FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1923
1923 - 0653.PDF
OCTOBER 25, 1923 THE PARNALL "PIXIE" LIGHT 'PLANE Douglas Engine OWING to the fact that we were unable to obtain from themanufacturers details and illustrations of the machines entered by George Parnall and Co., of Coliseum Works,Bristol, for the Lympne light 'plane competitions, it was not possible to include with the comparative scale drawingspublished in our issue of October 11 the drawings of the " Pixie," We have now, however, obtained these drawings,and have therefore thought that a brief illustrated description of the machines may be of interest. In our issue of October 18several sketches showing certain constructional details of the " Pixie " were published, and to these we would refer readers,as space does not allow of publishing them again this week. As entered for the Lympne competitions the Parnall" Pixie," designed by Mr. Bolas, chief designer to George deal to recommend it. At any rate, we offer the suggestionfor what it is worth. It should not be difficult to design a fuselage in which a central portion can be interchanged for onewith two seats and carrying a larger wing or wings. Thus, if the owner-pilot desires to go alone, but to travel reasonablyfast, he would use the machine with small wings and one seat. If he wished to take a passenger he would merely disconnectthe central portion of the fuselage and replace it with the two-seater, large-wing portion. In other words, he wouldattach his " side-car." However, to return to the Parnall " Pixie." The machineis a low-wing monoplane, with the two halves of the wing hinged to the lower longerons of the fuselage and braced bytwo streamline steel tube struts. These struts are attached THE PARNALL " PIXIE I " : Three-quarter front view. Parnall and Co., was built in two types, one with large wingsand a 500 c.c. Douglas engine, and the other with small wings and a 750 c.c. Douglas. Instead of building two completemachines, the one fuselage, chassis and tail were made to serve for both types, the machine being changed from one type tothe other by merely changing the engine and wings. The constructional details are the same for both types, so that thefollowing remarks may be taken, except when otherwise stated, to refer to both. Incidentally, the idea of inter-changeable wings of various areas might be worth further development when we come to consider the marketing of light'planes, and it would appear that the idea might be extended to include a change from single-seaters to two-seaters. Thiswe do not claim as an original idea, as something of the sort has already been done (by Capt. Barnwell while he wasassociated with the Bristol Aeroplane Company), but it seems that in the case of a light 'plane the " side-car " idea has a good to the upper longeron of the fuselage by a very neat adjustablefitting, which allows of setting the angle of incidence and dihedral within very fine limits, A sketch of this fitting waspublished last week. The wings themselves are of normal construction, the sparsbeing of built-up I-section, with the web resting in grooves in the top and bottom flanges, somewhat after the fashion of awing rib. The material used is spruce. The wing design is, however, unusual in that, although over the inner portion ofthe wing the two spars are parallel, from just outside the points of attachment of the bracing struts the rear spar slopesforward to meet the front spar at the tip. Thus any tendency on the part of the rear spar to deflect under aileron loads isprevented by the front spar, which is placed at sx deeper part of the section. In fact, according £o how the spar positionsare chosen, it would probably be possible so to design the wing that the tendency to warp under aileron loads was in a direction THE PARNALL ' PIXIE I " : Three-quarter rear view. Standing by the machine are Capt. Macmillan, thepilot, and Mr. Bolas, chief engineer and designer of the Parnall machines. ••-• : - ~. 653 . ••••.•.• •;.-• -•.:':•:.:: - D
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
