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Aviation History
1914
1914 - 0807.PDF
JULY 31, 1914. leaving nothing to be desired, since theory and practice—both of which, as we have seen, are exhaustively dealt with—are combined in such proportions as to be of the maximum practical value to the officers and the men ; while the spirit which pervades the School and the Corps is admirable. The life at Upavon is a strenuous one ; but notwithstanding this, it is one that is enjoyed by all. The officers have built a court for squash rackets, a nine-hole golf course has been laid out at the rear of the School, and two tennis courts are to be found in the valley l/ycHT] below the Mess ; while for N.C.Os. and men, there is a large recreation ground provided, suitable for football, cricket and other games, tennis courts are available, and they have a Regimental Institute. Hence from the consideration which is given to the development of both sides of a man's character, to the advancement in military efficiency and the cultivation of the love of out-door amusements—it is not surprising that such excellent results are obtained from those who pass through its curriculum, and of which there is ample evidence on joining the Squadrons. fi£ ® ® ® HAT TAIL-SLIDING 'oN A BLERIOT FEELS LIKE. By MARCUS MANTON. EDITORIAL NOTE.—Mr. Marcus Manton learnt to fly at the Grahame-White School at Hendon just over two years ago, being only 18 years of age when he obtained his brevet. Thereafter he joined the Grahame- White staff of instructors, and for two years flew regularly in all weathers at the Keek-end exhibitions at Hendon. He has carried numberless passengers, has trained scores of pilots, and is looked upon as one of the world's finest pilots of the box-kite type of biplane, on which he can do marvels of banking and spiralling. Early this year he was engaged by Mr. B. C. Hucks to give looping demonstrations and also act as his understudy. Manton soon mastered the 50 h.p. Bleriot monoplane as effectually as the biplane, and he has already given numerous exhibitions of upside-down flying and looping-the-loop in various parts of the country, his total of loops being well over the century. Mr. Manton is a careful and observant flyer, and uses his head as much as his hands. In the following article he describes a recent experience whilst looping on a Bleriot. The experience I am going to describe took place at Newbold Revel Hall, near Rugby, on Saturday, July 18th. The atmosphere was full of remous even at 1,500 ft. I had already given a demonstration of vertical banking and steeplechasing, and I then went out to loop the loop. I climbed to nearly 2,000 ft. to try to get out of the remous. After completing one loop successfully, I immediately started another vertical dive for another loop. This pre liminary dive, by the way, is very necessary on a looping Bleriot, as it is a comparatively slow machine, and has only a 50 h.p. Gnome. Gently pulling the control lever towards me, the nose began to rear up and I climbed till the machine was standing on its tail. Then, to my consternation, the motor started to splutter, and the next instant had ceased to work. For a fraction of a second the monoplane remained poised in the air absolutely stationary. Then it commenced to fall back wards, tail first. The noise it started to make is almost indescribable. The wires vibrated and screamed and whistled. Each wing seemed to flap and rattle like a flag in a stiff breeze—this, of course, being due to the wind getting hold of the thin and flexible trailing edge—the metal engine cowl joined in the chorus of noise in a lower key, and for a few seconds it certainly seemed as though the machine was going to break up. Having plenty of altitude, I did not make any desperate efforts to get the machine back to its proper position. I just let her do what she liked. Down, down, we came, the speed increasing with every second until the rattling and roaring were simply deafening. All this time I kept my control lever pulled back in the normal position for looping. This would mean that the elevator was up, and in the ordinary way should have had the effect of bringing up the tail and levelling out the machine. But the tail- slide continued, so I thought I would make a little experiment. I pushed the lever forward until it was in a neutral position. I was able to do this quite easily, although, theoretically, it would seem that the rush of air on to the elevator would cause such a pressure that it would need great strength to alter the elevator's position. To my great surprise the fall was immediately checked, then with a hefty kick the machine made a forward plunge, slightly sideways, and then nosedived, after which I got level once again. One would imagine that pushing the elevator to the normal position would tend to make the machine tail- slide all the more, but it was not .the case, and the explanation I offer (which is open to correction by the scientific readers of FLIGHT) is that the machine being in a somewhat sideways position the elevator had a ruddering effect, and helped the machine more than ever to turn over sideways and sideslip before it turned into the usual nosedive. Though not by any means my only tail-slide on the Bleriot, it is the first time that I have experimented with moving the elevator. I must say that tail-sliding on a Bleriot is most unpleasant, though perhaps on a Morane the experience is not so unpleasant owing to the balanced elevator, the stiffer nature of the wings, and its stream lined fuselage. These experiences have, however, given me even greater confidence in the Bleriot, for although the machine underwent a very severe straining, there were no signs of weakness when I came to examine it after landing. And once more it has been proved that provided one has enough altitude it is possible for a good aeroplane to recover from the most impossible position. J^p £ y \C\\JL/L. ® ® ® ® The Naval Assembly Photograph. THOSE of our readers who may wish for copies of the photo graph on page 801 of the officers of the Royal Naval Air Service taking part in the recent assembly at Calshot, may obtain them from Mr. F. N. Birkett, 97, Percy Road, London, W. The price of unmounted prints, 12 ins. by 10 ins., is 2s. 2d. each. 807
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