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Aviation History
1916
1916 - 0775.PDF
•"'•.'. • •• " • SEPTEMBER 7, 1916. THE " Super-Fokkers," of which so much was heard some time back, were not, of course, such formidable engines of war as they were " talked " up to be. They were very like the ordinary Fokker, with the exception that they were well stream-lined, hence their power to dive at a tremendous speed They were probably of the " neutral stability " type—that is to say, having their e.g., c.l. and c.d. practically coinciding and therefore quick on the controls. THE practice of testing aeroplane motors in racing cars is growing in America. The hill-climb up the Pike's Peak highway, Cal., on August 12th was won by a Romano car fitted with an eight-cylinder aero motor of 402-12 cubic ins displacement. SOME interesting—in fact, " werry " interesting—develop ments may be expected in connection with the new Werry engine. Pace the Censor. This much may be said, however, that it is of the horizontally opposed type. BUT not the usual horizontally opposed type as we know it to-day. SOME of the parts, of which there is ordinarily only one in each engine, are multiplied by two in the Werry, while in other instances the parts of which there are many in the orthodox motor are divided by two in the Werry. FOR the present readers must try and think it out for them selves. NOT the least valuable feature of the Werry engine is that it is possible to get at the valves of one cylinder and to replace them while the engine is running. The engine will, we under stand, be made for a start in two sizes—one smaller one, to be air-cooled, and a larger one to be water-cooled. THE aeroplanes of our new ally Rumania bear the French red, white and blue rosette. (^ACTION is being taken by the Norwegian authorities against the captain of a Zeppelin who attempted to smuggle a cargo of rubber from Christiania.^whether by Zepp. or otherwise deponent sayeth not. THE aeroplane has once again come to the rescue in the case of an emergency. The trials of a U.S. Navy seaplane at Hammondsport were being held up by the non-delivery of a new propeller, which had been constructed at Buffalo, 119 miles away. It was impossible to send the propeller by a Model R. 5 Curtiss military biplane was deliver the goods." I/LIGHT1 rail in time, so requisitioned to FIGHTING H E ZEPPS. A VIVID account of the work of the aeroplanes in attacking the raiding airships has been told by an officer of the Royal Flying Corps who assisted in the work. He said that the machine which he was piloting, a high-power biplane, had reached an altitude of nearly 10,000 ft. before he was able to engage the raider. " Two other aeroplanes were endeavouring to engage the airship, which was making frantic efforts to get away, at the same time firing with machine guns. The Zeppelin was travelling at top speed, first diving and then ascending, and apparently Lieut. W. L. Robinson, who was the officer piloting the biplane which had first attacked the raider, anticipated the manoeuvre. " The commander of the airship threw out tremendous black clouds of smoke, which completely hid him from our view, and in which he managed to rise. A few seconds later we saw the airship a couple of thousand feet above us, and at the same altitude was Lieut. Robinson, although a matter of, perhaps, half a mile away. Immediately Robinson 77 WITH the propeller lashed in front of the cock-pit, Victor Carlstrom started off from the Buffalo field, and arrived at Hammondsport 1 hr. 2 mins. later, having encountered a rainstorm en route. The test was then satisfactorily carried out, and on the following morning the aero-express carrier returned to Buffalo. LIEUT. L,AUB, of the Danish Flying Corps, recently broke the distance record for Denmark on a 90 h.p. Curtiss machine by making a continuous night of 435 miles. WONDER how many times round Denmark he had to fly ? AND whether it made him giddy ? TEN YEARS AGO. Excerpts from the Auto. (" FLIGHT'S " precursor and sister Journal) of September 1st, 1906. " FUGHT " was founded in 1008 :— THE LONG-EXPECTED ANNOUNCEMENT. It is announced from Spitsbergen, by way of Christiania, that owing to the lateness of the season Mr. Wellman has abandoned his plan of reaching the North Pole by airship. SIR HIRAM MAXIM AND THE CONQUEST OF AIR. Sir Hiram Maxim, it would appear, has become a convert to flapping flight as the best method of solving the aerial problem. . . . His views on the subject of the superiority of flapping flight are summarised in the following observa tions :— " With regard to the aeroplane, I am not at all wedded to that system, although I have carried out numerous experi ments with it. I have studied the question for a great number of years with the assistance of one of the greatest mathe maticians in the world, and I am now inclined to the belief that there is another and a better way. I have lately been studying the movements of the wings of large birds, and I find that these may be closely imitated, and that without any levers, cams, connecting-rods or articulated joints. In short, I have discovered a means of performing the functions of wings in a very simple and direct manner." THE SANTOS DUMONT EXPERIMENTS. Valuable information in regard to the Santos Dumont experiments has been supplied by Capt. Ferber, the well- known expert in such matters. As coming from him, the remarks carry special weight, and give a more encouraging view of the possible outcome of M. Santos Dumont's new departure than many people previously have been disposed to form. So far the aeroplane has only run on the ground on its wheels, but it is stated to be extremely controllable, and that with the 24 h.p. Levavasseur motor with which it is at present fitted, and with which on its bicycle wheels it attains a velocity over the ground of 25 kiloms. per hour, a very con siderable lift is obtained. AN AEROPLANE CONTROLLED BY WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. Prof. Graham Bell's aeroplane, which apparently does not carry an operator, but is controlled by wireless telegraphy from the ground, has recently, it is cabled, gone through a satisfactory test in America. It is stated to have risen to a height of 200 ft. from the ground, turning a complete circle, and alighted within a few feet of the starting point. B (si BY AEROPLANES. headed his machine for the raider, and flying at a terrific speed, it appeared that he was going to charge the monster. I shall never forget the sight of the blazing airship as it fell. Away up above the clouds, 12,000 ft. from the earth, the scene was terrifying in its grandeur. A huge sheet of flame cast a brilliant red glow over the black sky above, tinting to a vivid pink the clouds beneath. " As the Zeppelin took fire a second airship was seen approaching, and this now occupied our attention. The commander of that craft, however, seeing the fate of il><- fa I Zeppelin, evidently considered that discretion was the better part of valour, for he turned tail and scurried off as fast as his engines would enable him to travel. At such a height and in the darkness it was impossible to pick him up. He had a good start, and made the most of it. I am told that German aeroplanes accompanied the Zeppelins, but of this all I can say is I saw none on Sunday morning, although other officers claim to have done so."
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