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Aviation History
1988
1988 - 2476.PDF
* Cody's extraordinary man- carrying glider-kite of 1905 ascended as a kite (inset), and descended as a glider (above). It made many trouble-free flights glider-kite featuring control surfaces which served both as elevators and ailerons. By sending the glider up as a kite and releasing it to glide down, glides of up to 225m (740ft) with a drop of 107m (350ft) were achieved, with a number of different and completely inexperienced men taking the prone pilot's position in the lower centre section. Cody himself, a fearless experimenter, flew it. The application of power began with the somewhat shadowy motor-kite of 1907, an unmanned kite clearly based upon the classic Cody kite but powered by a three-cylinder, 12 h.p. Buchet engine. It was tested by taxi ing, and by "flying" it along a horizontal cable suspended from two masts. Free powered flights are also supposed to have been made, though the evidence of these is vague and unreliable. In October 1907 work began on the construction of Cody's first full-sized powered aircraft in the airship shed at Farnborough. Destined to be called "British Army Aeroplane No. 1", it was largely Wright inspired, though Cody's intelligence and remarkable intuitive engineering skills contributed much to its design. Like the Wright aeroplanes, it was a biplane with two counter-rotating pusher propellers driven by belt drives from an engine mounted on the centre section of the lower wing. The engine was a French water- cooled 50 h.p. Antoinette eight-cylinder vee unit, and the pilot was positioned behind it, operating a forward elevator, a rear-mounted rudder, and ailerons positioned outboard of the wings and a little above the lower plane. The engine was delivered from France in July/August 1908, but a commitment to perform kite experiments at sea with the Royal Navy took Cody away from Farnborough. Finally, the major task of installing the powerplant, radiators, and propulsion system was begun in the airship shed, and Cody was able to return to super vise the work by early September, when rapid progress was made. Numerous modifications and strengthening features were incorpo rated as construction progressed, one of the most notable changes being the addition of a "top rudder" above the upper mainplane to enhance lateral control. On Saturday September 19 the completed aeroplane made its first appearance out of doors, albeit under a veil of secrecy. For this reason it was not rolled out until the evening, and it was then moved to Jersey Brow, a clearing south-west of the factory buildings. (Later tests were mostly carried out on the more exposed Farnborough Common.) There was insufficient space for long runs, and the tests were largely limited to running the engine and, probably, measuring thrust by means of a dynamometer. At least one run of about a quarter of a mile along the ground was made, however. A further trial took place on Farnborough Common, on Monday September 21. This time the balance of the aircraft was tested, and it was found to be rather nose-heavy. Minor damage to a wingtip aileron ended the tests. Repairs were quickly effected, and further trial runs and steering tests took place on Laffan's Plain on the 24th, and on the more convenient Common on the 28th. The next day, September 29, Cody took his aeroplane off the ground for the first time during a fast run, and made a tentative flight of 71m (78 yards). He was not unduly excited by this event, which he regarded as "only a jump". Once again his kite work with the Navy interrupted Cody's trials, and the aircraft was returned to the airship shed for further modification. By October 14, when flight trials resumed, two important changes had been made. The most notable of these was the removal of the ailerons, apparently to reduce aerodynamic drag because of the machine's small reserve of power. This left only the top rudder to control the aircraft in roll and keep it on an even keel. The other change concerned the radiators, which were moved outboard of the propellers, where they no longer inhibited the pilot's view, as the previous installation had done. The climax of the October 14 trials, which were made on Farnborough Golf Links, was another brief flight on the third run, when, according to The Times, the aircraft "suddenly sprang into the air, and soared a distance of about 80 yards (55m) well above the heads of the spectators," and was returned to earth "without any perceptible jolt". Cody had adjusted the camber of his wings for these tests, and this obviously had the desired effect. He later recalled that two tentative flights were made that day. "I went one flight about 10 feet high and the other one about 12, and flew 100 yards each time," he said. "I jumped up, but they were only jumps, as I say." The next day was spent giving the aircraft a thorough overhaul and making final adjust ments to the wing curvature in readiness for a serious attempt at flight on the 16th. Cody began the trials on October 16 by making two or three circular runs on Farnborough Common to warm up the engine and get the feel of the controls. "I was accused of doing nothing but jumping with my machine," he later said, "so I got a bit 164 FLIGHT INTERNA TIONAL, 3 September 1988 ^
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