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Aviation History
1914
1914 - 1198.PDF
lA^D DECEMBCK II, 1914. THE RYLEY GLIDER. By LESLIE G. RYLEY (Coventry Aero Club). " DRAGON-FLY I" made its debut on Saturday, August 21st. Before describing the gliding capabilities of the machine the method of transport will perhaps be of interest to town readers who contemplate building a portable biplane glider in a "microscopic hangar." Rising at 6 a.m. we found the weather was very misty but by the time the various parts had been collected on to the writer's lawn—which had previously been cut and Tolled to facilitate erection—the fog cleared sufficiently to enable us to start work. By 8.30 the various exten sions were held in position by temporary wires, then came excellent towed flights were made both with and without a pilot, the wind being about 10 m.p.h., but owing to the field being rather small we were almost into the hedge before the machine lifted the writer, whose weight is over 10 stone. The latter's brother, a youngster of 7 years, had three excellent "joy rides" of about 80 yards in length, much to his enjoyment. Mr. Shorter, who, it will be remembered, recently constructed a cycloplane, made a good glide while lying down on the bottom plane. The only smash occurred when the above pilot was running in the plane, i.e., between the front and rear spars. This Mr. L. G. Ryley's glider, of which a description appeared in FLIGHT of November 6th. On the left is seen the glider at rest, where it will be noticed how the elevator and its outrigger are clipped along the planes in order to facilitate transport. On the right the "Dragon-fly" Is just getting off. Mr. Ryley can be seen In the rear actuating the elevator by ropes. an interval. Three hours afterwards, the whole of the main planes were braced up, which, considering the number of struts and the fact that all the wires had to be -cut off to length, as well as making some extra clips, was not a bad start. The elevator and its outrigger were then clipped along the planes as shown in the photograph. The next item on the programme was to get the glider out of the garden, which obstacle was surmounted by lifting the machine bodily over a 6-foot hedge. Four •cycles were commandeered, and with the skids resting on the saddles we pushed the whole arrangement " end-on " up to the ground, where it was only necessary to push the outrigger' into its sockets and connect up the elevator together with its wires. With regard to the flying some ® ® ENEMY PATENTS RELATING TO AERONAUTICS. LIST of British patents which have been granted in favour of residents of Germany, Austria, or Hungary, specially compiled for FLIGHT, by Lewis Wm. Goold, Chartered Patent Agent, Enrolled Patent Attorney in the United States, 5, Corporation Street, Birmingham, who will supply full copies of any of the patents, price %d. each, and from whom the latest particulars upon the .Register of Patents can be obtained. Furnished in view of the new Patents Acts, which empower the Board of Trade to confer upon Brithh subjects the right to manu facture under enemy patents. No. 7520/11. Starting. A starting-device of the kind in which a piston-rod engaging the ground is driven out of a fixed cylinder by means of compressed gas generated for example by the explosion of gunpowder. Rheinischen Metallwaaren- und Maschinenfabrik, Germany, No. 9155/11. Shelters for air-ships. Air-ship garages of cylin drical form are provided with sectional roofs which are circum- ferentialty movable so as to afford free access from the entrance. Krumholr, A., Germany. No. IOOOI/II. Balancing, plane*, arrangement of, parachutes. method was suggest by Mr. T. W. K. Clarke some years ago. Mr. Shorter not having much " leg-room" was hardly fast enough for the towers, and consequently when the machine lifted he jumped on to the trailing instead of the leading edge. The machine rose and landed " edge-on " with its elevator vertical. The pilot being unable to get out owing to the rear spar and diagonal wires dropped on a stanchion and broke it. This was the only damage sustained, although the machine landed rather heavily on several occasions—the low-built chassis holding up to the strain in an excellent manner, while the bottom plane and elevator had a good " cushioning " effect on the machine by compressing the air between themselves and the ground. ® ® Supporting-planes provided with keel planes are pivoted freely about axes, the inclination of which may be varied, so that when the axes are not vertical, the pivotal movement of the planes causes a variation of the angle they make with the horizontal. The construction may be so arranged that any increase in the force of the wind would produce a corresponding decrease in the inclination of the supporting-planes. Raabe, M., Germany. No. 12542/11. Aerial machines, without aerostats; parachutes; propelling. An aerial machine adapted for observation pur poses is raised by a propeller driven by a motor arranged on the floor of the car, the propeller rotating above a funnel- shaped cylinder which is surrounded by a permanently open parachute. Steering:—By displacing the centre of gravity the machine is caused to ascend laterally. Ostermal, C, Germany. No. 14334/11. Aerostats. Balloon envelopes which contain rubber are provided with a colour coating impervious to the ultra-violet rays of light, and with a metal coating. If the balloon envelope comprises two layers of material, one of these may be coloured and the other melal -coated. Kirchner, W., Germany. Dated January 25th, 1911. 1198
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