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Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0005.PDF
JANUARY 5, 1922 THE FRIESLEY "FALCON" CABIN BIPLANE WE give below some particulars, with accompanying illustra tions, of an American-built 12-passenger twin-engined Liberty (low-compression) biplane, the Friesley " Falcon." This machine, which is of the enclosed cabin type, made its first public lest flight last April at Friesley Field, California, piloted by B. M. Spencei (late of the U.S. Air Service), who was also responsible for the designing and building of the machine. The " Falcon ". left the ground afier a run of less than extends out a considerable distance forward of the wingsv the visibility is exceptionally good. Large windows are provided all round the sides of the cabin, and celluloid ports are also fitted in the roof, giving the pilot a good view over head. All instruments are arranged on a desk immediately in front of the pilot, and under this desk, readily accessible, are the storage batteries for the engines. Aft of the passengers' section is a luggage compartment measuring 4 ft. by 5 ft. by 4 ft. :*••• * m m The Friesley "Falcon " Cabin Biplane: Front view. 100 yards at a speed of 45 m.p.h., and during its flight developed a speed of 90 m.p.h. with the engines throttled to 1,500 r.p.m. The balance proved to be perfect, and the ease of control, glide and landing exceeded the expectations of the designer. It landed at 40 m.p.h., and came to rest after a run of less than 200 ft. Only two private test flights had been carried out previous to this one, on the day before, each of about two minutes' duration. The cabin, formed by the fore half of the fuselage, is com- Longerons of solid spruce are used lor the fuselage, from nose to tail post, with bolted-on tie wire fittings. A hard wood block, glued and screwed and finally covered with tape, is placed where the fittings fasten to the longerons- Fuselage truss wiring is made up of -^-in. 3 per cent, nickel s'eel rods, threaded right and left hand, and terminating in forks on each end. The fuselage is covered with plywood fiom the nose to a point immediately at the rear of the luggage compartment - > The Friesley "Falcon " Cabin Biplane : Side view. 35 5? m m m m m m pletely enclosed, and contains twelve wicker seats, arranged in two rows in tandem, with a space of 20 ins. between each seat. As the cabin has a clear width of 4 ft. 8 ins., there is thus a wide aisle down the centre. There is plenty of room for the passengers to stand erect, the height of the cabin being 5 ft. 8 ins. The cabin may readily be adapted for freight or mail work, and there being no cross-bracing of any description a large clear space is provided. The pilot's cockpit is in the extreme nose, and as this poruon of the cabin of the cabin, and from a point slightly forwaid of the tail skid to the stern post. The intermediate portion of the fuselage is covered with fabric. The tail skid is of steel tubing hung to a frame, also made of steel tubing, that fastens to all four longerons; the shock is taken by rubber cord. One of the most unique features of construction in the " Falcon " is to be found in the rudder control. Ins.ead of the conventional flapping wires running in"o the fuselage, the II 1 ill m m m ' The .Friesley ^"Falcon" jjj Cabin Biplane: gj Three-quarter front view. * M
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