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Aviation History
1923
1923 - 0291.PDF
MAY 31, 1923 Those wishing to get in louch with others interested in matters relating to gliding and the construction of gliders are invited to write to the Editor of FLIGHT, who will be pleased to pub ish such communications on this page, in order to bring together those who would like to co-operate, either in forming gliding clubs or n private collaboration. ON Saturday of last week the Gnosspelius light 'plane, described elsewhere in this issue, was put through its pre- liminary flying tests at Lympne aerodrome, whither it had been transported by motor lorry. Less than two hours after its arrival the machine was in the air, piloted by Mr. Parker, Short Brothers' test pilot. During the first flight a height of about 1,500 ft. was reached, the machine climbing strongly. The duration of this flight was about 15 mins. A landing was then made, and a little later another flight was undertaken the machine on this occasion reaching a height of 2,500 ft., and remaining up for approximately half an hour. The climb was quite strong, and the maximum horizontal speed attained, as shown by the air-speed indicator, was about 65 m.p.h * * * WE understand that certain minor adjustments are required, but that is inevitable in any new machine, and certainly Major Gnosspelius is to be congratulated on having produced a machine which, although of quite new type, flew so well the first time of asking. The airscrews fitted are such as to keep down the engine revolutions to about 2,500, so that when " all-out " the Blackburne engine cannot develop more than about 16 h.p., although when allowed to " rev." up to 4,500 r.p.m. it will develop about 24 h.p. By thus keeping the revolutions down the reliability of the engine should be assured, and the climb was such that, even with the engine held down to 16 h.p., the amount of power in reserve must be considerably more than 50 per cent., which is better than obtained on the majority of commercial aeroplanes. * * * FROM the " power-required " curve, very kindly shown us by Major Gnosspelius, it appears that the minimum thrust horse- power is about 3. Assuming that at this speed the airscrew efficiency is about 70 per cent, it means that the minimum power to be given by the engine is about 4-3 b.h.p. Even if we assume it to be 5 b.h.p., the power reserve is 11 h.p. As the weight is about 530 lbs. the climb should be, assuming 75 per cent, efficiency, about 480 ft. per minute. As the best climb would probably occur in the neighbourhood of 40 m.p.h., the climbing angle should be somewhere in the neighbourhood of 1 in 8, which is very good. Altogether the Gnosspelius light 'plane should prove something more than a machine for cruising around in the neighbourhood of aerodromes, and should be well capable of cross-country work. That nothing of the kind was attempted on Saturday last was, of course, due to the fact that the machine is experimental, and has not yet been given her registration letters. Would it, we wonder, be possible to take a leaf out of the book of the French Nieuport firm, who got, for one of their racers flown by Lecointe, the registration letters F-SADI, and give the Gnoss- pelius machine the letters G-NOSS ? * * * INCIDENTALLY, it is of interest to note that the Blackburne engine, which is of 697 c.c. capacity, ran excellently during the tests, and gave very little vibration. This is encouraging, as there had been a certain amount of doubt as to how the V-twin engine would behave when mounted in such a relatively flexible structure as an aeroplane. It appears, if'the Black- burne can be regarded as an average V-twin, that no fears need be entertained on that score, which fact considerably widens the choice of engine for a light 'plane. There are, however, probably few V-twin engines which are as light, for their power as the Blackburne, especially in sizes below the 750 c.c. stipulated for the competitions, and we would recom- mend designers of light 'planes who are as yet undecided what engine to choose to give the Blackburne due consideration. * * " * WHILE we in this country are contemplating what can be done with existing motor-cycle and light-car engines, French designers are already looking ahead, and at a meeting called by the French Aerial Association recently the subject was "What are the Desiderata of the Light 'Plane Engine?" At present opinions are very much divided on this point, and naturally so, since