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Aviation History
1915
1915 - 0108.PDF
rjycHT mounted on the top of the body, with a flexible trailing edge acting as an elevator. Above and below this were two diamond-shaped vertical surfaces, which acted as fins and rudders. The engine, a 50 h.p. Clerget, was mounted in the nose of the body, and drove a tractor screw direct, whilst the pilot sat in a cockpit behind. The original under-carriage was of the Bleriot type, with a central hockey-like skid. A large number of important flights were made on this machine—completed at the end of 1909 —with the result that several replicas were constructed. The next machine to be built (in 1910), however, was more or less an experiment, and differed somewhat in construction. The main difference, as will be seen on referring to (a), Fig. 4, consisted of the short streamline body and the landing carriage. The former terminated just behind the wings, which had a similar plan-form as Etrich II, where the tail commenced—a similar practice to that followed just recently by Fokker on his mono planes. The wings were braced to a central A mast and by four king posts, a wheel being fitted to the lower extremi ties of each outer king post. The under carriage con sisted of a single central skid, behind which was sprung a wheel. The engine, a 60 h.p. Clerget, was mounted in the nose of the body, and the pilot sat behind. This machine had a span of 15 m., a supporting area of 32 sq. m., and a length of 10 m., its total weight, ready for the air, being 460 kgs. It had a speed of 80 kms. per hour. Another experimental machine was the " Schwalbe " or "Swallow," (/>) Fig. 4, built in 1912. The wings of this machine were almost true crescent-shape, the leading edge being curved from tip to tip. They were set at a dihedral angle and upturned at the tips, and the right- hand wing had a small window formed in it close to the body. The flexing elevator-tail was swallow-shape, and had the usual two diamond-shaped rudder-fins above and below it. The body, circular in section, was built up of tubular steel longitudinals and wooden rings, the whole being covered with fabric. In the nose of the body was the 60 h.p. engine, with the radiator immediately behind it. Behind this were three seats, one behind the other, the last being the pilot's. The control consisted of a vertical column and wheel, a backwards and forwards movement of the former operating the elevator, and a rotating of the latter actuating the rudders; no wing warping was employed, the flexibility of the wings alone being relied upon to maintain lateral stability. The chassis consisted of a central skid connected to the body by three pairs of V struts, and a sprung axle carrying a pair of wheels. The " Swallow," which was constructed mostly of steel, had a span of i3'25 m., an overall length FEBRUARY 12, 1915. of 87 m., weighed 45 kgs., and had a speed of 112 kms. per hour with three up. Another machine, (c) Fig. 4, was a totally enclosed military monoplane built in 1912. The wings were of orthodox Etrich form, cable braced top and bottom, having a span of 12 m. The fish-shaped body was built up of wooden channel-section longitu dinals, and wooden rings, covered with sheet aluminium from the nose to just behind the wings, and with fabric for the remainder. The wings were attached to the body high up, and the sides of the body underneath were cut so as to form windows. Inside the body were four seats, two pairs in tandem, the pilot being at the rear. The windows were of wire gauze and celluloid. A 60 h.p. Austro-Daimler engine was mounted high up in the nose of the body. The undercarriage consisted of a tubular axle and pair of wheels connected to the body by four tubular steel struts. Later this machine was altered, the seats were placed higher up, so that the pilot and pas- The evolution of the Etrich Taube. senger protruded above the body, whilst an additional wheel was mounted under the nose. Neither of these two machines showed to any particular advantage, and did not, therefore, form an important part of the Etrich programme. Fig. 5 shows the latest form of Etrich monoplane. The wings are of a modified Etrich form, with the tips only slightly swept back and up turned. They are cable braced in the orthodox mono plane style. The tail is of the hinged elevator type, with a partially balanced rudder and vertical fin above it. The body somewhat resembles that of the Morane- Saulnier, the pilot and passenger being similarly seated. The engine is an 80 h.p. Gnome, mounted in the nose of the body under a metal cowl. The under-carriage con sists of. a central short skid connected to the body by two pairs of V struts, and a divided axle, carrying a pair of wheels. The outer ends of the axle are connected to the body by two shock-absorbing rods. The 1913 Etrich Taube. IO8
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