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Aviation History
1915
1915 - 0151.PDF
Edited by V. E. Some Remarks on Kites and Windmills. DURING the whole time that this section of FLIGHT has been in existence, now more than three years, the writer has not received half-a-dozen communications relating to," kites." This is a somewhat striking fact, but it is nevertheless true. It is also a fact to be re gretted, as we owe a great deal to the kite, mainly, perhaps, in the domain of meteorology, and this apparent absolute neglect is a matter for thought. The kite section of the Kite and Model Aeroplane Association has in the past, we believe, always been quite a small section, although an extremely keen one. So far as we know, no use has been made of kites in the present war, nor is there any war kite squadron in existence. The aeroplane has completely and totally eclipsed the kite, just as steam and the internal-combustion motor have completely superseded the windmill as a source of power for grinding corn and other purposes. In war or, indeed, in the ordinary competitive business rela tions of daily life, it would be nothing less than the height of foolishness not to use the latest, most certain and reliable methods ; but old and discarded things have a habit, not unfre- quently, of suddenly acquiring in certain cases practical value, and their complete neglect can only leave their neglectors in the lurch at the critical moment. Any modern English engineer would probably only smile at the idea of using a windmill as a practical and reliable source of power for the generation of electrical energy. And yet such a system is in fairly common use in North Germany and Denmark, not only for the supply of isolated farm-houses, but even for village lighting and power production. It is true that in practically all these cases a steam or oil-engine is kept as a standby, yet it is found that the number of days in a year on which this engine is required are so few that anyone who proposes to light his house or to provide himself with power on a small scale need not go to this additional expense. So simple is the entire apparatus to construct that any aeromodellist could accomplish it with ease. Full instruc tions are given in a book which lies before me as I write, price 6d. Now, apart from the desire to make use of the same, what have windmills to do with aeromodellists ? They have or might have this. Aeromodellists with their knowledge of aerofoil surfaces, &c, and of the action of the wind on the same, might well, by the aid of a little experiment, improve the present type of sails or vanes, the efficiency of which, in many cases, must be remarkably low. Of course the two problems differ in many ways, but most windmill practice is hopelessly out of date in this respect. With respect to the question of kites, it is curious how few aeronautical enthusiasts appear to have studied both kites and model aeroplanes. We know, of course, of a few instances, but the line of demarcation has been a very sharp one indeed. And yet a small 7«w-man-Iifting kite is nothing but a captive model aeroplane. Perhaps a few remarks on The practical utility of the kite and a few of the things that it has done may not be out of place. In 1870 Dr. Franklin, by attaching a wire to a kite and leading it JOHNSON, M.A. down the string, the kite being flown during an approaching thunderstorm (a fearfuly dangerous experiment, which no one should attempt to copy), was able to identify the tremendous effects of a lightning flash with the spark obtained from an electrical machine. In 1826 Dr. Pocock of Bristol made a large kite, 12 ft. by 15 ft., and used it for drawing a carriage along the road (note the recent revival of sand yachts, or, as they were called at Southport 25 years ago, Flying Dutchmen). For a number of years, prior to the Spanish-American war, kites had been employed for taking bird's-eye views of the surrounding country. An altitude of 400 ft. only places several square miles of country within range of the photographic eye. A kite having a height of some 6 ft. and a surface of about 30 ft. should be sufficient for small scale experiments of this kind. All kinds of signalling both for war and other purposes has been carried on by means of kites for many years. In some instances (in the day time) three flags have been sent up, one representing the Morse " dash," another the "dot," a third serving to distinguish between the different signals on the line at the same time. At night coloured lights were employed ; obviously these could be electrically manipu lated. We should scarcely advise any enthusiast trying experiments of this kind, in the middle of Wimbledom Common say, at the present time, unless he was looking for trouble. Quite a number of special apparatus using kites have been designed, and even patented, for saving life at sea. The trouble in actual practice, however, is that in the case of shipwreck the wind |is generally blowing in towards the shore, and consequently the kite carrying the line, &c, would have to be flown from the ship or from a boat on the seaward side of the wreck. It must be admitted that in a case of this kind the rocket apparatus is de cidedly quicker and more effectual, although there are, no doubt, cases in which the kite could be used with advan'age. In the past kites were frequently employed by steeplejacks for the pur pose of placing a thin line over the summit of a tower or chimney, by means of which a thicker one could be hauled up. One of the latest uses to which the kite has been successfully applied is that of wireless telegraphy. It is obvious that by means of a suitable team of kites a much longer and higher wire for the aerial can be employed than when using a mast; and the necessary tackle is also much less. Several systems of man-lifting kites have been invented, and successfully put into practice, although so far as we know but little actual practical use of them has been made up to the present. It was suggested to the writer that they might be flown from the stern of a ship with a view to detecting the presence of submarines, now so much in evidence. Whether such a thing has actually been tried we do not know ; as an experiment it would be a most interesting one. The travel of the ship through the water would, in a compara tive calm, make the kite independent of any wind, but, if the ship were travelling so many knots an hour in the same direction as the wind, blowing at the same (average) velocity, any kite flying would BRISTOT AND WEST OF ENGLAND AERO CLUB.—Mr. W. A. Smallcombe's hydro-aeroplane (with loaded ™Sx$£t£^ScSL%ens,C\ihon. Weight 5* «. Photograph taken and enlarged byMr.R. M. Haines. 151
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