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Aviation History
1914
1914 - 0873.PDF
AUGUST 21, 1914. ITycHf THE "ROUND BRITAIN" MACHINES. THE machine which was officially numbered 3 for the Circuit of Britain was The Sopwith Bat Boat, to have been piloted by Mr. Pixton. In its general lay out this machine is very similar to the seaplane which was the object of so much admiration at the last Aero Show at Olympia. Several alterations have, however, been effected, as, for instance, the substitution of a 200 h.p. Sunbeam engine for the Salmson Canton-Unne with which the Show machine was fitted. The wings have also been slightly raised in relation to the hull, so that the lower main plane, instead of resting m directly on the gunwales of the boat, I as it did in the previous machine, is M mounted on short stout struts coming up from the interior of the boat. Joined to these are the four inner inter-plane struts carrying the bearers for the engine —a 200 h.p. Sunbeam of the Vee type—mounted slightly above the centre of the gap between the planes. Of these the upper plane is straight and has a consider able overhang, whilst the lower one is set at a very pronounced dihedral angle, partly, no doubt, to in crease the lateral stability of the machine, and partly in order to provide sufficient •clearance to allow the machine to roll considerably on the sea without danger of the lower planes touching. The lower planes are further protected by wing tip floats of the cylindrical type. The inter-plane struts are of ample section, and are made of spruce, with the exception of the inner ones, which, as they take the weight of the engine, have been made of ash. When the machine is in the act of alight ing, the weight of the machine is taken by two oblique Mr. C. Howard Pixton, the pilot who was nominated for ' the Sopwith Bat Boat in the Round Britain Race. I on top of the upper tail-booms, in such a manner that its angle of incidence can be varied, is the fixed tail-plane, which has a flat under surface and a slightly cambered top. Hinged to the trailing edge of this stabilizing plane is the divided elevator, and pivoted round the rearmost upright strut in the tail outrigger is the rudder, which is of large area and balanced. It will be noticed that no fixed fin is incorporated in the tail unit, all the vertical surface aft being pro vided by the rudder. Cross-bracing everywhere between the main planes, as well as in the tail outrigger, is effected by means of stout stranded cables, and all control cables are in duplicate. Interesting as the aeroplane portion of the machine undoubtedly is, the hull or boat is even more so, incor porating as it does all the improve ments that long experi ence with this type of craft has suggested to the designers. Although following fairly closely on the lines of the boat of the last Olympia Show machine, several details have undergone alteration and improve ment, making the Sopwith Bat Boat one of the finest examples of sea worthy flying machines in this or any other country. In the nose the boat is of the displacement type flattening out gradually towards the step, where it is of hydroplane form. Just behind the step the bottom of the rear portion of the boat is slightly V-shaped, running out to a flat bottom at the stern. Constructionally the boat is built up of two skins of mahogany laid on in opposite directions over a strong framework of ash stringers. The front part is provided with a curved deck, which will quickly shed any water that may wash A view of the Round Britain Sapwlth Bat Boat. struts running from the front end of the engine bearers to the forward portion of the boat. As in the Show machine the radiator is mounted between the inner front inter-plane struts. The tail outrigger, which forms a V, as seen in plan, is made up of four booms of spruce connected vertically and horizontally by struts of the same material. Mounted over it. In front of the occupants' seats the deck is swept upwards to form a wind screen, which also serves to protect pilot and passenger from water spray when getting off or alighting in a rough sea. The high free board of the boat further helps to make this an all- weather craft. One of the numerous difficulties which beset the 873
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