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Aviation History
1914
1914 - 1162.PDF
[pjfif] on which in the golden days of yore, Carr used to give his famous looping exhibitions. On Saturday, however, "Lizzie" was piloted by a less experienced man, and seemed to take advantage of the absence of a master hand by taking the bit between her teeth and cutting capers which have never been approached by Carr himself. It appears that a certain enthusiast has bought " Lizzie ' with the object of teaching himself to fly, and that last Saturday was to be the dress rehearsal. XXX Starting off from the corner at the top of the ex-half- crown enclosure, a very neat straight roll was accom plished in the direction of No. 4 pylon, with the tail well up. After some prancing about on the bad ground out by No. 4, " Lizzie " was persuaded to turn back into the wind, and before anybody had realised what was happen ing, she shot up in the air at an angle of about 450, the pilot switching on and off all the while. By some kind whim of fate, which the newspaper correspondents would probably have described as superhuman efforts, " Lizzie " just managed to avoid a tail slide, and proceeded on a comparatively even keel towards No. 1 pylon, whisking her tail from side to side in the friskiest of ways. The pilot evidently considered this the moment appro priate for coming down, a performance which he seemed likely to accomplish in quite good style, for he descended in a pretty good glide switching on and off, but unfortu nately he spoilt it at the last moment by not flattening out sufficiently and by keeping his engine running all out after touching the ground. The result was that " Lizzie " took matters into her own hands and did a loop the wrong way round, finishing on her back, whilst the pilot was seen to drop out of his seat on to the top plane. He was up again in a second, however, waving his hands to show the anxious onlookers that he was none the worse for his " spill." As a fact, the only damage done was a broken propeller and a bent shaft. It is to be hoped that " Lizzie " will soon be out of hospital again, since her owner is evidently made of the right stuff, and should, with a little patience, turn out a good pilot. Most initiates would certainly have made a worse job of it than he did. XXX A new Sopwith biplane was seen at Hendon lately, which is expected to far out-class, as regards speed, any thing hitherto turned out by this enterprising firm. It would obviously not be wise to give a very detailed description of this new machine at the moment, but the following particulars should convey some idea of its NOVEMBER 27, 1914. general " lay out." In shape, if not in construction, the new scout is of the " monococque " type, having a circular section fuselage, which offers a minimum of head resist ance. The engine is totally covered in by a hemi spherical cowl, sufficient air for cooling being allowed to enter the cowl round the propeller-shaft, and to escape underneath the fuselage, where the cowl does not quite touch the under surface. The planes are not staggered as in the usual type of scout, and are almost flat on the under surface. The tail is perfectly symmetrical, and the fixed stabilising plane placed on the centre line of the fuselage. The chassis is of the very simplest type, consisting of two " Vs " without any skids. XXX In the hands of a capable pilot the new scout should prove an exceedingly valuable acquisition to our aviators at the front, since it will in all probability be able to " make circles " round anything the Germans have got, and will in any case be an extremely difficult target to hit. I do not know her fuel capacity, but it is un doubtedly great enough to enable her to make dashes of considerable length into German territory, not for getting the Friedrichshafen stunt, XXX In addition to the machines already in use the pupils at the Hall school at Hendon will soon be able to enjoy passenger flights with their instructors, for a new two- seater biplane is nearing completion, and will when ready be fitted with the 45 h.p. engine from the machine formerly owned by Mr. Prosser. Another biplane of the "pusher" type is under consideration, but more of that later when it has passed from the embryonic state in which it exists at present. XXX The Germans appear to keep a sharp look out for our Naval aviators along the west coast of Schleswig- Holstein. According to a Danish friend who writes me, the German seaplanes are seen regularly twice a week coming up from the South and continuing up along the west coast of Jutland, Denmark. In the afternoon they are making the return journey, always just outside the three-mile limit. Occasionally they are accompanied by a Zeppelin, but more usually they are alone. My corre spondent expresses the wish, in wHch we can all heartily join, that IF the Germans succeed in getting some of their Zeppelins to England, they will be greeted warmly by a hail of shrapnel and other bric-a-brac and brought down. " ^EOLUS." Earl S. Daugherty, the American aviator, in his Gnome-engined Morane-Borel monoplane. This machine is the fifteenth Mr. Daugherty has piloted. On the right he is seen just getting away. 1162
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