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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0164.PDF
fuselage per unit of volume will decrease with the increase insize of the aeroplane. The lower curve will have to be modified to meet these changed conditions, and the dottedcurve in Fig. 3 indicates the way in which the new curve will l>e plotted. This decrease in weight will have the usualcumulative effect of decreasing the weight of all the rest of the machine. The curves which are plotted are for horse-power per unitweight of the whole machine, and do not show so graphically the superiority of the large machine as if the curves of horse-power per unit of useful weight had been plotted instead of gross weight. In this case the curves for planes and bodywould have their vertical ordinance increased with the proportion of useful to total weight. The balance in favourof the large machine is thus apparent directly we compare machines of approximately the same total weight per horse-power. The conclusion that may be drawn from the abovetheoretical considerations of the aerodynamical and structural qualities of the large machine are that for the same totalweight carried per horse-power the big machine will effect the better performance.' SECTION V. The large machine from the pilot's standpoint. There has been very much less experience in the flying oflarge machines than with small ones, and therefore^ pilots are not so accustomed to their use, neither is the experience wideenough to draw general conclusions. It may, however, be safely said that large machines can be built to operatequite as easily and fly with as little fatigue as the best of the small ones. No Servo-motors are required for the controlsprovided the controlling surfaces are properly balanced. There is less work in flying a large machine owing to thewind gusts which seem large to a small machine, being re- latively small in their effect on a large one. A large machinewill plough its way through gusts without any control being necessary; whereas a good deal of warping might be necessaryon a small machine. The large machine can be handled more easily on the ground and can alight in smaller places. When considered from the point of view of load to be carriedor long distance to be flown, the large machine has it all its own way. Where a large load is to be carried the size of themachine to do it must be increased until the useful load is FEBRUARY 15. 1-917. sufficiently great. The size of the machine that is requiredfor the purpose depends on the total weight per horse-power that can be carried. There is here no question of competitionbetween large and small machines, it is a case of the correct machine for the purpose. For future commercial developments the large machinescores with plenty of room for passengers to sit in comfort or mails or luggage to be carried, and with its steadier movementwill afford greater comfort to those who travel by it. It is probable that commercial aeroplane work will be undertakenfor long distance journeys. Where delays at the commence- ment of the journey are a large percentage in time of thatnecessary to complete the distance, the possible time taken to traverse a given space may be as great or even greater thanthat taken by a more certain means of transit. It is the old question of the hare and the tortoise. Where, however, thedistance to be traversed is great, such as 1,000 to 2,000 miles, or with journeys such as crossing the Atlantic, the passengersor mails could afford to wait a day or two and will accomplish the journey far quicker than any other means 6f transitWere the commercial development of aviation confined to journeys of from 50 to 200 miles, delays at starting or the ( ostof organising to prevent them would cause the aeroplane sr use to be considerably nullified. It is this question of certainty in operation that requirescareful attention, for it is the one thing at the present time 1 hat the aeroplane requires in order that it may take its properplace in commercial work. Engines for this will probabh be more heavily built to reduce the possibility of breakdownand multi-engine machines will be used which can fly satis factorily even if one engine breaks down. Here again thispoints to the use of the larger machine. , . . Finally, it must be pointed out that the same impro\ c dperformance can be obtained from a large machine, whetht 1 for scouting, fighting, or weight carrying, provided that tin.specifications are the same in both cases. It is absurd 10 compare the performance of a weight-carrying machine withhigh values of useful weight per horse-power with a smn scout of very small useful weight per horse-power, an 1particular attention is therefore drawn to the methods cf comparison set out in Section 2, so that careful comparisonraav result. The Work of the R.F.C. TRIBUTE to the excellent work of the Royal Flying Corpsis rendered in a report written on February 4th by a company commander in the 31st German Infantry Regiment, belongingto the 18th Division, which was captured by our troops North of the Ancre. Describing the bombardment of his trenchfrom 11 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., he says :— " Enemy airmen were over our position the whole day andcame down very low. They directed the fire throughout. Our own artillery seems to have fired very little. Germanairmen appeared only towards evening, but the enemy's airmen would not let themselves be disturbed in their work.Nothing is left of the trench." Ministry of Munitions and Petroleum Supplies. THE Minister of Munitions has established a PetroleumBranch in the Ministry, to be known as the.Munitions Petro- leum Supplies Branch, to deal with questions of the provisionand distribution of petroleum and similar mineral oils for the purposes of the Ministry of Munitions. Mr. E. Houghton Frywill act as Director of the Branch. In connection with the investigation and development of hitherto unproved homesources of supply of mineral oils, the Minister will have the advantage of the services of Sir Boverton Redwood as Directorof Munitions Petroleum Research. Sir Boverton Redwood will have charge of the Research Section, including thedevelopment of the British sources of supply. In accepting tins position. Sir Boverton Redwood, who has been honoraryadviser on petroleum to the Government for many years, has stipulated that he is to receive no payment for his services.Professor John Cadman, C.M.G., President of the Institute of Petroleum Technologists, has been good enough to assistin the organisation of arrangements with the Scottish Shale Distilleries during the war. with a view to a considerableincrease in their output. Sir George Beilby is also assisting in an advisory capacity.A Thrilling Adventure. WRITING from the British Headquarters under date ofFebruary 9th to the Daily Telegraph. Mr. Philip Gibbs tells a very absorbing story of how two R.F.C. officers broughtback a hopelessly damaged machine, but if the tale is true in substance we can only conclude that some of the details havegot a little mixed in the telling. He says :— " The number and the high audacity of our men's adven- tures would need a book to tell, even for one month's record —and so little is told. Yet one that happened a few days ago is of extraordinary interest. Two of our officers were leadingan offensive patrol, when a high explosive shell burst lust behind the right lower wing of their aeroplane. The machinewas completelv riddled. Three tail booms were cut, one bladt of the propeller was blown away, and all the controls ex< cptthe elevator \vere put out of action, so that the aeroplane became uncontrollable. The junior officer of the two sawthat he must act quickly to prevent a crash. He climbed out three-quarters of the way to the tip of the right wing in oi dcrto balance the machine, and at 900 ft. above the earth steadied it. At 200 ft. the machine began to spin again, but by anothoibalancing trick on the wing the pilot and observer were abk to land in safety."A German Dodge. A SMALL German balloon, to which were attached wnewspapers printed in the French language, fell on the tit is near the Petit Palais, in the Champs Elysees, at 7 p.m. onthe evening of the 7th inst. It was secured and handed over to the military authorities.The Raids on Saarbrucken. A SPANIARD who, after living 111 Saarbrucken for anumber of years, recently arrived in Zurich, has given the following-account of the raids on that place to a representativeof the Daily Mail :— " French and British naval aircraft have made eight nightattacks on Saarbrucken. I'went through them all, but the first was the most terrifying, for the bombs fell in variousparts of the town causing a great panic and killing and wounding large numbers of people. Sirens were sounded toannounce the second raid, which made matters worse, for the town was in a panic before the enemy arrived. As a matterof fact on that occasion, and in all the later attacks, the town was not bombarded, only the blast furnaces at Burbach (asuburb) were attacked. " Judging by the numbers of workmen who were out ofwork for some time after each raid, the damage must have been considerable. The Germans have 12 batteries round thetown, but they were quite useless, as there are no searchlights, and the gunners were simply firing at the sky. The airmenswooped down very low, but even then it was almost im- possible to make them out." 164
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