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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 1627.PDF
AUGUST 22ND, I946 FLIGHT g 191 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR FOOLS Henri Mignei's The Flying Flea, published by SamsonLow. It will educate him (no matter how learned he may be), encourage him and sustain him in his labour. There were those who thought that the unconvention-ally of the '' Flea'' was its weakness, and so attempted to remedy the situation by producing ultra-light aircraft'at similar size but of conventional design. It seems •Jt fairly obvious that unconventionality must be the order ofthe day, if only to eliminate for the home handyman the complications of the orthodox control system, to reduce,for the factory producer, the man-hours which form such a high proportion of his outlay, and to cut the weight,for everybody, to a minimum. Next only in importance to our little aircraft's abilityto stay in the air and to suffer rough handling without disintegration, is the question of cost. It is the criterionby which each detail of the design must be judged. For the amateur who, as the very word suggests, works forthe love of working, the price of labour is negligible, pro- vided that it is within his own ability and he does not haveto call on a professional tradesman for help. The com- mercial manufacturers, however, have to weigh theirlabour costs very carefully, so it would appear that at least two different designs will be needed. I believe that therewill be room for both types. There will always be those, who, no matter how keen, will not be in a position to buildtheir own machine. If I may push my personal foolish- ness so far, I would suggest as possibilities: (i) for theamateur constructor a shoulder-wing tailless pusher in wood, with the cockpit between the spars ; and (2) for theprofessional manufacturer a welded tubular steel Autogiro with an option on jump starting. My idea of an ultra-light aircraft is not of a machinefor going places but of one which, carefully handled with suitable advantages, will provide educative amusementand enable one to get one's feet off the ground. I repeat the design must be by the expert. In order to bring itwithin the scope of the more ordinary salary the engine must be small and we must compensate for this with lowstructural weight. For this reason, and not from aero- dynamic considerations, I suggest that the ultra-light air-craft could do without tail surfaces and a stressed fuselage. There would also be attendant advantages from the con-structional viewpoint. With the design in the hands of experts I see no reason why the tailless layout should bemore unsuitable for the ultra-light than any other class and, in fact, the necessarily limited speed range would go From HenriMignet's classic, "The Flying Flea":".. .and mutter con- temptuously toourselves: Quefont- ils done en bas?" A one-man experimentalhelicopter, designed in Germany, the Nagler-Rolz 54 was flown during the war. Design datawere : weight 80 lb, endurance 1 hr, range30 miles, ceiling 1,500ft, rate of climb 500 ft/min.The engines were 140 c.c. 8 b.p. Argusweighing 9 1b each and running at 6,000 r.p.m. some way towards eliminating the principal problems.A lot is said these days about helicopters, and it seems that in many ways these are becoming more and morecomplicated. Development of the larger types, however, must eventually result in a simplified, if restricted, control .that might suit ultra-light purposes. My leanings at the moment, however, are towards an Autogiro type some-what similar to the towed glider used on U-boats. Strictly Utilitarian ^ However, no matter how the actual designs may vary,there are many features which must be regarded as essen tials, and we must always resolutely turn our backs on thetuppence-coloured and stick to the penny-plain. Dealing with the question of the size of our machine, Mignet'sstyle is as eloquent as it is typical. " Everyone " he says, '' dreams of taking out their little girl friend before theyknow whether they can raise themselves from the daisies! Aviation is a solitary sport ... A two-seater willnecessitate 35-40 h.p., a double load of petrol, considerable expense—it is the qther type of aviation." That is it ina nutshell. We poor amateurs, spending money we find so hard to earn, cannot afford the considerable expense ofthat "other type" of aviation. Our machine must be a single-seater, with an engine of about 25 h.p., and costingless than £50. Pre-war possibilities in this class were the Aero Engines' "Sprite" and the two-stroke Scott. Bothgave about 25 h.p. for take-off and weighed about 8olb. There are other risks of increasing the cost which wemust avoid. Cowlings, fairings and every little luxury must be eliminated from the naked reality of our aircraft.Expensive habits are acquired by working on expensive aircraft. Non-structural parts do not require high-qualitymaterials; let us get out that old tea-chest and put it to use. Aircraft linen is not really necessary for use whenboxing-iri the sides of a fuselage. The cost and weight of aircraft-tvpe wheels and tyres are both too high, so whynot use the wheels which are used on the front of carrier cycles, with levered rubber suspension, and keep thefuselage close to the,ground? Could not hard-wood bear- ings be used for control-rods and the like? It is betterto fly with heavy controls than not fly at all, and our machine does not need a long commercial life. Would it not be possible . . . ? Yes ! surely it would,and then we could follow Mignet into the skies, and, as in his delightful drawing, we could peer over the edge ofour own cockpit at our fellow-men below, straining on elastic ropes, and mutter contemptuously to ourselves:'' Que font-ils done en bas ? " THE FOLKESTONE TROPHY AT least thirty aircraft, seventeen of which are Continentalentries, are expected to compete in the Folkestone Air Race. The heats will be flown on Saturday, August 31st, andthe final on the following day. On the Sunday there is also to be a high-speed handicaprace over the same course, wiiich starts and finishes at Lympne Airport, with turns at Capel, between Folkestone and Dover,and Folkestone Harbour. This is the first air race in which jet aircraft have competed, and it is understood that Mr.Geoffrey de Havilland will be flying a Vampire, and other entries include a Gloster Meteor, a Fairey Firefly and a Super-marine Spiteful flown by Mr. Jeffrey Quill.
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