FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1924
1924 - 0732.PDF
Those wishing to get in touch 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 publish such communications on this page, in order to bring together those who would like to co-operate, either in forming gliding clubs or in private collaboration. LAST week we were able to announce in these notes that a meeting was to take place at the Air Ministry between repre sentatives of six light aeroplane clubs and the Director of Civil Aviation. The conference took place on Friday of last week, Air Vice-Marshal Sir W. Sefton Brancker being present and the clubs represented being as follows : The Royal Aero Qub (Lieut.-Col. M. O. Darby and Lieut.-Commander H. E. Perrin), Glasgow Light Aeroplane Club (Mr. J. Allison, jun.), Midland Aero Club (Major Gilbert Dennison) ; Lancashire Light Aeroplane Club (Mr. C. J. Wood and Mr. D. R. Williams), Yorkshire Light Aeroplane Club (Professor G. Brodetsky and Mr. Norman Blackburn). The sixth club, the Newcastle Light Aeroplane Club, was prevented from sending a representative, but will confer with the Air Ministry later? * * * No official announcement has been made concerning the conference, but it is understood to have been of a more or less informal character, and to have taken the form of an elabora tion by the Director of Civil Aviation of the details of the Air Ministry proposal, followed by a discussion of various matters relating to finance, conditions of membership, suitability of light 'plane types for school and club purposes, and other similar subjects. Although no definite results were obtained, it is felt that the conference has done a great deal of good in ibringing together the parties concerned, and the representa tives of the various clubs were quite enthusiastic in regard to the future of the light 'plane movement. * * * IT would appear that among those interested in the forma tion of light 'plane clubs there is still a good deal of diversity of opinion as to the size of engine required. In the meantime the Air Ministry is looking into the problem, and it is thought that a ruling on the subject will be issued before long. It is, however, a problem requiring the most careful consideration, as the whole future of the light 'plane movement may very well be marred by a wrong decision. NOVEMBER 20, 1924 seaters can be built which will fly with the engine developing 10 to 15 b.h.p., so that if the maximum power is about 40 b.h.p. there should be a percentage reserve better than that attained in most commercial aeroplanes. * * * As against the " efficiency school," there is a volume of opinion which maintains that if light 'planes are to become popular they will, above all else, need to be cheap. Now super- efficiency and cheapness are always more or less antagonistic, but in this case it should not, we think, be impossible to combine the two so as to form a workable compromise. New methods of construction must be evolved to meet the case. Merely to build an ordinary aeroplane on a reduced scale will not bring the cost down, as the number of man-hours will be very nearly the same as for a much larger machine. The use of inferior materials is out of the question, and so there can be small chance of reducing the cost that way. The only solution, therefore, appears to be to adhere to high-class materials, but to use them in such a way as to minimise the amount of work needed to join them together to form a machine. In this respect the Caspar "C.17" appears to point the way. For instance, the number of wing ribs has been reduced to the very small total of 10 for the whole wing, and, although the wing tips are tapered, there are but three different sizes of ribs, those of the parallel portion, the wing tip ribs, and one rib between the tip and the parallel centre portion. * * * As a matter of fact, while on the subject of tapered wings, there are designers who are of the opinion that even the plain untapered wing, with " sawn-off " tips, is not so very inferior as regards efficiency to the tapered wing, while its cost is necessarily smaller. SIMILARLY, in the case of the fuselage, the use of numerous metal fittings for diagonal bracing wires or rods must add to the cost, not only of manufacture, but even more so of erecting one of the largest items in the cost of an aeroplane. In the Caspar the longerons and struts are all of the same triangular section, and the fuselage is of the flat-sided, flat-topped variety, with no such costly refinements as deck fairings, etc. Yet the machine appears to be a very efficient one. IN aircraft circles there is a growing tendency to regard 35 to 40 actual horse-power as sufficient for light 'plane two-seaters, and a feeling that to increase the cubic capacity would be a retrograde step, merely leading to a repetition of the early history of flying, when an increase in performance was obtained mainly by increasing the engine power instead of by improving the aerodynamic efficiency of the machines. It is felt that with modern knowledge of aeronautics it should be possible to design machines with ample power reserve without increasing the power to more than 40 b.h.p. Cer tainly, the performance curves of the Beardmore " Wee Bee I,'' and the figures relating to the German Caspar "C. 17," published in this issue of FLIGHT, appear to indicate that efficient two- AT the glider meeting held in Czechoslovakia recently several fine performances were put up, and the " record " of the meeting was established by Major Skala, who, mounted on one of the Dewoitine gliders, delivered by Lieut. Thoret to Czechoslovakia last year, remained in the air for 2 hrs. 21 mins. 51 sees. A number of gliders of Czechoslovak design and construction also took part, but, although they performed quite creditably, they did not equal the duration of the Dewoitine. One or two of them were damaged, but no serious accidents occurred. It may be recollected that when Lieut. Thoret visited Czechoslovakia last year one of his most apt pupils was Major Skala, who has now established a new glider " record " for his country. THE PARNALL "PIXIE III " LIGHT 'PLANE : This photograph shows the machine in monoplane form, but it will be recollected that it can be converted into a biplane, and that, as a matter of fact, it flew in this guise at Lympne. The machine shown is that carrying the number 18 in the competitions. Mr. Frank Courtney is in the pilot's seat, and Mr. Harold Bolas is the passenger on this occasion. 732
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
