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Aviation History
1916
1916 - 0025.PDF
ALL communications in connection with this section should be addressed to the Model Editor, '* FLIGHT," 44, St. Martin's Lane, London, W.C. Correspondents are requested to write on one side of the paper only. The Public Interest In Models. FROM Felixstowe Mr. S. C. Waggett sends the following contri bution to this discussion :— " I am of the same opinion as ' Scale Model' in your issue of December 1st. It is necessary, if a model aeroplane club is to be a success, that it must have rules that will keep ihe ' flying sticks' out of it, for if anyone went to see a club flying these ' sticks,' which have no resemblance whatever to an aeroplane of repute, I am sure they would be doomed to disappointment; I, myself, am one of no doubt many more who have had that experience. " Two or three years ago, I thought of joining a club, but when I went to see them flying their models, instead of seeing some minia ture machines of what I had seen at Hendon, found nothing but 'flying sticks.' " I at once asked the members why they had no models of the full-sized type, some answered, • they did not know,' others were of the opinion they would be too heavy to go any distance or height, that is all they seemed to trouble about. " I am quite sure that this ' distance' idea is the reason why model aeroplane clubs are dying out. I think that if the clubs were to have rules that would bar these ' sticks,' and keep the models to the lines of full-sized machines, they would very soon have more members." Under the nam de plume " Model Enthusiast," one of our keenest model workers, who is now in the Royal Naval Air Service, writes:— " I heartily agree with Mr. W. E. Evans' excellent article in ' FLIGHT ' of December 31st. It is always a source of great pleasure to read such letters and to see drawings of real models in your paper. Surely ' flying sticks' have been developed quite enough by now, and no wonder the public takes no interest in them, as it cannot be very fasciiating to see a toy of this kind ' fly,' but, on the contrary, a scale model, with proper enclosed fuselage, and chassis, rising from the ground is well worth seeing. " A the present time I am about to experiment with a compressed air light scale model, and if successful I will send a drawing along. " May I here take the opportunity of congratulating ' FLIGHT ' on another year of its good work, and wishing it the best of success in the future. " I should also like to hear other readers' views on the subject under discussion." Scale Models u. Flying Sticks. Mr. Kingsley W. G. Pinney writes from Glasgow as follows :— " I should like to add a few comments to the letters on this sub ject in your issues of December 17th and 24th. From my limited experience, I consider that' flying sticks ' soon become uninteresting, except in rough weather, when they certainly cause some excite ment both to the aeromodellist and the spectator. On the other hand, I think the model which is built on more or less scale lines will always claim some interest, even from the most uninitiated. " I have had some experience with enclosed fuselage tractors, and at first the results were decidedly discouraging, but when I obtained flights of over ten seconds I resolved to continue with this type. " I consider that even if the aeromodellist breaks a chassis or two and perhaps a few propellers in the pursuit of the ' Scale Model,' he naturally tries to bring more inherent stability into his machine, and then he is well rewarded if it gains only half the duration of a ' flying stick,' by reason of its fine appearance in flight. (I have now in course of construction a tractor biplane with enclosed fuselage with a span of 4 ft. If this model is at all successful I shall be pleased to send you the drawings, as they may be of interest to some other readers.)" A reply to some of the points raised by Mr. H. Sibley in our issue of December 24th is to hand from '' Scale Model," as follows :— " After reading Mr. Sibley's interesting letter, one can only come to the conclusion that he takes most pleasure in obtaining duration ; that seems to be his criterion of success. He sums up his conclusion by saying that 'the greatest factor in model work, and full sire too for that matter, is motive power.' That, I contend, is the wrong attitude to take up. What would be far more useful would be to try and get the best out of a machine built within certain restrictions as to surface, weight lifted, power, &c. If the designers of full- sized machines were to specialise on one quality only—for instance, speed—they could produce a machine which would do marvels in that direction, but it would be absolutely impracticable for any useful purpose. " Mr. Sibley, too, seems to mix up experimental model flying with model competition. Those are two separate and distinct spheres of work which have very little in common, and in my original letter I was referring only to the latter. At the same time, Mr. Sibley is quite wrong in his disparagement of experimental model work. He need only look at the reports of the Advisory Committee for Aeronautics to see that. Valuable data has been and is still being obtained by the scientific testing of models. That is, however, entirely different to model competitions. One might as well compare a model yacht race with the work done with models in the William Froude Memorial tank." A Model Taube. Mr. David Hay writes from Denny, Scotland, as follows :— " I enclose two photos, of my Etrich Taube, which was built from drawings which appeared in ' FLIGHT.' Length, 5 ft. ; span, 5ft. 9 ins. propeder, 16 ins. diameter; wheels, 2$ ins. diameter; fitted with pilot's and passenger's seats ; and all parts workable, all planes double surfaced. I made the model for Christmas, and took the photos, before doping the machine, as I had an idea that the dope would change the colour of same. It took me three months to complete, but 1 made some flying models in between that time ; I think that is the best way when making such a model. I can get a good i mile out of my twin-propeller monoplane, which is flying nearly every Saturday. I must say that ' FLIGHT' is the only paper that is worth reading on such a subject." Two views of Mr. Hay's scale model Taube referred to above.
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