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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 0049.PDF
JANUARY 7, 1937. FLIGHT. 21 MODELS Modern Glider Practice : Indoor Flying : Enthusiasm in Germany and Sweden By M. R. KNIGHT Grace of line and delicacy of workmanship that put one in mind of the denizens of Dunstable Down- Mr. J. C. Smith's 40I in. span glider Powerless ONE of the most popular items in the Model Flying Dis play given at the Hurlingham Club during the last four summers has been the catapulting of a glider by Mr. J. C. Smith, competition secretary of the S.M.A.E. and vice- chairman of T.M.A.C. This launching system has now been adopted for the annual S.M.A.E. gliding contest. The glider here described is the latest of a successful series by Mr. Smith. It is built of balsa wood and birch, and weighs 5| oz. The wing is mounted on a streamlined cabin which is detachable, and is secured to the fuselage interior by four rubber bands passing through tubes in the cabin and anchored to hooks lashed to the base of the two fuselage bulkheads. This high position of the wing has proved very satisfactory. The span is 40J in., and the maximum chord 6 in. At the cfutre the wing section is Clark Y, but it changes to bi-convex, and becomes symmetrical towards the tips, which are given a slight wash-out. The dihedral is applied by curving the spars, as in the Pou-du-Ciel. The distinctive plan form has proved equally effective for gliding and power flight. Each full rib is slotted to fit over a balsa main spar, which tapers in depth from § in. to J in. The rib ends rest in recesses in the leading and trailing spars, the former being I in. x I in. balsa, rounded off, and the latter £ in. x £ in. balsa, sandpapered to a sharp edge. Bamboo strip, rein forced with solid balsa, forms exceedingly robust wing-tips. The U-section fuselage consists of four balsa longerons, two bulkheads of -^ in. plywood, numerous stringers of silk cord, and a keel of \ in. x \ in birch, to which a 19-gauge skid "ire is attached by means of plywood spacers. The wire projects 1^ in. behind the wing leading edge to form a towing nook, and an adjustable catch enables the fore and aft position of the towing pull to be varied. Balsa sheet, covered ^V1th bamboo tissue, is used for the cabin sides. The fin is ''uilt integral with the fuselage, and consists of a centre post °f i in. x y'g in. birch, and an edging of ^ in. x -& in. 1 'amboo. The tail-plane, of thin symmetrical section, is mounted •'(lead of the fin, and is detachable. The span is 12 in. and the maximum chord 3J in. Ribs and main spar are of balsa, hut the edging is of 28-gauge wire. Bamboo tissue was used for covering the wing and the fore part of the fuselage, and superfine tissue for the tail and the rear of the fuselage. The upper surface of the wing was given two coats of clear dope, all other surfaces receiving one. The wing is mounted parallel to the datum-line, with the tail-plane set at a small negative incidence. The launching cord consists of 50 ft. of ^ in. x ^ in. rubber ($ in. X | in. in windy weather), and an equal length of thread. One end terminates in a ring which slips over the rear end of the landing skid, the other end being anchored to the ground. The glider is released from such a distance behind the point of anchorage as will stretch the cord sufficiently to give adequate impetus. On parting company with the glider, the cord is returned gently to earth by means of a parachute. Indoor Achievements THE Albert Hall meetings are attracting models of con siderable interest, and leading to numerous record- breaking flights. Mr. E. Ross, a member of the Northern Heights Club, and one of the stars of the model world, who recently established a British Indoor Fuselage Record of 151.6 sec, has since raised this record to 3 min. 47 sec. His model, it may be recalled, is a microfilm-covered parasol, with short diamond-section fuselage terminating in a slender spai which carries the tail. It struck an overhead wire, and nearly half of the tail-plane folded down flush with the inverted fin, in which condition the model flew strongly for over three minutes! _ Mr. T. H. Ives (Hayes and District Club) achieved 6 min. 21 sec. with a microfilm spar model, and a similar machine flown by Mr. R. Copland (Northern Heights), who won third place in the 1936 Wakefield contest, set up an unofficial record of 15 min. Mr. T. Newell (North Kent Club), whose outdoor twin-tractor Falcon was described in Flight of February 6, 1936, carried out short tests with a small indoor version. This had a wing span of iS in., weighed J oz., and employed three-bladed airscrews. It has been found necessary to alter the dates of the next two indoor meetings owing to the Albert Hall being required for other purposes. They will now be held on Thursdays, January 7 and 2r, from 7.30 to 10 p.m. [Continued overleaf.
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