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Aviation History
1916
1916 - 0188.PDF
IfjJQ^ MARCH 2, 1916. TO KEEP THE HANDS WARM. COI.D handi, unlike "cold feet," are a symptom that most aviators ofien experience with extreme discomfort. Ordinary gloves, no matter how thick they may be, are not always successful in keeping the intense cold from the ringer tips, and numbed finger tips are of little u-e, not to say a source o( danger, when handling an aeroplane or moscr car. We have just had brought to our notice two ingenious devices which in actual practice have proved a remedy for this unpleasantness. The fir»t consists of electrically heated gloves, the essential features of which are the use of an electric heating element distri- Tor AN GtNtRATOR IniU'd throughout the lingers and back of lioth hands, which when connected to a light fan-driven generator, gives uniform heating all over the hand i and the use of a contact arrangement on the control wheel, so that there are no cords attached to the gloves to interfere with the free use of the hands. Inside the heavy leather glove is 09 sewn a woollen lining, through which is laced the flexible wire which carries the electric current. This wire is threaded into each finger and over the back of the hand, and is arranged and covered in such a manner that it does not come in contact with the hand at any point. The wire terminates at two small brass discs which are attached to the outside of the leather glove, one on the inside of the thumb, and the other on the forefinger opposite to the one on the thumb. A pair of contact plates cut from thin non-corrosive metal are attached to the wheel. These are made to fit the segment perfectly, and so arranged as to obviate any abrasion of the gloves on the rim of the wheel. A neat switch is provided so that the current can be shut off when the heat is not required. It is claimed that no amount of saturation will short circuit the current, and the gloves are made with a view to very long service. The grip obtained is better than that when mittens are used, as the fingers can be freely moved. When the wheel is grasped the contacts on the thumb and finger of the glove automatically come into contact with the metal plates, thus completing the electric circuit through the glove. The electric contact between the buttons on the gloves and the plates on the wheel will not vary appreciably under normal conditions of use, as the pressure would have to be much lighter than'that necessary to manipulate the wheel before the current would be interrupted. The amount of heat required will depend upon the temperature, wind, and speed of the machine, but it is easily regulated by breaking contact with the forefinger. No overheating will be experienced, as the heat becomes constant after a few minutes' con tact. An electrical test which was conducted in an independent laboratory, showed a rise in temperature of 400 above a surrounding air temperature of 700, and a rise of 61° in twelve minutes. These results were obtained with a pair of gloves which had already been in use two seasons, and one glove was soaked in water before being tested, but the water had no appreciable effect. It may be in teresting to note that the heating element which is woven into the gloves is composed of 63 fine strands of a non-rusting alloy, and is so flexible that it cannot be detected when the glove is on the hand, but has, neverthele-s, a tensile strength of 100 lbs. The other device to which reference has been made consists of two neat leather covered grips one for each hand, which lace on to the wheel at any convenient position. Resistance wires are arranged between t»o copper plates in such a way that a very small current is sufficient to keep the grips warm. It is claimed that with this device the hands can be kept warm in light gloves or mittens. Both these heating devices, which are already in extensive use in America on automobiles, are being marketed in this country by Mr. Lyman J. Seely, of 17, Surrey Street, Strand, London, W.C., to whom enquiries should be addressed. ® ® Ufc la ft mirror—smile at It and it will smile back; frown at it and it will frown ag-ain.' He was Covered ail Right- As he crawled out of the wreck of his aeroplane a solicitous friend asked : " Are you covered ?" "Yes, he said sadly, " with mud, blood, chagrin, and insurance. It that enough?" I ! I English Spoken. AMERICAN AVIATOR: "Parlex-vous Anglais?" Tut: PARISIENNK: "Oui, un peu—Kees me queeck : Do you lofcme? 'Old me tight! Damn! 'Ell !"— Puck, New York. Ill Back to Earth. THE sick airman had just come out of a lonjr delirium. "Where am I?" he said, feebly, as he felt the loving hands making him comfortable "Where am I? In heaven?" " No, dear," cooed his devoted wife. " I am still with you."— Kansas City Jettrnal. I I t STARS are not seen during sunshine—unless you make a bad landing. "Some S«ory." IN the Berlinfskc Tidende, a Copenhagen journal, the following story was published from a corre pondent at Luxor as a specimen of the entertaii.irg items of war news which, at the time of the futile attempt last year against Egypt, were circulated—and believed—in Egypt:— "A German Taube, under cover of darkness, made an exceed ingly audacious but successful flight to London. It made its way to Buckingham Palace, flew in through a window, took King George V prisoner, and brought His Majesty to Germany without the smallest accident." An unbelieving Arab asked the narrator how such a big machine could get through a window. Thereupon the narrater pointed to a wealthy officer's house which has particularly large windows, and said : If Captain, »ho is an ordinary mortal like you and me, has such large windows, what sort of windows must King George have, who is King of England and Emperor of India ? " ! ! ! COME to think of it his Lordship is not the first aerial Derby of which we have heard.— Whipped Topics. 188
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