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Aviation History
1915
1915 - 0964.PDF
NOVEMBER 26, 1915. THE "ARRIVAL" OF THE AEROPLANF * ALGERN0N E. BERRIMAN> M.LA^AF_AeS> Chief Engineer of the Daimler Co; Co~ry ~;nd (Coneludid'from fage 906.) apparent that increased power must be expended to manitain level flight; if the necessary reserve is not available, the machine must descend while turning, which at once opens up a source of potential danger when it is realised how easily a pilot may get trapped over water and bad ground when flying low with inadequate engine power. § ' ° Th* n * „• c°'lir°i' a»dSi ability. •JtteSKKSStSr*^. V *' we have only of economy .0?ny other ow? maf hjne s™ilar in its principles remains, however the fP°Wer-ProPelled vehicle or craft. There direction in the air Th?/ ^l^ pr°blem of its baIance and much complexity 'far bevnrfn.^em °f aer?Plane stability is one of even propertytint7od£e Sri T\W -°f ^ ^^ Such as this enumerate lheeoSS«d/ ^ IT® be the best Plan if 1 modern aeroplane^ £.? of c°ntroI'hat are to be found on any to the princ^les undel^kfehfCh remarks and ref««ces "dating the pur^pose of exolainin^h • m aS Seem appropriate to serve both to sourcL of furSrr^ron30'1^ "* °f directi"g the *** twT^arSoSS* b9Ui",their firSt gUder iD ***>> they employed was aCizon aS dtoolf^r ^ the " WarP"" Tbe ***« projecting T front oF^e" ^If ^f °,n an 0utri^ fra™ pitchine bv admE,;„„ .il w.lnSs- Its function was to correct modern macWnefhg he attltude of ,he machine in flig«t. On to the^taH plane * iMSS,? commo^ a hinged flap fxtension is moved To and fro . /h™™"7 2penlted ** means of a lever that the machine to flca'fir^luT^ T^* °f the lever causinS each attitude of tLTU -n) and mce versa- Inasmuch as level flight ,he ekvalor /ne "^ * different Ve,0cily t0 ™^™ control n'JiSt ™y be r.egarded as the ^ange-speed used onanautmoble Ther"56.!^ the S^VV3 lever is use of this organ,™ adustin^h- ?£ "eIervator * derived from the it has no power in ffdlf f8 a"Uude °f the machme for climbing ; that manoeuvre X tCM"e' 5 T&ke the machine ascend- ^ force. °nIy be caused bv ««ting a surplus driving of thTetine fifi ^h^f' "* C°ntr°,led by the manipulation the machine into,hi 'tt^H'fT1" me,rely adJUStS the Glance of its speed and dTe-tion wlS 1°"gUudlnaI equilibrium proper to climb continuous but Z^tSl?*™ P°Wer' itis ^PossTble to feet by moSJlnd a .1 ^ ""?- be jerked UPWards a few suddenly tilted! he eXpenSe °f Its sPeed if the elevator is tb^tteoSS SV^ thJ WiDg StrUCtUre WaS Cont"-d so thereby ^^Sdal ffil*fci 5* *2V,"*e ^ tip became finer and that of h-^ "^ e g attitude. 0t the other 8reater than the normal for correcting any "ndenrvnffh'^l6 ,D preJSUre Was ™»Ployed purpose of4Z U?„ the nlraChlne t0 ro11' and also f°r the Wrfghts found by^perkncSih0'" rUdd,Cr ^ kter' When the results. Used i/l • tbe u warP alone gave unsatisfactory possible to telaL "i nliiwnW,t^Lhe rUdde.r' h0wcver> k became %ht path and ThVimnTn C r1^0"1 yawiDS from the intended somarLd \Sthe wThtl lot f-** *? ^ c^bination was to have establ shed itself in T S?" bv.aPaten*- that seems claim. dolIsnea itself m the enviable position of a " master - b.r%niIcUlthetw-,rnd-der " ^^ by foo'-P«ssure on a pivotted mourned^ hrP,of?h^latefd byahandwhed '"at Pis often essentia, link £A&£Z£r** ^ ^ ^ iS thuS an of 7he^ng tiprcPal?eU^wthOUththeKrUdderl:the ™e^ <esista»«s to correct/ K ruddPerT^^'C. S VS the pmp°Se °f lhe rudd« liable to drift, for T,has o 1 ?,1 T f°,r SteeHng' ,he machiDe is ability to change ksdrer.ainnHttle/aUral Vertlcal surface that its that is to say on the 'Th PennS °St entirelvon "banking," tilt the win7prLure7nwarde/f0lllng,OVe;SideWayS efficiently to circle. BafkmT s n/" towards/he centre of the turning inasmuch «"the mere ^^ pr°m°ted,by the USe of the rudd«. tip and «"Jves ri e to ^ IIIthe machne accelerates one wing this action fs ordinarilv ,„&? fB C°Upleu In Some machines Wnb^W^ro^nlccounTof hi' W^htS' see." Aviation," Chap. XII. For the American Society of Western British Government was about io ensue b" °f ,W5r a test case a£ainst the of the plaintiffs. Ue' but was settled ou' of court in favour 928 STffff//yg FQfCEr COMPONENT Or*/#/'/r£SSO-#C Ut- SUPPO/TT/NG MACHINE. Ai/rpeessupe ON WING W//»g IN FHONT etevATION. Fig. 8.