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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 1068.PDF
LEGAL INTELLIGENCE. The Admiralty Aeroplane Contracts Case. AT the opening of the October Sessions on October 9th, on the application of Mr. H. D. Roome, appearing for the prosecution, the hearing of the case of Mr. W. A. Casson, on bail, who is charged with conspiring to contravene the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act in respect to Admiralty contracts relating to aeroplanes, was postponed until the next Sessions owing to the serious condition of "Wing Commander Porte. •>.- •. ;r•'-..Ai:-.-..-. -. - -._-_,.;.- ..-.-. A Question of Patents. IN the Vacation Court, on October 3rd, Mr. Justice Hill vras asked to restrain D. & D. Girdwood, Ltd., at their meet- ing on- October 8th, from acting upon their notice calling that meeting, in which they proposed to take an assignment of certain aeroplane and aircraft patents from Mr. David Ander- son, who is one of the directors of the company. Counsel for the plaintiff, Mr. Taylor, said his client, the inventor, was introduced to Mr. Anderson and, after certain negotiations, by the latter to his patent agents and solicitor. He alleged that he signed certain documents and advanced considerable sums of money, the defendant, Mr. Anderson, undertaking to form a company to exploit the patents. D. & D. Girdwood, Ltd., had been formed for this purpose, and a meeting had been called for October 8th, at which an assignment was to be made ; but the plaintiff alleged that his interests had not been properly safeguarded. He said he had not consulted a solicitor before signing the documents, which he had not properly read. His Lordship adjourned the motion to the second motion day of next Sitting, and in the meantime granted the in- . junction, with the usual undertaking in damages. . . H ~~E H H •_ ' LOOKING AHEAD. . IT is not our habit to draw attention in our editorial columns ; to announcements appearing in our advertisement pages, and when we make an exception this week with regard to Messrs. Wakefield and Co.'s " Castrol " advertisement, it is solely because the illustration therein is meant to be^—as a number of the firm's illustrations have been of late—somewhat by way of a prophecy. We are inclined to think, however, that for one thing the date is a little previous—1918 will scarcely see a 'bus of the dimensions laid down for the " Dreadnought Hydro-Aeroplane." At the same time there can be no manner of doubt that the machine of large dimen- sions will be forthcoming, and in spite of sundry technical shortcomings—to which reference will be made presently— the scheme outlined in the illustration will no doubt fire the imagination of the man in the street, on whom, after all is said and done, depends to a very large extent the future of ..aviation. To him there will possibly not be anything par- ticularly difficult in producing an aeroplane of some 500 ft. span, and with a horse-power of 28,000 to 30,000, and if the great B.P. will only shout loud enough and long enough for machines of such sizes—-well, it will be only a matter of time for the technician to evolve it. To the casual observer it might appear that all that is necessary is to multiply present machines by, for instance, five in every respect, and the super-aeroplane is an accom- plished fact. From the personal notes of the designer of the " Dreadnought Hydro-Aeroplane " it appears that he anticipates a speed of 500 m.p.h.—(he points out, however, that this is the maximum)—so that apparently he has multi- plied by five in every respect. On making rough calculations we arrire at the result that the estimated speed would probably be nearer when it has an o knocked off, taking the designer's own items of weight and power. One little item that has apparently been overlooked is the difficulty of designing a single propeller—even if it does have four blades in the best approved R.A.F. styles—which will transmit a bagatelle of 3,700 h.p. According to the admittedly limited knowledge of the present day, the limit is attained long before reaching such powers. With regard to the engines themselves, no information is tabled as to type, &c, but some of them are to be round about 5,000 h.p. each. It is safe to assume that they will not be 9-cylinder rotaries. One thing we are assured, how- ever—that they will use " Castrol " oil, of which it is to be hoped there will be a very plentiful supply, or a