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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 1158.PDF
pipes, each set of six is enclosed in a stream-line casing pro jecting outwards and downwards from the top of the cylinders. The most interesting feature of the Fiat B.R. is, perhaps, the wing bracing, which is of a somewhat unusual type. The centre section struts are arranged as in the Sopwith ij-strutter, i.e., the form of a letter W as seen from in front. The inner bay of the wing bracing has no lift wires, diagonal struts sloping from the top of the outer centre section struts to the base of the first pair of inter-plane struts, being thus in compression under lift loads. The outer bay of the wing truss is wire braced, the lift wires being in duplicate and enclosed in a stream-line aluminium casing, while the landing wires are single Rafwires. It might be mentioned that all the terminal connections of the wing struts and wires are enclosed in stream-line aluminium casings so as to reduce air resistance. As mentioned in our issue of July 24, the machine has a maximum speed of about 160 m.p.h., and her appearance at the E.L.T.A. aerodrome was hailed with delight by the visitors, most of whom had probably never seen a machine flying at such high speed. The Fiat did not, how ever, remain long at the aerodrome, but was put into the exhibition the day after her arrival. THE CAPRONI BIPLANE Another Italian machine which arrived at Amsterdam by air was the Caproni three-engined biplane, which made its first appearance above Amsterdam on August 7, when, after circling over the town for about an hour, it landed on the E.L.T.A. aerodrome, fortunately without coming to grief. The machine cannot by any stretch of imagination be termed a pretty one, the twin fuselages and straight, square-tipped wings giving it a somewhat ungraceful appearance. But it seems to fly very well, and does some fairly sharp banked turns, although at times it was observed to do flat turns which one usually associates with tendencies to spin. However, the Caproni does not appear to be troubled by flat turn, and at times they appeared to be chosen deliberately by the pilot when he wanted to turn quickly. The three engines of the Caproni are Isotta-Frachinis, the TWO outer ones being placed in the nose of the twin fuselages, while the third is installed in the rear of the central nacelle, where it drives a pusher airscrew. The front portion of the A CLEVER DUTCH PILOT : Lieut. Versteegh is very popular at the E.L.T.A., and handles a Fokker parasol monoplane exceedingly well, doing vertical banks, loops, spins, &c. AUGUST 28, 1919 nacelle projects far out in front, and here are arranged two cockpits in tandem. Slightly further aft a superstructure has been added which extends up to the top plane, and forms a cabin for the passengers. The machine carries 10 persons, and flies fairly fast with its three engines developing a total of a little over 700 h.p. The general arrangement of the Caproni will be clear from one of the accompanying photo graphs. Like the Fiat, the Caproni was also put into the exhibition building shortly after its arrival, and may now be examined on the Caproni stand. THE S.V.A. BIPLANE Although not strictly speaking at the exhibition, the little S.V.A. biplane is included here, as it is flying daily at the E.L.T.A. aerodrome, piloted by the Italian pilot Guglielmotti. This little machine is chiefly remarkable for its wing bracing, in which no wire bracing is employed. The struts are arranged in the form of a Warren girder, and the only wires in the system are the incidence wires. The 200 h.p. engine is perched Ijigh up on the front of the fuselage, and is totally covered in, the radiator being in the nose. In front the fuselage is of rectangular section, which gradually runs into a triangular section aft of the pilot's seat. From this point to the tail the fuselage is triangular, which gives it a somewhat weak appearance, and the tail plane may be seen to warp appreciably during flight. However, this does not appear to worry Guglielmotti, who does all the usual stunts on the machine, including spins. One very peculiar thing one noticed about this machine. In taking off its tail never leaves the ground, the machine travelling along at the angle at which it is standing at rest until sufficient lift is obtained. Until one becomes accustomed to it the sight of a machine starting in this manner is rather terrifying, as one is inclined to expect to see her stall as soon as leaving the ground. THE ETCETERAS In addition to the firms showing complete machines, there is a vast number of firms, British and others, who exhibit accessories of all descriptions. It is patently impossible for us to mention every firm, and to attempt a complete catalogue of all the exhibits in the limited space at our disposal, and we are therefore perforce obliged to leave out many that deserve to be mentioned. Reference has already been made to a few aero engines, such as the Spyker-Clergets, the Thulin- le Rhones, and the Kemer two-stroke. At the time of writing, only one firm was represented in the aero engine section, the Gnome and Rhone, who were showing one 80 h.p. le Rhone and one 180 h.p. le Rhone, both 9-cylinder rotary engines. According to the official catalogue, several other engines were to be on view, but when we had a walk around to the stands in question, such as Anzani, Hispano-Suiza, Lorraine-Dietrich, etc., nothing was to be found on them except empty packing cases. However, by the time this appears in print it is to be hoped that the long-delayed engines will have turned up. Of British firms who are exhibiting at Amsterdam articles connected with the science and practice of aviation, apart from complete machines, mention may be made of the following : THE BRITISH EMAILLITE Co., LTD. The exhibits on this stand are partly by the above-men tioned firm, and partly by its affiliated Company, the General Aeronautical Co., Ltd. At the time these notes are written some of the exhibits have not yet arrived, but by the time this week's issue of FLIGHT reaches our readers the remaining exhibits will no doubt have reached the E.L.T.A., and be on view at the stand. As it was obviously impossible for the firm to exhibit full-size machines showing their doping schemes, a set of excellent models have been made, and are shown on the stand. These include three models of a B.E. 2 C, demon strating the Emaillite Doping Scheme " X," one of which is finished with the " Nivo " green pigmented coverings, the upper plane with the glossy P.O.V. constituents of this colour, and the bottom plane with the matt nitro constituent. The second model is finished with glossy P.O.V. constituents, the upper plane with the standard khaki shade of the Air Ministry, and the bottom plane with the new " Nivo " green colour as now used on Government aircraft. . The third model to which reference has been made is finished off with six varied colours, indicating a suitable series of shades for commercial aircraft. These colours are : Upper surface of top plane, rose pink ; under surface of top plane, white ; upper surface of lower plane, heliotrope ; under surface of lower plane, pale green ; fabric covering of fuselage, orange chrome ; woodwork, " Nivo " green. All these colours are in the P.V.O. type of protective covering, providing a glossy finish. A fourth model demonstrates the Emaillite Doping scheme " B." The upper surfaces of this model are doped solely with the pigmented dope constituents of the scheme, 1160
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