—Diagram illustrating how a s*eericg force is ob' tatned by banking the aeroplane. An aeroplane has very little natural vertical surface to prevent drift, and steering is, therefore, accomplished by backing the wings. Banking results in a reduction of the vertical supporting force, and the aeroplane must descend while turning, unless there is sufficient reserve power (See Fig. 7) to increase the speed or to enable the machine to fly at a steeper angle. Stability. Thus far I have confined myself to the pilot's control of the aeroplane, and have ignored entirely the machine's control of itself, which is properly to be discussed under the heading of stability. It is obvious that aeroplanes in flight must, even in the finest weather, constantly be subjected to disturbances. If, when disturbed, they tend automatically to recover their equi librium, they are said to be stable : vice versa, instability implies that the disturbance augments itself until the aeroplane comes to grief. There has never been any question as to the undesirability of defigning an unstable aeroplane, but there has been considerable difference of opinion as to the degree to which it should be stable. Stability is, after all, mainly a problem of degree when it comes to a question of practical design, and, contrary to the belief of most inventors of stability devices, the stability of the more successful flying machines of to day is very nearly neutral. At one time it was supposed that an aeroplane could not possibly be too stable—but this point of view disregarded the vital necessity of a responsive control. A very strong tendency to recover itself, or to resist disturbance, may be a desirable enough quality when the disturbance is accidental, but it becomes sheer mulishness when the disturbance is a voluntary act of control. Responsiveness to the pilot's manipulation of the levers is a quality of very great importance in an aeroplane, and it is opposed to the existence of strong self-righting tendencies. In short, the verdict of the practical flier is in favour of a machine that is nearly neutral—stable, but not too much so. It redounds very much to the pluck and perseverance of the pioneers that the problem of producing a fly able aeroplane was solved first by practice, but it is also to the credit of the mathe maticians that it should also have succumbed to theoretical analy sis. From Leonardo da Vinci onwards there has hardly been a generation that did not produce its inventors of flying machines, but it was not until our own time that any real attempt was made to ride the air. Very few among the earlier thinkers seem to have grasped the possibility of gaining actual flying experience in the air by means of a very simple apparatus—the glider. For the most part, they were all concerned with the impossibility of making a suitable engine, and failed to appreciate that nature § For accounts of some of the most noteworthy accidents, see "Aviation," Chap. XVII. In England, accidents are investigated by a Special Committee of the Royal Aero Club. In iqi2, the Government appointed a Departmental Committee to investigate certain accidents that had occurred to monoplanes, and the report can be obtained from H.M. Stationery Office.
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