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Aviation History
1928
1928 - 0461.PDF
JUNE 7, 1928 the service types of Loening amphibians with the samehorse-power. The principal characteristics of the Loening cabin amphi-bian are :— Span O.A. length Height (wheels down) Chord Gap Stagger Dihedral Incidence Area of main planes „ ailerons ,, tail plane . . „ elevators . . 45 ft. 34 ft. 8i in.13 ft. 2"in. 6 ft. 5 ft. 11! in-1 ft. 2f deg.3deg. 504 sq. ft.30 ,, 39-2 ,,28 Aera fin .. ,, rudderWeight empty . . ,, loaded . .Pay load Weight per h.p. ,, per sq. ft.Speed range Ceiling 15-8 sq. ft.17-4 „ 3,543 lbs.5,900 ,, 1,200 „13-9 „ 11-75 ,, 50—120 m.p.h.14,000 ft. Everling Quantities High Speed Figure ^- =14-2 Distance Figure 7j- = 4-7. Altitude Figure r,±\/ZKh = 6. THE FIRST BRITISH AIRMAN By LIEUT.-COL. W. LOCKWOOD MARSH THE Air League, Royal Aeronautical Society, Royal Aero Club, and Society of British Aircraft Constructors are com- bining to do honour to an English pioneer of flying by giving a banquet in his honour at the Savoy Hotel to-morrow, June 8. It is appropriate that this should take place this year, for it is just 21 years since Alliott Verdon Roe won his first prize in connection with flying. The Daily Mail offered three prizes—to the amount of £150, £75, and £25 respec- tively—for model aeroplanes shown at the Aero Club Exhibition held at the Royal Agricultural Hall, Islington, from April 6 to 13, 1907. At the show A. V. Roe produced five models, all driven by twisted rubber. Four of these were biplanes, while the fifth was a Langley-type " tandem " mono- plane. The models entered for the competition were sub- sequently, on April 15, tested inflight at the Alexandra Palace. The competition was in two parts, the first being held in the central hall of the Palace and the other in the open air in the grounds. By the rules the judges, in awarding the prizes, were to take into consideration : " length of flight, practic- ability, stability, steering power (horizontal or vertical), speed, excellence of design, excellence of construction, method of commencing flight, available lifting power." Roe's No. 3 model in the indoor tests covered the longest distance (85 ft.) " in a beautifully even flight." Out of doors it did not do so well, being only fourth with a flight of 50 ft. None the less, he was awarded the second prize of £75, the first prize not being given, as in the opinion of the judges none of the models justified an award. The model to which the prize was given was a biplane with wings measuring 9 ft. by 15 in. with a 2-ft. propeller behind. At each end of the top plane was an auxiliary balancing plane carried on outriggers trailingbehind the main planes. In the autumn of 1907 Roe rented a shed at Brooklands,where he built a pusher biplane, on similar lines to the successful model with a front elevator and side curtains onVoisin lines but no rudder or lateral control. While awaiting delivery of a 24-h.p. Antoinette motor from France he experi-mented in gliding flights in tow behind a motor-car. In the following spring the expected motor arrived, and on June 8,1908, he made the first flight ever made in England, covering about 60 yards at a height of 2 ft. from the ground. TheBrooklands authorities then gave him notice to quit, and after a search he found new quarters at Lea Marshes, where herented and boarded-in two railway arches to form a work- shop. In the intervening period he had constructed atriplane in the stable of his brother's house at Putney. He had had to sell the Antoinette motor, so was compelled toinstall in the triplane a " J.A.P." motor-cycle engine of only 9 h.p. designed by John Alfred Prestwick. With this, thelowest-powered machine that had ever flown, he succeeded in making a =hort flight on June 9, 1909, and on July 23,in the same year, covered 300 yards. Each of the three superposed planes measured 20 ft. by 3 ft. 7 in., the triplanetail planes measuring 10 ft. by 3 ft. 7 in. also. The total length was 23 ft., and the area about 320 sq. ft. The machineitself weighed 250 lbs., and the pilot 150 lbs., so that the engine was carrying not less than 40 lbs. per horse-power,while the wing loading was about 11- ib. per square foot. No elevator was fitted, but instead the angle of the main planescould be altered. Steering was effected by warping the ^ "i l '! , '«; "Hi "«: Pioneer Work! This early Avro triplane had vari- a b 1 e incidence wings, but in almost every other respect all the features of a modern tractor aeroplane were incorporated [" FLIGBI " Photograph tk •te "a tk %k •&. -44 'si •u. 'ik 417
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