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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0468.PDF
APRIL IO, 1919 AN INTERESTING GRAHAME-WHITE SPORTING MODEL WITH the coming of peace there will undoubtedly be a great demand for aeroplanes for a variety of peace time purposes. The large twin- or multi-engined machine for the carrying of mails and passengers, seaplanes of various types for work over the sea and for short pleasure cruises around our coast towns, racing machines for use in speed competitions, touring machines for the private owner, and so one could go on enumerating the various fields that will have to be catered for by the aeroplane constructor. The machine described in the following notes is designed, as the title indicates, for sporting purposes, but is not, we may point out, a racing machine in the ordinary sense of the term, although it might very well be used for a race around the pylons at Hendon as of old, should those merry old times come back again. The feature which impresses one most on first seeing this Grahame-White model, to which the name of the " Bantam " has been given, is its extremely small size. As a matter of fact, the G.W. " Bantam " is, we think, the smallest biplane first time that this machine had been looped, and she did it without a hitch. As regards her handling in the air, she appears capable of practically all the evolutions performed by the higher-powered . machines, although her lower power naturally does not allow of such steep climbs or prolonged " Zooms " as may be tackled with immunity in single-seaters designed for military purposes and fitted with engines of three or four times her power. So far as we were able to judge the machine is very sensitive on the controls, both laterally and longitudinally. Tins is, presumably, due to her small moments of inertia around all three axes, and to the general compactness of the machine. The present model is an experimental one, and if during the very exhaustive trials now being conducted daily by Capt. Chamberlain it is found that the machine is a little too sensitive, this matter can probably be altered by fitting smaller ailerons and elevators. It is probable, however, that the majority of ex-service pilots who will purchase such a machine will consider this sen- A SKETCH OF THE GRAHAME-WHITE ' Bantam."—The man standing in front gives a good idea'of the 'small size of this machine. we have seen, with the exception of the diminutive Piggott biplane built for the Military Trials of 1912. The span of the G.W. " Bantam " is only 20 ft. and its overall length 16 ft. 6 ins., so that it may be housed in a very small shed. The smallness of the machine will, perhaps, be more evident from an examination of one of the accompanying illustrations than it would be possible to convey by any quotation of figures. The man shown standing in front is drawn to correct pro portions and shows the compactness of the machine. As already mentioned, the G.W. " Bantam " is not a racing machine, the wing section having been designed with a view to fairly high lift rather than for high speed. In spite of this fact, however, the maximum speed is quite" good— about 102 m.p.h. at low altitudes and 93 m.p.h. at 10,000 ft. As the engine fitted is of 80 h.p. (le Rhone), this is not a bad performance, especially as the climb appears to be.very good. The landing speed is about 40 m.p.h. When we saw the machine in flight last week at Hendon, she was piloted by Capt. Chamberlain, who did a series of spins on her and also a loop. This was, we understand, the sitiveness an advantage rather than otherwise, and will prefer an ample amount of control. Construction-4I y the G.W. sporting model shows many detail features that are of interest, some of which we have illustrated in the accompanying sketches. The object which the designer, M. E. Boudot, has kept in mind in getting out the details is simplicity and ease of manufacture. The construction of the wings follows more or less standard prac tice as regards the details. The spars, which are of I-section spruce, rest in mild steel boxes to which are attached the lugs for the interplane struts, and also the wiring plates and sockets for the compression tubes of the internal bracing system. In the accompanying set of sketches Fig. 1 shows one of the top plane front strut attachments. The spar box has riveted and brazed to it the lug for the interplane strut, and is extended inwards to form the wiring plate for the front lift cable. Two vertical bolts secure the box to the spar, while the wiring plate for the internal drift bracing is attached to the spar and to the box by two horizontal bolts. (Fig. 2.)- A somewhat unusual feature of the top plane is the position *68
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