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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0682.PDF
rather a long run in taking off, approximately the same as that of a normal aeroplane, but there seems to be every reason to believe that by providing means for giving the windmill an initial start before the machine commences to take off, the length of run required can be very materially reduced. At present this initial starting of the windmill is attained by the rather crude method of winding a cable around four wooden blocks on the wings, a number of men then running the cable out as rapidly as possible. There seems to be no reason why, in later machines, this should not be done by means of a small starting engine, or by the main engine via a suitable clutch mechanism. If the rotating wings are first brought up to the speed corresponding to a lift approximately equivalent to the weight of the machine, it would seem that the run required to take off need be a very short one only. If the " Autogiro " is of to be practical value for military purposes, it would appear to be desirable that it should be capable of a reasonably high top speed, although if used in the manner contemplated for the helicopter, if and when that type materialises, the " Autogiro " would presumably have aeroplanes of normal type to defend it against air attack. If the principle is to be applied successfully to commercial machines, a reasonably high top speed is, perhaps, even more essential, and furthermore, the question of economy will naturally assume considerable import- ance. At present, it is difficult to express an opinion on this latter point. In the experimental machine demonstrated at Farnborough the climb could not be described as spectacular, but then it should be remembered that this machine is considerably heavier than the standard Avro, while the le Rhone engine somewhat naturally objected to running at full power at a forward speed of twenty m.p.h. or so, and was OCTOBER 22, 1925 not, therefore, developing as much power as it should have done. Turning to the question of forward speed, in the machine demonstrated at Farnborough, the windmill rotates at about 140 r.p.m. As the span is 36 feet, this is equivalent to a tip speed of 264 feet per second, or approximately, 180 m.p.h. Assuming the forward speed of the machine to be 60 m.p.h., the ratio of tip speed to forward speed is three, to one. Presumably, this ratio has been found by experience to be the most suitable, probably because of the beating or flapping of the wings. If, therefore, this ratio has to be retained in a machine travelling at, for instance, 200 m.p.h., it will mean a tip speed of 600 m.p.h. The question of diameter, or in other words, of lifting surface, will naturally be of importance, and presumably for a fast machine one would have a small diameter wind- mill revolving at high speed. Quite possibly, it might be found that for very fast machines the blades of the windmill could be built of Duralumin after the style of the Fairey-Reed propeller. As regards manoeuvrability, very little is known at present, and it might be expected that a violent manoeuvre might momentarily cause the wings to beat to an undesirable extent, since their gyroscopic effect would naturally give them a tendency to remain in their normal plane when the machine was suddenly tilted out of that plane. A number of other problems readily come to mind, but doubtless Senor de la Cierva will be prepared to explain any obscure points in the paper which he is reading tonight before the Royal Aeronautical Society. At any rate, as we have already said, the " Autogiro " appears to be so promising as to make further experiment well worth while. It would seem that the principle could be tested out very cheaply with machines of the light 'plane type. Kurdistan Honours THE King has approved of the following rewards in recognition of valuable and distinguished service rendered in connection with operations in Kurdistan in May, 1924 :— Military Cross.—Flying Officer G. A. Elliott, No. 6 Armd. Car Coy.," R.A.F. ; Obsr. Offr. L. T. Kerry, No. 6 Armd. Car Coy., R.A.F. The King has approved of the award of the Military Medal to the following for bravery in the field in connection with operations in Kurdistan in May, 1924 :— 351286 Cpl O. H. Lewis, No. 6 Armd. Car Coy., RAF. ; 238748 Cpl. (A.-Sgt.) T. Ashcroft, No. 6 Armd! Car Coy., R.A.F. Following the Schneider Cup Race THE Royal Aero Club informs us that arrangements have been made for a special " flash " service by the Reuter Agency on the occasion of the Schneider Cup Race, next Saturday, by which Reuter"s will telephone to the Club not only the result of the race, but items of interest during the race itself, so that members of the R.Ae.C. should be able to follow quite closely the progress of the various competitors. Doubtless a large number of members will arrange to be -present at the Club on Saturday evening (the race starts at "2.30 American time, which is equivalent to 7.30 p.m. British time), but we understand that members unable to be present •will, in so far as the telephone capacity permits, be able to obtain information by ringing up the Club, whose telephone number is Regent 1327. Commander Perrin's Accident. IT is with regret that we learn that the Secretary of the Royal Aero Club, Commander H. E. Perrin, met with an accident on Sunday last, while playing golf. Commander Perfin slipped on the grass, and in falling broke his arm in two .places. For a time it was not possible to ascertain the extent of the damage, and it was not until the arm was X-rayed on the following day that the two fractures were discovered, Commander Perrin being in great pain in the meantime. The arm has now been set, but it will, of course, be necessary to keep it in bandages for a month or so. His many friends will wish Commander Perrin a speedy recovery. Sir Samuel Hoare Busy SIR SAMUEL HOARE, Secretary of State for Air, has been very busy the last few days, having started his lecture campaign in connection with the Air Defence Scheme. On October 16 he made his first speech at Lincoln, and on October 20, after presiding at a lecture given by Mr. Alan Cobham, he spoke at Norwich. Owing to pressure on our space this week we are compelled to hold over further reports on this subject until our next issue. Tokyo-Rome Flight Starts HAVING installed a new Lorraine-Dietrich engine in his Savoia S-16ter flying boat, the Marquis de Pinedo started on his return flight from Tokyo to Rome on October 17. Leaving Kasumigacua air station at 9.40 a.m., he reached Kagoshima at 7.30 p.m., having landed en route at Kushimoto. He arrived at Shanghai on October 18, and the following day he flew to Amoy and thence to Hong Kong Sadi Lecointi Wins Beaumont Cup THE speed contest for the Beaumont Cup, which was flown at Istres on October 18, was won by Sadi Lecointi, who covered the 300 km. course in 57 mins. 36 sec, or at a speed of 312-5 k.p.h. (193-75 m.p.h.). Hir, rival was the pilot, Lieut. Ferigoule Japanese Aviators Leave England MAJ. ABE and Mr. Kawachi, the Japanese aviators who reached England from Tokyo last week, continued the final portion of their long journey on October 19, when they left Croydon (having flown there from Farnborouph a few days previously) en route for Brussels and Rome. A squadron of seven R.A.F. machines accompanied them to the coast, and later it was reported that they had arrived at Brussels aero- drome. The next day they handed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs a gift to King'Albert, in the form of a panel of embroi- dered silk. 682
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