few of these monsters in being would speedily spell an oil famine. One feature of the design, which in these days of tanks and caterpillars should appeal to the non-technical mind, is the under-carriage, which is in the form of floats, fitted with caterpillars running on ball bearings, so as to make the machine amphibious. It has been suggested by evil-minded and unimaginative critics that the object of this combination is to be sought for in the small extent of these islands of ours. OCTOBER II, 1917. In other words, should the machine, after making the straight run from London to the Bristol Channel by way of a " take off," fail to rise, she can proceed as a seaplane across the Atlantic until she does manage to get " unstuck." Apart from such minor technical shortcomings, however, the illus- tration is useful in getting the mind started along really big lines, and who knows, but that one of these days an aerial Dreadnought somewhat resembling the suggested " Castrol " consumer will be laying its eggs on Berlin. Wait and see. COMPANY MATTERS. THE directors of the Fellows Magneto Co., Ltd., which was formed in August, 1916, to acquire as from July 1st, 1916, the business of Fellows and Co., have issued a statement as to the company's position. The value of the output in May was £4,384 ; in June, £5,350 ; and in July, £7,263. It is hoped that by the end of December the monthly output will exceed £14,000 in value. Additional capital expenditure since the company started trading amounts to £27,060. On. August 31st the company's liquid funds amounted to £18,569. Treasury consent has been granted for a further issue of £40,ooo_in preferred shares, but a decision has not yet been come to as to when this issue will be made. The directors hope to be able to recommend an ordinary dividend with the final dividend on the preferred shares for the current year. NEW COMPANIES REGISTERED- NATIONAL AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING CO., LTD., 15, Drummond Crescent, St. Pancras, N.W.—Capital £5,000, in 3,000 preference shares of £1 each and 8,000 ordinary shares of 5s. each. Acquiring business of manu- facturers of aeroplanes and parts carried on by F. Norman and Mrs. G. Norman, at 15A, Hackney Road, as the " National Aircraft Manufacturing Co." First directors : F. Norman and W. Fowell. ROOTES, LTD., Len Engineering Works. Mill Street, Maidston,e.—Capital £10,000, in £1 shares. Aviation, auto- mobile and general engine construction and repairing experts, &c. First directors: R. Rootes, W. E. Rootes and R. C. Rootes. WYCOMBE AIRCRAFT CONSTRUCTORS, LTD.— Capital £50,000, in £i shares. First directors : G. H. Thomas, H. Burroughes, and G. A. Peck. ,— BUSINESS NAMES REGISTRATIONS. AVIATION SUPPLY CO., 195, Upper Thames Street, E.C.4.—Registered, September 28th, 1917. Proprietor, George E. Beams (Canadian), 24, Queensdale Road, Norland Square, W. Other business occupation : general Merchant. Business commenced : September 27th, 1917. H E E HGermany Exporting to Holland. - According to the Handeleblad twelve large aeroplanes forthe Dutch army arrived last week at Bentheina (Hanover), where they will be taken over by Dutch flying officers. H H H HAeronautical Patents Published. Applied for in 1916. The niimbers in brackets are those under which the specifications are printed and abridged, &c.Published October nth, 1917. 13,378- C. M. WATERLOW. Airships. (109,492.)13,542. A. E. LONGMORE AND F. TRUSSLER. Apparatus tor saviag life on aircraft. (109,496.)13,918. N. H. W. MACLAREN. Aerial propellers. (109,503.) If you require anything pertaining to aviation, study j " FLIGHT'S " Buyers' Guide and Trade Directory, j which appears in our advertisement pages each week (see pages xlii, xliii and xliv). '::;;-:L^^:r FLIGHT ^ . ; ,,. - - ;••'"•'..•'" and The Aircraft Engineer. s 44, ST. MARTIN'S LANE, LONDON, W.C. 2. .>: Telegraphic address: Truditur, Westrand, London. Telephone: 1828 Gerrard. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. " FLIGHT " will be forwarded, post free, at the following rates ;— UNITED KINGDOM. ABROAD. s. d. ' s. d. 3 Months, Post Free.. 310' 3 Months, Post Free.. 5 o 6 „ „ .. 7 71 .6 „ „ .. 10 o 12 „ ,, .. 15 2 1 12 „ „ ,. 20 o Cheques and Post Office Orders should be made payable to the Proprietors of "FLIGHT," 44, St. Martin's Lane, W.C. 2, and crossed London County and Westminster Bank, otherwise no responsibility will be accepted. 1068
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