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Aviation History
1920
1920 - 0917.PDF
AUGUST 19, 1920 MODEL AEROPL&NIJS All communications to be addressed to the Model Editor, The Kite and Model Aeroplane Association * HAVING had several discussions with representatives of the K.M.A.A., it is now an accomplished fact that the Association is again in existence. Much work, however, remains to be done to place it on a good sound footing. To commence with, will all those desirous of joining the Association please communicate with Mr. Akehurst, Victory Road, Wimbledon, and appraise him of the fact ? This will serve a twofold purpose : firstly to acquaint him of the number of members he has in prospect, and incidentally it will " sound " the magnitude of the enthusiasm at present evinced in the matter. This appeal does not merely apply to London and its environs, but also to provincial enthusiasts. In the old days, one fears, London clubs were in a coign of vantage in so far as competitions were concerned, but toward the latter end of 1913 the introduction of the Farrow Shield competition, in which the competition took place upon the club's own flying rendezvous, somewhat eliminated this difficulty. Every effort will be made to make the tentacles of the Association reach to every town in the United Kingdom where a model club exists. At the present moment Mr. Akehurst is acting as Secretary pro tern., but his duties have become so arduous that his time is occupied practically to the exclusion of everything else, and the Association wishes to get into touch with an energetic person willing to act as Secretary. Who will respond ? The cups, trophies and medals belonging to the club have all been returned by the last winners, and those to whom medals are due should communicate with Mr. Akehurst at the address given above. The revival of the Association, for which everyone has been longing, has come. It remains now in the hands of our readers to make it as live a body as it was formerly. A Model Triplane MR. GEORGE OLLIS writes :— As I have observed that the Model page of FLIGHT has been somewhat poorly supplied with details of readers' recent machines, I am sending the following description 01 my most recent model which is of an unusual type, being a small tractor triplane. The span of the main planes is 16 ins., chord 3 ins., and they are connected by I struts which are let into very deep ribs on each plane (see Fig. 2). This system of strutting seems to be less complicated than most and is an attempt at following full-size practice. A stamp should be enclosed for a postal reply The fuselage of the model is a streamline hollow spar,varnished with shellac. The chassis (see Fig. 3) is of my own design, being lighter and offering less resistance thanthe conventional vee. The tail plane and fin are very similar to those fitted onthe Sopwith triplane. Up to the present the model has not been tested, but I will forward you the results of the trials, which I hope will take place before the end of the month. The dimensions of the triplane are as follows :-— Span .. 16 ins. (all planes) Length of fuselage 23 ins. Chord .. 3 „ ,, Length o.a. .. 27 ,, Gap .. 3|,, „ Span of tail .. 8 ,, Stagger i\ „ Diameter of prop. 8 ,, The Groves Compressed Air Engine THE graph here given has been plotted from the relativenumber of pump strokes/duration in seconds. It shows the remarkable efficiency of the engine. If leakage is ex-cessive at high speeds, the form of the graph would not be so regular, but would show an upward tendency after 40or 50 pump strokes, which were of 10-in. stroke by £-in. bore. This averages \ 1b. per pump stroke. As a test I turned the airscrew backward with the tapopen, so that the pistons pumped air into the container, and carefully counted 200 revs. ; upon releasing the screw itmade exactly 200 revs., showing that leakage is practically 100 50 io 1 11 / // / / y 1 if PUt 10 30 40 SO 60 . 70 80 90 10t) negligible. Perhaps the most satisfactory part about the engine is the fact that it does not become bent or distorted if the machine happens to nose-dive during the turning-up stage. Throughout my experiments the engine has never once given trouble, and the valve works extremely sweetly ; indeed, having investigated the " internals," it is almost impossible for the valve to leak, and the higher the pressure the less does the leakage become. The engine is also jointed in an engineering way, and soldered joints are entirely eliminated, save where the inlet pipes are connected. One congratulates Mr. Groves on producing an ingenious and reliable job. . . Italians in Peru AN Italian-Peruvian air navigation company has been organised at Lima with the object of developing aviation in Peru. It proposes to run a regular service between Lima and Iquitos in the Amazon region, and the starting of further services depends upon the provision of landing grounds and hangars. A flying school will be established near the capital' and the equipment will consist of Caproni machines. . An Italian School in Argentina IT is stated that an Italian company has organised a flying school at Buenos Ayres, and has appointed Capt. Laureati, a well-known Italian pilot, as director. 919 I:,
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