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Aviation History
1914
1914 - 0460.PDF
\j\M\ MAY 2, 1914. THE HENRY FARMAN SEAPLANE, OF the difficulties which confront the designer of water- planes none is perhaps greater than that of making adequate provision for the absorption of shocks due to alighting on the surface of the water. A study of some "Flight" Copyright. Sketch showing starting handle and petrol tank mounting on H. Farman seaplane. of jthe most successful waterplanes appears to indicate that the systems employed by designers fall into three categories. One type is characterized by flat-bottomed floats flexibly suspended from the chassis, another has rigidly mounted floats with either " V " shaped or rounded bottoms, which serve to lessen the shock when alighting, seen that in the third type a form of progressive springing may be obtained by suitably proportioning the shape of the float bottom and the flexibility of the shock absorbers. It is too early yet to venture an opinion as to which type will ultimately survive, but the method of springing the floats in the Henry Farman seaplane, which belongs to the first-mentioned type, is so ingenious as to entitle this machine to special attention on that account only, apart from any other merits it may possess. The machine itself differs in detail only from the land machines of the same make, which are already familiar to our readers, such alterations as have been effected being more in the nature of detail improvements and general dimensions; as an aeroplane the machine remains unaltered. One of the characteristics of the Henry "Flight" Copyright. Tail planes and float of H. Farman seaplane- Farman biplane that has been retained in this machine is the comparatively small gap between the planes. This is all the more noticeable on account of the increased span of the upper plane, which has an even greater overhang than that of the land machines. The reason for increasing the span is no doubt that, in order Flight" Copyright. One of the main floats with its attachment on the H. Farman seaplane, and on right the tail float. since they allow the float to sink partly into the water, thus gradually taking the load as the amount of displacement is increased, while the third type is in reality a combination of the other two, having floats with rounded or " V" shaped bottoms flexibly mounted. It will be readily to carry the extra weight of the floats, and still keep the loading reasonably low, greater area is required, and also the extra resistance on the upper plane helps to counteract the added resistance of the floats over that of the land chassis. 460
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