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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0044.PDF
Table of dimensions of " Airco " machines. Type of machice. Wing span. X Wing chord. a Wing area.* Inci dence. Dihedral Area. H a. Area. •a PS D.H. i . D.H. IA . D.H. 2 . D.H. 3 . D.H. 4t • D.H. 5 . D.H. 6 . D.H. 9 . D.H. 9A . D.H. io|. D.H. io||. D.H. IOA 2* 9 o 0 3l 10 3 IOJ 39 7k 39 7i ft. in. ft. in 41 o 41 o 28 3 60 3 42 4I 25 8 35 11 42 4l 45 Hi 62 9 65 6 65 6 4: 41 2* XI 4- 2 5 35 4- 45 0 0 3 S 4S 8 11 4! "i ft. in 5 9 5 9 4 9 6 9 5 6 4 6 6 4 5 6 5 s 7 0 r o - o ft. in. 5 9 5 9 4 9 6 9 5 6 4 6 6 4 5 6 5 9 7 o 7 o 7 o 187 187 128 323 223 in 224 223 249 427 429 420 square faet. 175-25 175-25 I2I-0 302-0 2II-0 100-9 212-0 2II-0 237-70 407-4 408-2 408- 362-25 362-25 249-0 625-0 434-0 2I2-I 436-3 434-0 . 6-73 834-8 837-4 837-4 5-5 5-5 3-0 5-0 3-o 2-o 4-o 30 3-0 7-o 7-0 7-0 5-5 5-5 3 • 0 5-0 3-0 2 -o -!•<> 3"0 3-0 7-0 •0 •0 10* lo.V 9 <• 6 9 81 6 6 o o 0 . in. 0 o o 4 2J 2i 3 .1 4-0 4-0 3-0 4-5 • o 3 • 0 3-0 4 • 5 4-5 4-5 3 3 4-0 4-0 J • 0 4"5 2-0 3 • 0 3-0 4-5 4-5 r sq. ft. 64-0 64-0 56-0 102-0 82-O 46-4 76-0 82-0 74-36 120-8 Il8-o 118-0 square feet. •5 •5 •6 •0 -o •4 •0 •0 •0 •6 -.1 •5 23-0 23-0 13-5 50-0 24-0 12-2 26-0 24-0 24-0 46-0 33-08 33-08 60-5 605 34-1 126-0 62-0 25-6 62-0 62-0 62-0 H7-6 108-58 108-58 square feet. 19 10 '3 3' 19 8 •7 IQ 19 * Including ailerons. f All types. J With two 375 h.p, Rolls-Royce Eagle engines. || With two 400 h.p. Liberty 3-7 3-7 2-7 10 0 5-4 2-2 5-5 5-4 5-4 io-o 10-0 IO-O 154 15-4 II-O 21-3 13-7 6-3 12-0 13-7 I3'7 25-75 25-75 25-75 35-75 35-75 35-75 engines. slightly unstable for purposes of teaching, but a few slight modifications will turn it into a stable machine. Further more, by fitting streamline wires instead of the wing bracing cables, and by cowling-in the engine the maximum speed can be increased to 90 m.p.h. In this form the machine should be very well suited to pleasure flying, especially as it was primarily designed for cheapness of manufacture. The D.H. 7 and D.H. 8 We now come to a short gap in the series of D.H. machines. The next two types, we understand, never got any further than the drawing-board stage, and we have not been able to obtain any particulars of them. The D.H. 9 The experience gained with the D.H. 4's demonstrated that placing the pilot in between the planes did not tend to give him an ideal position for fighting, and also when bombs had to be carried little space was left in the part of the machine where they could be most suitably placed, i.e., in the neigh bourhood of the c.p. These drawbacks were remedied in the D.H 9, by rearranging the pilot's seat considerably farther ait than it was placed in the D.H. 4, and, of course, readjusting the position of other weights in relation to the wings so as to maintain the longitudinal trim of the machine. The fitting of a vertical engine instead of a Vee enabled the designer to narrow down the front portion of the fuselage considerably, which resulted in a fuselage of beautifully clean lines and with, it may be assumed, a comparatively low resistance. One of the features which has helped to give this machine its clean appearance is the placing of the radiator, not in the nose as in the D.H. 4, but in the floor of the body. In the photograph a portion of the radiator may be seen projecting beyond the bottom of the fuselage. An ingenious feature of this radiator mounting is that the radiator can be moved up or down, thus varying the cooling to any desired extent by blanketing a larger or smaller portion of the cooling surface. For sheer graceful appearance nothing has, in our opinion, ever left the drawing-board of the Airco.'s distinguished designer, which has equalled the D.H. 9. With the exception of the front portion of the fuselage the main units of the D.H. 9 axe similar to those of the D.H. 4. The machine has been extensively used for fighting, reconnaissance, photography, etc., and also by the Independent Air Force lor long-distance bombing by day and by night. It was the D.H. 9 which was largely used for the day bombing raids on German towns. In connection with the D.H. 9 it is of interest to note that one of these machines fitted with a 420 h.p. Napier " Lion " engine did a speed of 140 m.p.h. at 10,000 ft., which altitude it reached in the extraordinarily short time of 8 min. 10 see. The same machine furthermore had a ceiling of 29,000 ft., although with a load slightly lighter than the standard. The D.H. 9a With the insistent demand for better and still better performance the necessity of fitting engines of greater power became urgent, and the D.H. 9A was produced to meet these demands. Except for the front portion of the body it was not greatly different from the D.H. 9. It has, however, a somewhat larger area, so as to obtain the same landing speed for the heavier weight. The object had in mind when designing the D.H. 9A was to provide an improvement on the 9, namely to carry a greater load while maintaining a high performance. Apart from being extremely useful • for long-distance reconnaissance, photography and fighting, this machine has been largely used for long-distance day bombing raids. The accompanying table will give a good idea of the manner in which the designer succeeded in attain ing his purpose, and it is of interest to mention the following facts in addition : By increasing the military load from 545 lbs. to 945 lbs. the speed at low altitudes is' reduced to 125 m.p.h., and at 10,000 ft. to 114^ m.p.h. The climb to 10,000 ft. with this load occupies 15.05 min. and the ceiling is 19,000 ft. The range is reduced to 620 miles. (The reduction in speed is largely due to the fact that the extra load in bombs is carried outside.) By way of showing the weight-carrying capacity of this machine it is of interest to note that it has flown successfully with a military load of 1325 lbs. A machine of this type has also been fitted with a 360 h.p. Rolls-Royce engine, and, carrying a military load of 1,745 lbs., reached a ceiling of 16.500 ft. with a speed of 107J m.p.h. at 10,000 ft. This machine differed from the standard 9A in that its petrol tankage was only 71 gallons, having a larger margin for load. It should also be noted that the above speed was reduced by about 4 m.p.h. owing to the bombs and carriers being put outside. The D.H. 10 and 10a The object in designing this machine was to produce a high performance, sell-defending, long-distance daylight bomber. The armistice came along before the D.H. io's were built in great numbers, and so this type has not had the opportunity of proving itself to the same extent on active The D.H. 9a.—Very similar to D.H. 9, but has a Liberty engine, and the radiator is placed in the nose. 44 "
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