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Aviation History
1914
1914 - 1022.PDF
[fUm apparently by no means fallen off, for on Friday last three visitors each had a three-guinea flight on the British Caudron Co.'s 60 h.p. 'bus. This latter company, by-the-way, is quite busy just now turning out some new machines from their works at Old Hendon, about which more anon. XXX Apropos of the avalanche of Iron Crosses falling upon the " Kultured Krowd" of the Kaiser, a few days ago when the subject cropped up incidentally during a lunch party, I heard a quiet remark dropped by one in associa tion with the firm, suggesting that Messrs. Tkos. Firth and Sons, if they could find time in their large rush of steel work, might not be averse to putting in a tender for a wholesale order—about a quarter of a million is spoken of—of these little marks of distinction—save the mark. From the high reputation of their well-known steels they would be able to guarantee (according to specification) high resistance to shock, a good temper, rustproofness and not to show German thumbmarks. It has been suggested, by a colleague, that the crosses of this special material should be for those Germans who show the greatest effrontery; and that Dr. Albert Moll of the Psychology Society of Berlin should be awarded the first one delivered, for stating, according to Mr. F. W. Wile of the Daily Mail, that— " Belgium has not been ravaged, pillaged, or sacked at all. It has merely been ' hypnotised ' by the power of ' mass suggestion' into imagining its outrages. The girls and women who have been violated are miserable hypochondriacs. The men and boys who have told of countrysides laid bare and towns and cities fired are illiterate quidnuncs. And the members of the Commission of Inquiry themselves are demagogues and liars." xxx It is always good news to know of any fresh develop ment in the industry, and, therefore, I was pleased to hear recently that Mr. Holt Thomas had already com menced operations in connection with airships at the old OCTOBER 9, 1914. works of the Aircraft Co. at Merton. A company has been formed under the name of "Airships, Ltd, with Mr T Willows as chief engineer, and knowing that Mr' Holt Thomas seldom lets the grass grow under his feet it should not be long before we see something doing in that direction. The company has acquired the right to build the Astra airships in this country, although none have yet been started. XXX Recently I quoted from our American contemporary Aeronautics an interesting description of a species of aeroplane invented by one H. Van Wie. Hoping to learn further of the progress of aviation in the States, I looked through some other copies of this journal and found this:— "Do bodies Fall I It is a commonly accepted fact that bodies gravitate towards the earth. Robert Stevenson" where have I heard that name before 1—MA.) "of 604, West 115th Street, New York, tells the editorial department of this journal that all this theory of gravitation is pure bunk—that the earth falls toward the bodies. Mr. Stevenson states he is prepared to prove his own theory to the satisfaction of any open minded person, and would like to hear from those interested in discussing this." If this be so, in the future a description of an aeroplane flight would probably read something like this :—"The pilot took his seat in the biplane, and the mechanic having swung the propeller, he started off, the earth falling from the machine at a remarkable rate . . . . Suddenly his engine stopped and the earth immediately rose at an alarming velocity to meet the machine, coming into contact with the latter with some considerable force, doing much damage. The pilot was flung from his seat by the force of the impact, and the earth, and the damaged machine, bumped into him, breaking both his legs !" " ^EOLUS." "Flight" Copyright. THE CONSTRUCTORS OF THE L. AND P BIPLANE.-From left to right: G. W, Smiles, W. Warren, H. S. Gist (the man who built the nacelle), and M. J. Lindsay. omue5» w' Wdrrc » 1022
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