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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 0916.PDF
440 FLIGHT. APRIL 25, 1935. not afford to scrap it until it has done some five years' work, and there is, therefore, no immediate call for faster or better machines. When the big boat, at present on the stocks for Imperials, eventually appears, it will doubtless show improvements on both the Sikorsky and the Martin. Future of Gliding G LIDING is in the news again. Miss Meakin is to tour the country with Sir Alan Cobham's Display and show thousands of people what gliders can do when used for stunt flying, and Mr. Slingsby reports increased interest in the manufacturing side. Ali this is to the good. The gliding fraternity, however, do not appear to have settled all their differences so that agreement can be come to with the Air Ministry for the distribution of the ^5,000 per annum which was set aside last year. When that is done we hope that gliding—or to be more correct, soarings-will be recognised for its potentialities as a means of meteorological research. It would be a great encouragement to the members of a keen body like the London Gliding Club (who probably do 70 per cent, of the soaring in this country) if a prize were offered for the best annual meteorological report of a long-distance flight. Keports of this nature would be of considerable benefit to all forms of flying. Another way in which gliding could be encouraged would be the recognition of the value a soaring course would be to all pilots, for it is possibly true that a pilot of power-driven aircraft who is a soaring pilot is better than one who is not. Ailerons or Rudder? E VERYBODY seems to agree that simplification of air craft controls is a desirable or even necessary develop ment if people by their hundreds are to engage in fly ing as a popular pastime. So far no one has suggested any remedy for the admittedly rather complicated and " non- instinctive '' control system of the orthodox aeroplane other than the abolition of one of the present controls. But opinions are a good deal divided when it comes to deciding which should be abolished. The elevator is indispensable. It is the " gear box " of the aeroplane, in that, used in con junction with the throttle, it enables the machine to main tain level flight at any speed within its range, from maxi mum to minimum. Obviously, the elevator cannot be eliminated, although it might be reduced in power to pre vent stalling angle being reached. There then remain the rudder and ailerons. In these pages we originally suggested that possibly the ailerons might be omitted, giving the wings an ample dihedral angle and relying on the rudder to bring up a wing that had dropped, as M. Henri Mignet does in his " Pou-du- Ciel." Another suggestion was that the rudder might be turned into an immovable fin, and all turning done with May 5. R.Ae.S Garden Party, Falrey Aerodrome, Great West Road. May 11. Aviation Day, Phoenix Park, Dublin. May 19. Deutsch de la Meurthe Cup, Aero Club de France. May 23. Jubilee Air Ball, Air League of the British Empire, at the Dorchester Hotel, London. May 25. Empire Air Day, Air League of the British Empire. May 29. Household Brigade Flying Club. Night-Flying Demonstration, Heston May 30. Wilbur Wright Lecture, hv Mr. Donald W. Douglas, Science Museum, South Kensington. June 1. Brooklands " At Home." June 1-15. Lisbon Aero Show. June 8. London Aeroplane Club. Garden Party, Hatfield. June 8. Official opening and garden party, Witney and Oxford Aero Club. June 15. R.A.F. Flying Club Annual Display, Hatfield. June 15. Bristol and Wessex Aeroplane Club, S.B.A.C. Challenge Cup, Whitchurch. the ailerons. It was pointed out that several modern machines are so designed that there is rarely any real need to use the rudder. Fit. Lt. Christopher Clarkson is cer tainly better entitled than most to express his views, and this week he returns to the subject in our Correspondence columns, pleading for the abolition of the rudder, and sug gesting that split trailing-edge flaps may suffice. Why Not "Lift Spoilers"? r HE use of split trailing-edge flaps at the wing tips does not appeal to us as a good solution. Although the split flap increases the lift, and would thus doubtless bring the wing tip up, it also increases the drag, and would probably lead to the same sort of troubles as the normal aileron. A split trailing edge, in which one flap moved down and another up, sounds an interesting combination, but the results of tests made in America (see p. 25, The Aircraft Engineer, in this issue) are not over-encouraging. In connection with a slotted wing, the Handley Page com pany has found "interceptors" or "lift spoilers" effec tive in bringing the rising wing down. We would suggest that such lift spoilers on an unslotted wing might be used for directional control as well as for banking. The lift is reduced and the drag increased when the " interceptors " are raised from the wing surface, and a yawing force of the right sign would thus accompany the rolling moment. It should be possible so to proportion these surfaces that correct banks were always made. Even in connection with the " Pou-du-Ceil" wing arrangement these "interceptors " might be used instead of using the rudder. M. Mignet admits that while fore-and-aft and lateral stability are excellent at all speeds, and the rudder control good at all normal speeds, when it comes to stalled flight, of which the " Pou-du-Ciel" is capable without going into a spin, the rudder becomes " soft" and not very effective. " Interceptors " might do the trick. An Aspect Ratio of One B Y a somewhat curious coincidence we publish this week general arrangement drawings of three unorthodox aircraft types in which the ratio of wing span to wing chord, or aspect ratio, is very small. M. Mignet uses a very short span in his "Pou-du-Ciel," as his system of con trol without ailerons does not work well on wings of high aspect ratio. Two other foreign designers, one American and the other Italian, have recently produced designs in which the wing area is nearly "square," i.e., the distance from front to back of the wing is approximately the same as that from wing tip to wing tip. In all cases quite good aerodynamic efficiency is achieved, or at any rate claimed. It will be interesting to t>ee whether this complete break away from the wing of what has become ordinary aspect ratios will lead to any permanent influence on aircraft design in general. The experiments are at least worth watching, and it is wise to keep an open mind. June 16. Scottish Flying Club Display, Renfrew. June 29. Royal Air Force Display, Hendon. July 1. S.B.A.C. Display, Hendon. July 6. Royal Air Force Fly-past before H.M. the King at Duxford. July 13. Opening of Leicester Municipal Airport. July 20. Opening of Brighton, Hove and Worthing Municipal Airport, Shoreham. July 28. Private Owners' Garden Party Ratcliffe. Leicester Aug. 17. Roan] the Isle of Wight Air Race and Portsmouth Air Trophy. Aug. 24-25. Third International Flying Meeting, Lympne. Aug. 24-25. Cinque Ports Club. International Flying Meeting and Wakefield Cup Race. Sept. 6-7. King's Cup Air Race. Sept. 14. Cinque Ports Club. Folkestone Aero Trophy Race. Sept. 15. Gordon Bennett Balloon Race, Warsaw. Oct. 12-28. International Aircraft Exhibition, Milan. Forthcoming Events Club Secretaries and others are invited to send particulars of important fixtures for inclusion in this list.
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