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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 1210.PDF
NOVEMBER 15, 1917 [As a number of letters reach us signed with initials only,some of -Which do not give a complete address, we would point out that such communications cannot be dealt with' inour columns. Full name and address, which will not be published, must always be given.—ED.] H. H. (Shepperton).—You are quite right in assumingthat an aeroplane whose sjeed in still air is 120 m.p.h., would be flying at a speed.' relatively to the ground, of140 m.p.h.—if it were flying with a following wind of 20 m.p.h. E. M. (2nd Lieut., R.F.C.):—We regret that we have notbeen able to identify the machine shown in the sketch you send us. If the sketch is drawn from another drawing we inclineto think that the machine is an imaginary one. If, however, it is drawn from a photograph the machine is not familiarto us. Young Pilot (Lines.).—We are not sure that you arecorrect in saying that " such a lot of guns seem to jamb at the critical moment," but with the delicate mechanism ofa machine gun it is only to be expected that occasionally one will be found to do so. The reasons may be various, and totrace them is rather outside the scope of these columns, especially as we are not at present in a position to freelydiscuss the merits or otherwise of the armament of aeroplanes. During an air fight things happen pretty quickly, and thechanging of a drum often has to be done with the utmost quickness, hence it is conceivable that there may be cases ofjambing due to a hasty change of drums before the favourable position has been lost, (b) We do not think that this is thecause of the trouble in most cases, (c) Yes. T. H. J. (Chingford).—The idea of placing*the petrol tankin the rear of the fuselage in order to reduce the risk of it catching fire is not, we are afraid, a feasible one. Althoughas you point out, the extra weight could be carried by making the tail plane larger, the increase in size would be such as tomake the machine for practical purposes a tandem, and this placing has been found to give very poor efficiency. It shouldbe remembered that the weight of tanks and petrol for, say, three hours' flight, might easily amount to several hundredpounds, and this weight, even granting that it could be carried by the tail plane, would greatly increase the moment of in-ertia of the machine and render it difficult to control, not only as regards the elevators but also with reference to therudder. Everything considered, we cannot advise you to go 6*n with the idea. T.M. (Coventry).—Judging from your description, the firstmentioned machine is a B.E. 2E., and the second an R.E. 7. A. G. P. (Streatham).—So far as we know, there is nopublication dealing exclusively with the R.A.F. products. Illustrations of the later types are not available, as publi-cation of the latest British machines is not permitted dm " ig the war. E. J. S. (Ealing).—To be quite frank with you, we do not think that your sketch would be quite good enough for aaadvertisement drawing, seeing the high standard demanded for this class of work. With regard to the engines fitted inthe machines you mention, we are not permitted to give any information on the subject. We are not aware that theobjections to the machines mentioned in your letter exist. With regard to the last, the appearance surely is a matter ofpersonal opinion, and we can assure you that this particular machine is still used very extensively indeed, and will probablycontinue to be used for a long time to come. A. J. D. (Scilly Isles).—The lifting power of hydrogen wiltvary according to the quality, and also according to atmospheric conditions. A fair average figure would probably be 68 to-70 lb. per 1,000 cu. ft. of hydrogen. A balloon, to be able to lift 6 lbs. in addition to its own rigging, would probablyhave to be about 7 ft. diameter. You would find the book by R. P. Hearne, entitled " Zeppelins and Super-Zeppelins,"useful. A copy can be obtained from the offices of " FLIGHT."The price is 2s lod. post free. G. J.E.C. (Holt).—The hole in the top of a parachuteallows a certain amount of^air to escape, thus steadying the descent of the parachute. *If the hole was not placed therethe air would have to escape under the edges of the parachute and would start it swinging from side to side, which mightend in a catastrophe. The letters SPAD stand for Sociitb pour Aviation et ses Derivees. WTe are not permitted to giveany particulars of the machine you mention. " War Flying," a copy of which can be obtained from the offices of " FLIGHT,"the price being is. 2d., post free, will be found very interesting. Details of the latest types of aeroplanes cannot be publishedduring the war. F. G. (Betchworth).—We do not think you will be ableto obtain anywhere plans for a model of the machines you men- tion, but scale drawings of the actual machines have appearedin '' FLIGHT," and from these you may be able to build a model.The Morane monoplane was illustrated in our issue of May 24th, 1913, and the Bristol scout in the issue of April 25th,1914. C.E.H. (Harlesden).—We are not permitted to give anyparticulars of the latest aero engines. E.H. (Birmingham).—We do not know why, the machinein question has been given this nickname, certainly it is not meant in any sense to " run down " the machine, which is,as a matter of fact, one if the most popular in the service, Trje reasons for having the exhaust pipes pointed up abovethe top plane is to carry the gases clear of the occupants.. It was at one time customary to carry the pipes along thesides of the body, but this was inconvenient in several ways, especially if the pilot forgot they were there and placed hisfingers on them. The resistance is not very great in the case of the vertical pipes, as these are of stream-line section. S. Y. (Anerley).—For admission to the R.N.A.S., apply to the Secretary of the Admiralty, Whitehall, S.W. Sig. Caproni's Views. INTERVIEWED by our French contemporary L'Auto,Signor Caproni has stated that he is about to try to cross the Atlantic on one of his triple motor machines. In laying stresson the advantage of using big aeroplanes for bombing, he pointed out the difficulty he had experienced in getting hisideas adopted. He said that the enemy, helped by their large supplies of labour, had been working with tremendousenergy, and produced Gothas and Zeppelins with incredible rapidity. . Next spring, he thought, we would see a remarkableblossoming forth of Austro-German effort. The rear will suffer equally with the front. Paris, Lyons, Le Creusot, St.Etienne, St. Chamond will be bombed with a frequency that we do not dream of now. And in the same way the Allieswill carry death and desolation into the enemy's country. But they ought not to lose a single minute. It is aviationthat will bring the war to an end. Victory will go to that one of the belligerents who first perfects his aerial army. Wemust therefore speed up our production. The enemy is on our heels, and making tremendous efforts to gain the masteryof the air, without which victory in modern warfare is nothing but a myth. The Bombing of Germany. SPEAKING at a public meeting in Manchester on November7th, under the auspices of the National War Aims Committee, Mr. Bonar Law said :—" In September we dropped about8,000 bombs behind the German lines, and they dropped less than 100 upon ours. We also dropped 1,700 upon thecoast from which enemy aeroplanes came. We did more damage to the enemy in that month than he had done in allthe raids he had made upon England since the beginning of the war. We had a considerable number of machines bombingGerman towns, and though it was only a beginning more had already been done than the public realised." 1219,
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