FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1915
1915 - 0612.PDF
and the boat is divided into five watertight compartments. Six coats of Valspar outside and three coats inside are put on the hull, which has a total length of 24 ft. 6 ins., and he maximum beam is 3 ft. Pilot and passenger are seated id e by side immediately in front of the main planes, and he engine is mounted on strong bearers between the main pa rs of the lower plane. Of 8 ft. 6 ins. in diameter, the ro peller, mounted high up behind the main planes, is The 1915 75 hp. Benoist flying boat in flight. driven at engine speed by means of a roller chain- running in a tubular guard, while the pull of the chain is taken by a hollow radius rod. Mounted some two feet below the top plane the hollow steel propeller shaft extends forward as far as the cockpit, where provision is made for the engagement of a crank for starting the engine. A pair of spruce struts take thrust reaction, and at the same time contribute towards the support of the rear propeller shaft mounting. Top and bottom planes are of equal span, 36 ft., and have a chord of 5 ft. and a gap of 6 ft. They are also each in two sections, being divided midway where they are attached to the boat in the case of the lower plane, and to the innermost interplane struts in the case of the top sections. The aforementioned interplane struts, of which there are two pairs, are arranged A fashion, and it is to the apex of the A the top plane sections are attached. This arrangement is not only simple but forms a strong ® ® FLYING AT THE wind showed a very good speed range last Saturday afternoon, at one time putting up a velocity of about 35 m.p.h. and then dropping to a modest 10 or 15. This together with the rather stormy outlook curtailed somewhat the flying exhibitions and militated against a good "gate." After waiting patiently for something to happen, VV. Birchenough at last made a flight on a tri colour Maurice Farman "short-horn." But it was not until nearly 5 o'clock that official exhibitions commenced, when Beatty's bold bankers both began banking Beatty biplanes beautifully, blind to the boisterous behaviour of the barometer. C. B. Prodger had charge of the 60 h.p. machine, and W. Roche-Kelly the 50 h.p. They both remained up for some 10 or 15 mins., and executed all sorts of evolutions, so that one soon mixed up their identity. The next up simultaneously with a spasmodic kick of the ground anemometer was M. Osipenko on the new 50 h.p. G.-VV. bi-rudder school 'bus. These pilots and machines were the only ones out until later in the evening, when school work brought other pilots, pupils, and machines into active operation. If, as on such AUGUST 20, 1915. support for both planes and propeller mounting. There are three pairs of vertical struts on either side of the boat separating top and bottom planes. The planes themselves are constructed on more or less orthodox lines, the foremost of the two main spars for each plane forming the leading edge, the other being situated one foot from the trailing edge. Hinged to each outer extremity of the rear spars of both top and bottom planes is an aileron measuring 7 ft. by 1 ft, all four being interconnected, so that when the pair on one side moves up the pair on the other moves down. Under each extremity of the lower plane is mounted a float for supporting the wing tips on the water when the machine is taxying. The tail consists of a small stabilising surface of high aspect ratio, to the trailing edge of which are hinged two large elevator flaps with a partly balanced rudder in between. The lower portion of the latter is of wood and projects into the water, and thus acts as a water rudder when taxying. The whole tail is supported about two feet above the boat by a stout ash strut extending from the stern and by a series of bracing tubes. The control is either of the Benoist or Deperdussin type, the former consisting of two levers, the right-hand one operating the ailerons and elevators, and the left-hand one the rudder. If required, arrangements can be made for mounting the engine up between the planes, the main characteristics remaining as before. The specifications of Model "A," 75 h.p. two-seater, are :—Span, 36 ft.; chord, 5 ft.; gap, 6 ft.; supporting area, 360 sq. ft.; overall length, 28 ft.; weight, empty, 1,180 lbs. ; useful load, 650 lbs. Another model, " B," a 100 h.p. for two or more passengers, is also manufactured. This machine is practically the same as model " A," with the following principal modifications :—Span, 51 ft. 6 ins. ; supporting area, 497 sq. ft.; weight, empty, 1,390 lbs.; useful load, 800 lbs. The chord and gap are the same as in Model " A," and the engine can also be mounted between the planes if desired, in which case another seat is provided behind that of the pilot, where the engine would be if located in the hull. The latter is similar to that of the other model, and has a beam of 3 ft. 6 ins., and a length of 24 ft. tt © HENDON. occasions as this particular Saturday afternoon, little airwork is to be seen, lovers of glorious sunsets are more than compensated for any lack of interest in that direc tion. A machine or two silhouetted against rose-tinted and gold-lined storm clouds as was witnessed on Saturday is a sight not easily forgotten. It was almost weird in its great beauty. Sunday's weather was still stormy, although on the whole it was a much smoother day. There was a little more flying than on the previous day, with the addition of a few extra pilots and machines. The Grahame- White stud, Marcus D. Manton, M. Osipenko, and J. S. B. Winter, were busy with passengers on the 50 h.p. G.-W. school 'buses, whilst C. B. Prodger represented the Beatty stable on the 60 h p. Beatty-Wright. J. L. Hall brought out his 45 h.p. Caudron, whilst similar-type machines made their appearance in the 50 h.p. and 60 h.p. Ruffy-Baumann biplanes, flown by G. Virgilio and E. Baumann respectively. As usual, school work formed an interesting conclusion to the afternoon's programme. 2
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
