FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1914
1914 - 0227.PDF
FEBRUARY 28, 1914. [/QCHT] Edited by V. E. An Interesting Type of Paper Glider. "I HAVE read with great interest the articles appearing in FLIGHT referring to paper gliders," writes Mr. Thomas Key, "and I am sending you a specimen of my type of glider, which is a result of four years' experiments. These machines have a good gliding angle, and are very spectacular in flight. The fitting of a landing chassis is highly instructive, as it shows the great strains imposed on this part of the machine, besides adding to the interest. I have found that after the ' cables' have loosened themselves a little, thus allowing the machine a certain amount of give, the models fly better. They will fly very well in strong winds, and have shown themselves to be very stable, and on several occasions I have induced them to loop the loop, which feat they have performed quite success fully. My friend, Mr. W. Beasley, who has helped me in my experiments for the last two years, has kept one of these machines for six months, using it very often, which I do not think is bad for a paper glider." The little glider which our correspondent has been good enough to send us, is one of the most interesting of this type of model that we have seen for some time. The addition of a chassis, skid, and little paper disc wheels, that run quite freely in a little paper tube (a piece of drinking straw could have been used) greatly adds to the v •*..<"-.Lizas* vT_a^M A novel paper glider designed by Mr. Thomas Key. interest of the little machine. Its weight, we find, is exactly 4/5 grammes, it has a span of some 0/5 ins., the wing breadth tapers from about I 75 ins. to f of an in. Overall length 6 ins. Tail triangular ; length of base, 175 ins.; height or altitude, ijins. Distance of apex of tail from trailing edge of wings, I'5 ins. Fin (above tail plane), a right-angled triangle; altitude (along tail plane), 175 ins.; hypo tenuse, 2 ins., base J in. All sharp corners rounded off, and both trailing edge of wings and tail next to the fuselage cut away. Planes rather deeply cambered at the centre, washed out towards the tips. Diameter of wheels, | in. Distance apart, slightly over 1 in. The wings are braced both on the upper and lower sides with black thread, 4 cables above and 4 below. The threads are joined to the wings by means of tiny paper discs stuck on. They are placed near the leading edge and about two- thirds from the leading to trailing edge in pairs, both above and below. The centre of gravity is about half way across the wings from front edge to rear. The wheels are slightly in front of this. The model is weighted with three brass paper fasteners, fixed in the nose of the fuselage. There is a small skid under the apex of the tail, pointing to the rear at an angle of some 300. The entire model is varnished, and this has dried so irregularly as to render the model somewhat difficult to photograph. We can quite understand that such a model should last six months with reasonable care, and we quite agree with all that Mr. Key says, save one remark, viz., that the machine will glide well in strong winds. It will do so in a light breeze, and loop the loop most gracefully, but in a strong gusty wind, such a light model is blown all over the place. It is most interesting to watch, because it shows you quite clearly what could happen in the case of a full-sized machine if the pilot lost control of his machine in a really hig gale. Mr. J. F. S. Corkett's Models. " Enclosed is a photograph which may be of interest to readers of FLIGHT. It represents two of my aero models—a scale Bleriot XI and a hand-launched twin-propeller model. JOHNSON, M.A. " The Bleriot was built entirely by the aid of drawings and diagrams that have previously appeared in FLIGHT. Its imitation 3-cyIinder Anzani engine, bell control, and built-up fuselage and planes are of special constructional interest. The construction of this machine was undertaken in the winter months, when it formed a most interesting hobby. Later it was shown at a local exhibition, where it secured second prize. The flying model is the result of last spring's experiments, and was completed in August, 1913. A few days before Christmas, after it had been in constant use for five months, it was sent to America, where it has been flown regularly ever since. Many people are of the opinion that such models last but a short time ; this, however, was not the case with the model just referred to." Two models by Mr. J. F. S. Corkett. A Note on Egg-Beater Winders. BY M. J. DUDLEY. " I have seen in FLIGHT lately two or three drawings of egg- beater winders ; when using such, it is a good plan to put a small fretworker's table clamp in your pocket, when you go flying ; then instead of someone else holding the machine or the winder, the latter can be clamped to a form, post, fence, &c., and held much firmer in consequence. The ordinary 6d. egg-beater is in general use, but it is very much better to buy the one costing is. yi. ; any one doing so will soon appreciate the difference. Both are made by the same firm. May I ask your readers what is the record for a light and small hydroaeroplane ? I have just completed a Ding- Sayer model 18 ins. frame, weight 2 czs. exactly, inclusive of every thing. It will rise from the surface of the water in 6 yards, and in 18 yards cleared a fence 6 ft. in height, afterwards flying in one large circle. Might I also express my thanks for the help that your model section has been to me in the past ? " Projected Areas and the Loading Question. There is nothing very terrible or difficult to understand about this matter. Practically speaking, all surfaces save vertical ones are to count. Now obviously where surfaces are not horizontal but inclined at an angle to it, if such were reckoned up with respect to their full area, i.e., the number of square inches or square units contained in the product of their total length and breadth, it would not be fair because such surfaces are not exerting their full lift, in some cases nothing like it. In the case of a monoplane with upturned tips for lateral stability such, save when the model is banked, exert practi cally no lift at all. Now what is the "projected area " of such a plane ? Place the model in a horizontal position on a table, on, say, a sheet of card board or white paper. Next drop (in imagination or in reality), perpendicular lines from the outer edges of the plane all round it, on to the sheet of paper, the area enclosed on the sheet of paper by such perpendiculars is the projected area. Perpendiculars are, of course, vertical or plummet lines. 227
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
