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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0859.PDF
AUGUST 23, 1934. FLIGHT. S61 A The Outlookslit lopics The Monoplane VogueM ANY of the earliest aeroplanes were monoplanes, but it was the biplane type which made most head- way. The first cross-Channel flight, of which we have just celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary, was made on a monoplane. The Wright Brothers in America and the Farman Brothers in France were " biplanists." But France had, in addition to M. Bleriot, M. Robert Esnault Pelterie, whose R.E.P. monoplanes made early history. In Great Britain the types were, perhaps, fairly evenly divided in the beginning, but the breakage of the wings of certain monoplanes led to a temporary ban on the type, and for a good many years the biplane had it all its own way. It may or may not be due to this early ban that British designers have, until recent years, been almost exclusively in favour of the biplane. This has been particularly so in the case of military aircraft, and at the present time not a single monoplane is in use by squadrons of the Royal Air Force. An interesting article by an American contributor, the first part of which appears in Flight this week, gives brief particulars of the large number of American monoplanes which has been adopted by the U.S. Army Air Corps. It would appear that the change from biplane to monoplane has been forced upon the American constructors by the increasing speed of the heavier machines, which compelled the designers to try every artifice they knew in order to catch up with the fast modern heavy types. The Ameri- can Army Air Corps has not made the decision lightly. First, single types were thoroughly tested out, and then small batches of monoplanes. The result seems to have been favourable, and the monoplane is ousting the biplane completely in what may be termed " home " squadrons. It is natural to ask if a similar change is to be expected in this country. The answer cannot be given briefly ; there are too many considerations to be taken into account. Several British monoplanes have been built and flown during the last year or so, but none has reached the pro- duction stage at which it is adopted for service use. Generally speaking, the monoplane ends up by being a good deal heavier than the corresponding biplane, but it does not follow that this will always be so. The monoplane is more convenient if a retractable undercarriage is to be used, and as this seems to be inevitable this fact will be in favour of the monoplane. Fighting view, manoeuvrability, and overall dimensions are other factors to be considered. A Sailing Windmill T riSITORS to the Solent district have been treated to y an unusual sight lately. A weird sailing craft, having the hull of a " Redwing " (not that for which Mr Ken- worthy was responsible, but a Solent One-Design type) and the rotor of an Autogiro, has been seen on occasion in Southern waters. People rubbed their eyes and looked again". Yes, it was real enough. The explanation was that Lt.-Col. Moore-Brabazon, who, as our readers will know, is the holder of pilot's licence No. 1, had the idea that% if the rotor of an Autogiro gives great lift when in a hori- zontal position, it should also give great " lift" when run- ning in a vertical plane. We understand that " Moore- Brab." has communicated some of his aerodynamic results to the Royal Aeronautical Society, and until they are pub- lished one cannot know a great deal about the efficiency of the arrangement as compared with orthodox sails. It is not to be expected that the yachting fraternity will take kindly to this new-fangled whirligig, but there may be "something in it." At any rate, the experiment is an interesting application of the Autogiro principle. It is not difficult to foresee "snags." For example, the whirling blades of the rotor might constitute something of a menace to a crowded anchorage, and already Lt.-Col. Moore- Brabazon has had one argument with a dinghy off Cowes, in which both the dinghy and the rotor blades suffered con- siderably. Some idea of the kind of forces involved may be formed when it is pointed out that in a 20 m.p.h. wind the rotor is turnng at about 200 r.p.m., and the tips of the blades are travelling at anything up to 200 m.p.h. Some years ago a Frenchman designed a drive in which an airscrew working as a windmill was used to drive a water propeller. He expected to drive his craft straight against the wind, but, although he had some measure of success, the invention does not appear to have come into general use. The Flettner rotor was another invention which did not do all that was expected. This, it may be remembered, was a plain cylinder driven by an engine of low power, the deflection of the wind past the rotating cylinder giving the rotor its propulsive force. It remains to be seen if the sailing Autogiro is more successful. Noise That Annoys "\JOISE created by'aeroplane engines and airscrews is I y of two kinds. First there is that which is heard inside the machine itself. This kind annoys the passengers; if to too great an extent they do not travel by that machine and the operator loses his clients. The second kind is that heard outside. This annoys people on the ground so that they grow to dislike aeroplanes in general and do not travel in them, and from this kind of noise, as well as the former, the operator loses, if not actual, at any rate potential, clients. The first kind is most obviously detrimental to the operator's interests, and for that reason a great deal of time and monej' has been spent, with a considerable degree of success, on sound-proofing aeroplane cabins, but the latter kind is equally important, and it is high time that something tangible was done about it. Public opinion, backed by Government pressure, quickly pro- duced comparatively quiet motor cars. A similar stimulus would undoubtedly help towards attaining quiet aero- planes. - • . ; . . ' ",- .. :.,:.-: ..':& - - •„. ^ ••••-#•'*, " The Young Idea • •r HIS week Lord Sempill puts forward a plea for tho young embryo pilot, and asks that he may be allowed to fly solo within certain restricted and observed areas. Actually, we agree that there is no earthly reason to suppose that a boy or girl of sixteen is not, in every way, as capable of flying safely as one of seventeen, and we believe that a young man of quite mature years, with all his newly found confidence, will always be the most reckless, either in the air or on the road. But his sight is perfect, his reactions fast, and he is, consequently, very much safer in his dash than an older man or woman may be in his caution. Nevertheless, a line must be drawn somewhere, and the age of seventeen may reasonably be taken as this line between childhood and manhood or womanhood. Mature age counts for very little where skill is concerned, but parents must be protected!
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