flying boat built by the Curtiss Company for Mr. Harold F. McCormick, of Lake Forest, 111., is fairly typical, as it embodies standard Curtiss features as well as several innovations which will be adopted in future machines. The boat, which is 23 ft. 7 ins. long, is built up of longitudinal members of ash I in. square, and placed 6 ins. apart, carrying the ribs, which are spaced 3 ins. apart. Over this framework is secured the planking, which for the sides of the boat consists of a thin spruce skin, whilst the bottom is covered with a planking of t"W in. thick mahogany and J in. spruce laid diagonally and having a sheet of very thick fabric, set in marine glue, between them. The whole outside of the hull is then covered with watertight canvas. Eight bulkheads divide the boat into watertight compartments, each of which is provided with an inspection door, which permits examination of the interior of the boat. Two of these compartments are claimed to possess sufficient buoyancy to keep the machine afloat should the remaining seven, for some reason or other, spring a leak. The bottom of the boat has a step of rather unusual shape. Instead of the usual box step, the step in this machine is of triangular form when viewed in plan, and has its apex pointed forward. Air is admitted to the step by two IJ in. copper tubes extending upwards through the hull. From the step the boat slopes upwards in order to facilitate getting off without the rear portion dragging. The body tapers to a vertical knife's *dge at the rear, where are mounted the tail planes, consisting of fixed tail planes mounted a short distance above the hull and a divided elevator, hinged to the trailing edge of the fixed plane, a vertical fin and the rudder. Just in front of the lower plane, and arranged side by side, are the pilot's and passenger's seats. In front of them are the dual controls, which consist of two rotatable hand wheels mounted on a single column, so that the machine can be controlled by either pilot or passenger at will. A to and fro movement of the wheel operates the elevator, whilst rotation of the hand wheel actuates the rudder. The ailerons are operated by means of the shoulder yoke fitted as standard on all Curtiss machines, but any other control may be fitted. The deek of the boat in front of the occupants is swept up wards to form a w.nd shield. The gap between the main planes. of which the lower one is mounted on the upper longerons of the The High-Powered Burgess Flying Boat. Although in its general arrangement the Burgess flying boat is somewhat similar to the Curtiss, it differs very materially from it both constructionally and aerodynamically. One of the most charac teristic features of this machine is the method employed for wing bracing. It will be seen from the accompanying sketch that only a single row of struts separate the main planes. It will be remem bered that this method of construction is employed in the Breguet biplane, but whereas in the Breguet the necessary stiffness is provided by springs between the spars and the ribs, in the Burgess this is ac complished by cables running from the leading edge and rear spar of the upper plane to the main spar of the lower plane. This construction does not impress one as being particularly strong, especially in a machine with so powerful a motor as the 220 h.p. Anzani engine installed in this machine, but according to reports the makers do not seem to have experienced any trouble from this source. Each wing is built up .on a tubular steel spar 3i ins. in diameter, a wood entering edge hollowed out for lightness, and a thin wood stringer parallel to the spar. The ribs are of wood, and are placed a foot apart. The upper plane is fitted with S ft. extensions, and has a span of 41 ft. 4 ins. The span of the lower plane is 33 it. 4 ins., and the gap between the planes is 7 ft. The 20-cyl. Anzani engine is mounted between the planes, and drives directly a four-bladed propeller through an extension of the crank-shaft supported on ball-bearings on a steel tube structure built up from the hull. Petrol and oil are fed to the engine from two service tanks above the engine, and these are in turn replenished from larger tanks in the hull of the boat. The latter is somewhat similar to the one described in FLIGHT of June 28th, 1913, being The Burgess flying boat, of the plain non-stepped type. It is built up of mahogany planking over a framework of oak, and is divided by bulkheads into numerous watertight compartments. In order to facilitate shipment, the boat is built in two sections, which can be easily dismantled and erected. The tail planes are similar to those of the machine already referred to, and they, as well as the heel of the boat, are protected by a small tail skid or skeg mounted under the stern of the boat. The pilot's and passenger's seats are arranged tandem fashion, the pilot occupying the rear seat. As the lower plane has been left uncovered 212
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