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Aviation History
1918
1918 - 1143.PDF
Instruments. The instrument board of the Fokker biplane is not a very elaborate affair, the " gadgets " being few in number, com- pared with the instrument boards of some of our own machines. Especially noticeable in all German machines, with the exception of some of the later Gothas, is the absence of speed indicators. In the case of the Fokker it is possible that some of the instruments may have been removed, although there are no indications that more have been fitted than those now in place on the machine. On the port side of the instrument board is the hand magneto, surmounted by its switch. In the centre are the two petrol pressure indicators, and under- neath them the petrol and pressure cocks. In the top right- hand corner is a grease pump for the water pump. Mounted on thejstarboard body struts is the hand-operated petrol pump and the compass. The mounting of the latter is somewhat unusual, as shown in Fig. 8. A small piece of three-ply wood is clipped at its upper end to one of the body bracing wires and at its lower end to the bottom longeron. Fig. 10.—The lower ends of the chassis struts of theFokker biplane are welr'ed to sheet-steel boxes, which carry the shock absorbers, and to which is alsoattached (by rivets) the aluminium box surrounding the axle. Mounted on this is the bracket that carries the compass. The base plate is provided with a curved slot which allows of adjusting the placing of the compass in relation of the centre line of the body. A brass bar of square section projects—lower end to a forked lug welded to the wall of the struts OCTOBER IO, I918. The throttle and ignition control levers are placed at the pilot's left hand. As already pointed out when describing the main controls, the throttle lever is connected up with Bowden cables to a throttle lever on the control column. The main throttle lever operates the throttle via a series of rods and cranks. The ignition is similarly controlled. - ;r 7.. Armament. The armament consists of two Spandau machine guns, provided with the usual interrupter gear for firing between the blades of the airscrew. The mounting of the machine guns is indicated in Fig. 9. Each gun is provided with Jwo supperts, and a certain measureof rigidity is added by running a tube from the front support rearwards and outwards to the end of one of the top cross struts. As in other German machines, the rear gun support allows of vertical adjustment, while the front support provides for a slight adjustment laterally. The caitridge boxes are of sheet aluminium, and do not present any features of particular interest. Radiator. The honeycomb radiator, which is unusual for a German machine, in that it is placed in'the nose of the fuselage, is of Vee shape as seen in plan. The apex of the Vee is cut off, however, forming a flat of approximately 4 ins. width down' the extreme front of the radiator. The left half of the curved top of the radiator forms a small water tank, while the right half is simply a curved fairing. Provision has been made for varying—although apparently to a very small extent— the cooling by placing a small door or shutter over the star- board side of the radiator. This door, which is placed on the inside, behind the radiator, is normally allowed to trail in the line of flight, but can be pulled against a spring by means of a cable so as to lie fiat against the back of the radiator. When closed this door only covers a small portion of the radiator, less than one-third, so one does not imagine that the amount of control over the cooling is very great. The mounting of the radiator will be fairly clear from Figs. 1 and 4 in our last issue. _ The Undercarriage. The undercarriage of the Fokker biplane is of the simple Vee type, with stream-line steel tube struts. At their upper ends the struts terminate in balls fitting into sockets welded to the fuselage members, and are prevented by a short bolt from coming out of the socket. At the lower end the under- carriage struts are welded to a sheet steel box, in which is a slot for accommodating the travel of the axle. This sheet steel box also serves as a support for the short stubs to which are anchored the shock absorbers. These are of the coil spring type, enclosed in a woven covering after the fashion of rubber cord. An aluminium box, formed of sheet, connects the port and starboard boxes and serves as the main spar of the fairing, or wing section, surrounding the axle. This section was severely damaged in the machine examined, and its exact shape is therefore a matter of surmise, but it- appears probable that in section it was very similar to the wings. From what little remains of it this section appears to have been covered top and bottom with three-ply wood. In addition to serving as a fairing for the axle this section probably gives a not inconsiderable amount of lift, especially when landing, when there would be a " cushioning " effect due to the proximity of the section to the ground. The diagonal bracing of the undercarriage is in the form of stranded cable in the front bay only. The cables are attached atjhe downwards from the base plate, and on this are mounted the adjusting magnets. These are evidently placed initially by experts, and the pilot is not permitted to interfere with them in any way, as they are locked in position and sealed with a lead seal. One would imagine that in an all-steel body like that of the Fokker, the size and number of the adjusting magnets necessary would be considerable ; yet this does not appear to be the case. One of these lugs, as pointed out in our preliminary descrip- tion of the Fokker biplane, had pulled a triangular portion of the -strut wall out, although the weld itself appeared un- damaged. At the upper end, the bracing cables of the under- carriage are simply passed around the bottom longerons and spliced. This feature was shown, incidentally, in Fig. 2 in last week's issue of " FLIGHT." „ - (To be continued.) — " - • An American Altitude Record. A MESSAGE from New York states that the contest com- mittee of the Aero Club of America has recognised the. altitude record of 28,900 ft. above sea level made by Capt Ruddy W. Schroeder on September 18th at the Wilbur Wright Field, Fairfield, Ohio, in a Bristol fighting plane, with a 300 h.p. Hispano-Suiza motor. It is stated that the record has also been recognised by the United States Govern- ment. D'Annunzio in France. ^ MAJOR GABRIELE D'ANNUNZIO arrived at Chalons from Turin by way of the air on September 26th. He was on his favourite S.P.A. machine " Serenissiiflo," piloted by Capt. Palli, and the trip, although the weather was unfavourable, when crossing the Alps, occupied nearly three hours. • After spending a week visiting the Italian sector of the front and General Berthelot's Army, Major d'Annunzio - returned to Turin by aeroplane, the trip taking three hours and ten minutes. Escape after Two Years. LIEUT. ANGST, a French observer, who was taken prisoner in July, 1916, and has been interned in Wulsburg, Germany, has succeeded, after several attempts, in escaping to France. 1144
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