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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0969.PDF
JULY 24, 1919 83 ICESTONES " THE SAGE MACHINES THE entry of Messrs. Fredk. Sage and Co., Ltd., into the world of aircraft manufacture dates back to 1915, in which year a contract for building Short seaplanes of the 184 type was received. The manager of the aviation department was Mr. E. C. Gordon England, who is well known both as a designer and pilot, having at various times during his long career been associated with, among others, the British and Colonial Aeroplane Co., of Bristol, with Mr. James Radley, of Huntingdon, and with J. Samuel White and Co., Ltd., of Cowes. Isle of Wight. In January, 1916, Mr. Clifford W. Tinson—who for three years previous to the War was Capt. F. S. Barnwell's assistant—left the Air Department of the Admiraltv with the sanction of Commodore Sueter, who far wrong one way or the other. As the machine was not finished no photographs of her are in existence. The plan and elevations of our general arrangement diagrams, however, give a very good idea of the lines of the machine. It will be seen that Type 1 was a twin-engine tractor, with the engines placed between the wings. The two Rolls-Royce engines—of 190 h.p. each—are placed very high in the gap between the wings, the thrust line being approximately half-way between top and bottom planes. This disposition arises from the fact that, although the fuselage is placed very low, the top plane is of much greater span than is the bottom one, the centre of resistance being, therefore, raised to a certain extent. Apart from their high position the engine I^HV; TWO VIEWS OF THE SAGE TYPE 2 : In the photograph showing the machine uncovered the gunner may be seen standing up taking aim with a machine gun. was then Director of Air Services, and joined the firm as designer. The design of the first Sage machine was at this time already in hand under the direction of Mr. Gordon England and Mr. L. Bonnard. The Sage Bomber, Type 1 (1916) For some reason unknown to us this machine was never finished, and the figures of performance, etc., in the accom panying table must, therefore, be taken as estimates, and not as accomplished facts, although they are probably not • Previous instalments of this series appeared as follows :—-Airco machines, January 9, 1919 ; Bristol machines, January 23, 1919 ; Sopwith machines, February 6, 1919 : Avro machines, March 20, 1919 ; Armstrong-Whitworth machines, April 3, 1919 ; Vickers machines, June 12, 1919. All the scale diagrams of the "'Milestones" series are to a uniform scale, and are thus immediately comparable as regards relative size. mountings are of interest in that there is no part of the landing carriage placed under the engines. The weight is taken, when the machine is on the ground, by the anti- lift wires going from the foot of the engine-struts to the top of the centre section body struts. Whether this arrange ment is advisable is, perhaps, open to doubt. As regards the undercarriage of Type I, this is, it will be seen, arranged along rather unconventional lines. The two main wheels are mounted direct on the body, through the bottom of which they project. The consequence of this arrangement, which obviously has for its object the reduction to a minimum of under carriage resistance, is that the wheel track is very narrow indeed, and as the lower wing is very close to the ground it has been protected by wing tip wheels of smaller diameter. In order to protect the fuselage, should The Sage Type 3 training tractor. 971 F 2
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