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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 1543.PDF
632 FLIGHT. JUNE II, 1936. Topics of the Day In Miniature T HOSE people who have seen the Tipsy S. in the air or on the ground must have been struck by its clean "big machine in miniature" appearance. Last week I shot about the sky in this tiny machine for a matter of half an hour, and I must say that its handling qualities by no means belie its appearance. It is not only a full-sized machine reduced in plain size but it is also pleasantly reduced (speaking almost metaphysically) in its handling qualities. There is no other way in which its flying performance can be described. Everything happens as one would expect it to happen, but without conscious effort. In actual fact, it could be flown with the finger and thumb, and with a fiftieth of the available energy in one's legs. One's first impressions might be described as those of one aboard an energised visiting card. Never have I felt so essentially part and parcel of a machine in my life. With the firm little wings spread out on either side I soon recovered from an initial sense of wonder and proceeded to treat it with rather less respect. Apart from the ex* pected lightness and efficiency of the controls, there is nothing unusual about the machine in the air, and it simply asks to be flung about. Explaining Performance AS trimmed at present it is necessary to hold the lightest of forward pressures on the stick in order to fly level with a medium-weight pilot, and this has the amusing result that, once started in a steep turn, the Tipsy goes on turning by itself. Only in absolutely vertical turns is it necessary to apply a shade of elevator. With an A.S.I, calibrated in kilometres and a very considerable position error at the pitot head, I brought it in on the fast side for the first time. Disregarding the error itself, a rough calculation suggested that the first approach was made at 60 m.p.h., and the long period of quiet hold-oft necessary beiore all flying speed was lost. showed me clearly how the 100 m.p.h. top speed (on 22 h.p. or so) had been obtained. The Tipsy is as clean as the proverbial whistle. Glancing at the A.S.I, as the machine touched, finding that it registered a little less than 80 km/h., and remem bering the slow speed at which the smooth turf of Fairey's aerodrome had been passing during the final stages of the hold-off, I realised the enormity of the position error. Production machines will probably have the pitot head below the wing, and they will certainly have a sprung undercarriage. The prototype has a pair of widely spaced rigid legs, and the comparatively lengthy hold-off period is extremely useful for the purpose of placing the wheels of the machine, if possible, just one inch above the flying turf. I expected to do a good deal of "pump-handling" and surprised myself by placing the Tipsy firmly in posi tion and holding it without further movement. There is nothing difficult about the landing if it is carried out with gentle movements, and the whole stall is so quietly innocuous that there should be ample time to cope with any minor errors of judgment. The Sporting Single-seater CURSED or blessed with a singularly adequate dash of caution, I felt hardly justified in giving way to a desire to aerobat the Tipsy on first acquaintance, but more than one pilot has already pushed it around the sky in a series of loops and rolls after a few minutes of experi mental flying. Despite its small power, this little machine will do almost anything it is asked to do. I satisfied my self with vertical turns and some slow-speed experiments. When fully stalled the Tipsy gently drops one wing or the other, but is under full control again almost before one has realised that the real stall has taken place. Turns were made with confidence at a speed which could not have been more than 5 m.p.h. higher than the minimum. As in the case of many small machines, a full side-slip cannot be held without a considerable rise in velocity, but the machine can be "crabbed" very satisfactorily with full rudder and just enough aileron to prevent a turn. There is practically no difference in attitude between normal level flight and the glide. At slower speeds the nose is naturally rather higher, but there is so very little of this that the range of view is not appreciably diminished. When cruising, this view is extraordinarily good, and the nose lies well below the horizon. In bad weather it would be possible to potter along on a breath of throttle, since the Douglas engine is very smooth throughout the range. Incidentally, though the hold-off takes an appreciable time from a speed of 55 m.p.h. or so, the distance covered is comparatively small, and anything of a breeze would reduce both the time and the distance. An Old Problem W HICH reminds me of the ancient battle about down wind turns and the like, involving similes about flies in express train carriages and rowing boats in strong tides. My mind tells me quite clearly that an aeroplane is moving in a separate medium, and that the change of ground speed when a wind-gust dies down, or when a turn is made, can have no bearing on the performance of the machine so far as its air speed is concerned. Experience tells me that when my machine flies into sheltered air, near a hangar, for instance, my gliding speed will drop suddenly, and that people have spun in off down wind turns. Any sailplane expert will explain that when turning up-wind the nose can be hoicked up, but when turning down-wind the nose must be stuffed down. Inertia must take the blame. INDICATOR •
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