we do not know yet even what power is likely to be necessary. At the meeting one constructor called for an engine of 4 h.p., while M. Louis de Monge, the well- known designer, thought an engine of about 44 h.p. was required for cross-country touring on single seaters, or, •E: alternatively, a 70 h.p. engine for two-seaters. Personally we do not agree with either view, but tfjjjre is so much room for discussion that we think the attitude adopted in this country, of finding out first of all what we can do with existing cycle engines, is the better. Later on we can always look into the matter of special engines. If we can do all that is required with existing engines, which are cheap and for which spares are easily obtainable, so much the better. * * • NINE entries have been, received, up to the present, for the glider week to be held at Vauville, near Cherbourg, from August 5 to 26. These are : (1) Eric Nessler; (2) Jean Galland ; (3) Societe 1' " Icare " ; (4) Charles Marais; (5) Henry Grandin ; (6) J. Pimoule ; (7) V. Simonet ; (8) Louis Breguet ; (9) S.A.B.C.A. The machine entered by Breguet is a " Colibri," and will be fitted with a 10 h.p. engine. The machine is expected to weigh 110 kgs. empty, and will have 15 sq. m. (162 sq. ft.) of surface. The span is 33 ft. 7 ins. and the length 20 ft. 4 ins. Assuming a weight of 150 lbs. for the pilot, the loaded weight should be about 600 lbs., giving a wing loading of about 3| Ibs./sq. ft., which seems somewhat heavy. * * * THE machine entered by the Societe Anonyme Beige de Constructions Aeronautiques is a thick-wing monoplane designed by Jullien. It has a span of 44 ft., a length of 16 ft. 5 ins., and an area of 20 sq. m. (216 sq. ft.). The weight empty is given as 170 kgs. (375 lbs.), and the machine will be fitted with an engine of 10 h.p. * * * As the meeting at Vauville is open to British competitors, a few explanatory notes may be of interest. The meeting of Vauville is being organised by the French Aerial Association, under the patronage of the Secretary of State for Air. It is not a competition in the usual sense of the word, but rather a series of more or less scientific experiments, the prizes offered being more intended to reimburse in some measure the participants. The entrance fee is 50 francs per machine up to May 31, and 100 francs between June 1 and the closing date, July 1. Entries should be sent to the Secretariat General de l'Association Francaise Aerienne, 17, Boulevard des Batignolles, Paris (8e). * * * MACHINES fitted with engines may take part in the pure glider competitions, but must either have their engines removed before any flight of this kind, or prove before starting that the engine has been effectively prevented from being used during such flights. * * * PRIZES amounting to 10,000 francs (Prix de la Ville de Cherbourg) will be awarded for longest duration in the air. A similar amount (Prix de Conseil General de la Manche) will be awarded for the longest aggregate duration in the air during the meeting. * • • ANOTHER 10,000 francs will be awarded for greatest height attained above starting point (Prix Louis Breguet, 5,000 francs ; Prix Mouillard, 3,000 francs; and Prix A. de la Hault, 2,000 francs). * * * DISTANCE flights will be awarded 15,000 francs, the donors being : Rene Quinton, 5,000 ; Charles Renard, 4,000 ; Capi- taine Ferber, 3,000; Marey, 1,500; Charles Weismann, 1,000 ; and Jules Frateur, 500 francs. * • • DISTANCE flights for gliders with auxiliary engines will be awarded a total of 16,000 francs (donors : Commerce de Cherbourg, Adrien Fetu, and Andre Carlier). The engines are to be regarded as auxiliary, and mainly intended to enable machines to bridge gaps between two ranges of hills. The maximum fuel allowed is limited to 500 c.c., and the minimum distance to be covered is 6 kilometres (about 4 miles). * • • SEVERAL minor competitions are to be held, such as for flying gliders of a school type, while one or two have not been decided upon. The total amount of prizes is 100,000 francs (about £1,670 at present rate of exchange), and, quite apart from the possibility of winning prizes, a good deal of interest might be learnt by paying a visit to Vauville. The auxiliary engined glider is rather different in scope from the machines that will take part in the British light 'plane competitions, but nevertheless, should provide useful information for the latter, which will follow about a month later. 291
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