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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0977.PDF
••" ~* SEPTEMBER 20, 1917. mately took on board General Von Werneburg, Inspector of Railway Military Engineers. By the time the evolutions of the Gross airship had been completed, it was rejoined by the Parseval, and both made very successful descents at the same time> Another important passenger who recently went up in the Parseval was Herr von Hollman, former Secretary of the Imperial Navy, and who was responsible for founding the German society for studying dirigible balloons. . THE FIRST BRITISH MILITARY AIRSHIP. In the annals of our country, Tuesday of this Week musj for ever stand out as a red-letter day, for it was then that the great British military airship—Which has been aptly named " Nulli Secundus "—proved its affinity with its natural element for the first time. . . . After the few necessary adjustments, such as can alone be made imme- diately before a machine is set in motion, the engine was started and propellers given a trial spirit after which, at a signal from Col. Capper, who was at the wheel, the great • dirigible balloon was allowed to ascend quietly into the air, also carrying on board Mr. Cody, of kite fame, who was in charge of the machinery, and Capt. W. A. King. At a height - of about-150 feet the airship came to the end of its tether, and the order was given to haul in on the ropes, and thus bring the machine once more down towards the ground. This manoeuvre was executed two or three times in succession in order to ascertain the nature and force of the wind, but after Col. Capper had satisfied himself on this matter, and that the ballasting was satisfactory, the signal to let loose was given, and the great airship for the first time in its life, sailed away free from all connection with mother earth. Rising to a height of some 400 feet, it headed in a south- easterly direction, and, after proceeding on this course for half a mile or more, made a "complete sweep, turning West- Wardly, all the while manoeuvring about apparently under most perfect control. After having been aloft for about 10 or 15 minutes, the driving belt of the fan broke, and, although a small matter, which could have been rectified on the spot, it Was considered desirable to descend, as the airship Was not, at this time, more than a few hundred yards from the shed, to which it was immediately taken after effecting a successful landing. During the afternoon, a further trial was carried out in the presence of Col. Templar, the occupants of the car being Col. Capper and Mr. Cody, as before, while Mr. McWade, the works foreman, took the place of Capt. King as passenger. The order to cast loose Was given immediately the airship had risen to the height allowed by the ropes, but hardly had it gone a few feet further, when, as the result of a sudden manoeuvre, the great aerial morster came rushing head foremost towards the ground. It was an anxious moment for all, but-although rather terrifying to watch, the actual result of the collision was happily not serious, although a part of the framework was , bent. \ (Then follows a detailed description of this, our first, " military " airship.) SANTOS DUMONT, NO. 16. Certain modifications have been made in M. Santos- Dumont's aeroplane, one of the most important being the * substitution of a three-bladed propeller in place of the two-- bladed type used formerly. The new propeller, like the old, is constructed of aluminium. Formerly, too, it will be remem- bered, the machine at rest was supported on a single bicycle Wheel, but now the under framework has been enlarged to take a transverse axle carrying tWo bfcycle wheels, and it is hoped by this means that the aeronaut will experience less difficulty in maintaining his balance during a preliminary run on the ground prior to actual flight, to attain which a speed of from 60 to 80 kilometres an hour is necessary. THE BROTHERS "WRIGHT IN EUROPE. It is now three months since the brothers Wright came to Paris, and although they have, in the interval, visited Berlin, and have even gone soifar as St. Petersburg, nothing, as yet, seems to have comd of their interviews with high authorities. Although at present residing in the French capital, it is very generally believed that their negotiations are being conducted with Germany, but so far, at any rate, in the absence of demonstration, they do not seem to have found their secrets a very marketable commodity. A NEW ZEPPELIN AIRSHIP. It is announced that Count Zeppelin is about to commence the construction of another airship, which will be consider- ably larger than his present model, and will embody several important modifications in the design, principally of the steering apparatus. It is, we understand, to be equipped both with wireless telegraph and^ search-light apparatus. It is also expected that the floating balloon-shed on Lake Constance will be completed by about the middle of this month, when further trials will be made with the Zeppelin airship which is already constructed. THE VAULX AEROPLANE. A description w'as given in " Auto.," of September 14th, 1907, of a " pusher " monoplane, With tw^o propellers, built by the Comte de la Yaulx. It was driven by a 40-50 h.p. -8 cyl. Antoinette motor. THE MALECOT AIRSHIP. —* Details Were also given in fhe same issue of the airship constructed by M. Malecot. The distinguishing feature of the airship Was a large horizontal plane fixed beneath the gas vessel. The preliminary trial was not very successful, one of the cables carrying the passenger basket fouling the propeller. A MEMORIAL TO MAJOR GOODDEN, R.F.C. IN order to perpetuate the memory of the late Major F. W. Goodden, R.F.C., the w'orkmen of the Royal Aircraft Factory some time ago initiated a scheme ier a memorial in the factory. A committee representing all branches of the R.A.F. was appointed, and a sum of £100 was quickly collected. On the suggestion of Mr. Henry Greenly, the Hon. Secretary, it was decided to keep the fund open ; it now totals nearly ^200, Sir William Weir having recently handed to the Superintendent of the R.A.F. a cheque for /50. It has been decided, as Will be seen from the interim report of the Committee which we now give, to use only a part of the fund for a material memorial, and to devote the remainder to a general education scheme for trade lads at the R.A.F. on the lines of those existing in other Royal factories and dockyards. The following is an official resumJ of the proceedings in regard to the memorial, up to date-:— Nature and Position of Memorial.—The various proposals for erecting a permanent memorial within the Factory grounds have been fully considered and the selected positions viewed. Owing to the temporary nature and arrangement of all R.A.F. buildings, it Was thought better to abandon the idea of placing a memorial on or in any particular building of the Factory, and in view of the arrangements made by other personal friends of Major Goodden, the suggestion for erecting a memorial in St. Mark's Church was not proceeded with. It was decided that the best method oi keeping Major Goodden's name prominently before all R.A.F. employees was to hang in each of the mess-rooms and canteens an enlarged photograph of Major Goodden, suitably framed. with an inscription in the form of a metal tablet on theframe. This work is being proceeded with, and as soon as completed, the pictures will be allocated to the senior mess-room, foremen's mess room, men's new mess-room, H.A.P. sergeants' mess, girls' canteen, Y.W.C.A. canteen. Trustees and Investment of Funds.—The money collected is invested under the names of the three trustees : Mr. Henry Fowler (S.R.A.F.) ; Major H. Grinsted, Engineer Design ; and Major G. B. Turner, Engineer Production, and a trust document has been prepared. Administration of Fund for Educational Purposes.—The Committee Would have preferred that the annual sum available should be used to provide prizes for the students at the technical classes to be held in connection with the R.A.F. As they recognised that the present classes did not form a very satisfactory basis for the administration of the fund, as suggested in this Sub-Committee's report, an Educa- tion Sub-Committee has been formed which is fully repre- sentative of the various departments, with the trustees as ex officio members. This Committee have considered the whole question of technical education upon an entirely new basis, and will take full responsibility for the administration of the Goodden prize in the future. Publicity of Scheme.—The members of the Committee are still doing what they can to give full publicity to the scheme. As a result of these efforts further subscriptions have been received, and the amount collected noW totals over ^198, which includes a cheque for £50 received from Sir William Weir. Some departments have yet to institute collections. 977
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