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Aviation History
1923
1923 - 0123.PDF
MARCH 1, 1923 or wing-on-top-of-the-body type: There is no doubt,however, that both structurally and as regards good visibility for the pilot, the present arrangement has much to recommendit. Another advantage of the low wing is that it becomes easier, without going to a very wide wheel track, to provideagainst the machine turning over on to its side. In the case of the Udet it is stated that the machine can heel overuntil a wing tip touches, and the only result is that the wing throws it on to its undercarriage without damage to thewing itself. The attachment of the wing to the fuselage is interesting, and is somewhat similar to that employed by Fokker in the case of some of his biplanes and triplanes, i.e., fhe spars rest in a cut-out portion and are located by four bolts. As the longitudinal members of the fuselage rest direct on the wing spars, the four bolts do not have to support the load, as would be the case were the wing placed above, but merely to serve to locate the wing. In order to remove the wing the fuselage is placed on two trestles. The rear undercarriage struts are detached, and the undercarriage swung forward, when the four wing bolts can be got at and the plane dropped out of its notch. For purposes of transport, the wing is placed above the fuselage on two special trestles provided for the purpose. The two-cylinder Haacke engine is neatly mounted in the nose of the machine, and is cowled-in all but the outer portion of the cylinders. The petrol tank is placed between the pilot- and the fireproof eng'ine bulkhead, and it is stated that there is sufficient " head " to provide direct gravity feed. Incidentally, if we may offer a small criticism of the Bristol " Cherub," it would appear that a better placing of the carburettor might have been below the engine instead of on top of it. In this way gravity feed would have been facilitated. However, if found desirable, this little alteration can probably be easily made. The normal speed of the Haacke engine is 1,400 r.p.m., but the Udet will fly level with the engine throttled down to about 950 r.p.m. The machine is said to be very manoeuvrable, without being too sensitive on the controls, and we understand that it has been found particularly easy to fly, pilots who have not flown since the War having tried it and found no difficulty at all in handling it. The run required for getting off is given as 45 meters (about 50 yards), and the landing run is about 40 yards, the undercarriage being rather high and affording a large angle of incidence when the tail is on the ground. The main particulars of the Udet two-seater sporting monoplane are as follows: Length, o.a., 5-53 m. (18 ft. 2 ins.) ; span, 8-9 m. (29 ft. 2 ins.) ; height, 2-1 m. (6 ft. 10 ins.) ; wing area, 8-8 sq. m. (95 sq. ft.) ; weight empty, 230 kgs. (506 lbs.) ; useful load, 400 lbs. ; total loaded weight, 906 lbs. ; wing; loading, 9-5 lbs./sq. ft. ; power loading, 26 lbs./h.p. ; maximum speed, 150 km. (93 miles) per hour ; climb to 1,000 m. (3,300 ft.) in 8 mins. ; normal range, 500 km. (310 miles). - . • * . GLIDING, SOARING AND AIR-SAILING REFERENCE was made in these notes last week to the Poncelet glider which was tested recently over the Brussels aerodrome by the Belgian pilot Lieut. Simonet. This week we are able to publish a couple of photographs of the machine, very kindly sent to us by Mr. Cornelius van Steenderen, of Brussels. The machine, it will be seen, is of pleasing lines, and has a wing section similar to the Fokker. The wing is made in one piece, and is attached to the fuselage by four U-bolts. The ailerons have turned-up tips, much after the fashion of certain German machines in the earlier days of flying. The pilot sits in front of the wing, with his head in a cut-out portion of the leading edge as in the Hannover " Greif." * * * IN addition to the Poncelet glider several others are being built in Belgium at present. Among these is one by Lieut. Van Cotthem, who was formerly pilot to the King of Belgium, and who is now chief pilot to the S.A. Entreprises d'Aero- nautique at Gosselies, which firm use the Central Aircraft Co.'s " Centaur 4A " machines exclusively for their school work in training military pilots. Another machine is, we under- stand, being built by Commdr. Jacquet, formerly CO. of the Belgian Escadrilles de Chasse. * * * ALEX. MANEYROL keeps pegging away at his experiments at Vauville. As recorded last week he made an experimental flight in which he covered nearly 2 miles. On February 26 he made a flight of a little over 6 miles by flying from Vauville to Joburg. Whatever other prizes may be his as a result of this flight, it appears probable that he will be the winner of the Dewoitine prize of 5,000 francs, the last day of the competition for which was February 28. WE wish to call special attention to the illustrated descrip- tion of the Bristol " Cherub " engine which appears in this issue of FLIGHT. With a normal maximum power of 18 b.h.p. this engine should be of just the right size for use in small lightly-loaded machines, more or less of the glider type. It should be possible, for instance, to design a single-seater with a total weight of 600 lbs. and a wing loading of about 5 lbs./sq. ft., to do a maximum speed of 60 m.p.h. and having a landing speed of about 35 m.p.h. Throttled down to about 45 m.p.h. such a machine should do at least 50 miles per gallon of petrol. Even at full power, with the engine using 12 pints per hour, the consumption would work out at 40 miles per gallon. * * * , '; INCIDENTALLY, a term is badly wanted to describe the lightly-loaded, low-power machine, which, as it is fitted with an engine, is certainly not a glider, and which, so some superior persons might be inclined to say, is certainly not an aeroplane either. We might borrow from the automobile world the equivalent of " light car," and refer to the small machine as a " light 'plane." * * * WE have previously referred to the injustice done to the small, low-power aeroplane by the imposition by the Air Ministry of a minimum " airworthiness " fee of £65. If a firm is going to build a few dozen machines this original fee is not so prohibitive, but as it seems more than likely that machines to take such low-power engines may be built in ones and twos, or may even be built by amateurs, it is scarcely fair to impose this high fee. Once more, may we have a statement on the subject from the Air Ministry- please. • -.,.-. The Belgian Poncelet Glider, in flight and on the ground. 123
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