The Aeroplane Speaks Part 23

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XXII.]

THE MORANE: First the European Circuit and Paris-Madrid type. Then the 1912 types, with taper wing and modern type wing. The 1913 types, the "clipped wing," flown by the late Mr. Hamel, one of the standard tandem types now in use. About the same time came the "parasol." 1914-15 came a little biplane like a Nieuport, and the "destroyer" type with a round section body, flown by Vedrines.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XXIII.]

THE VOISIN.--1908, the first properly controlled flight on a European aeroplane was made on a Voisin of the type shown with fixed engine.

Then followed the record breaker of 1909 with a Gnome engine. In 1909 also the only Voisin tractor was produced. 1910 the Paris-Bordeaux type was built; 1911 the amphibious "canard" and the "military" type with extensions, and the type without an elevator. 1913 came the type with only two tail-booms and a geared-down engine, which developed into the big "gun" machine with a Salmson engine.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XXIV.]

THE HANRIOT AND PONNIER MONOPLANES.--In 1909 came the first Hanriot with 50 h.p. 6-cylinder Buchet engine, and in 1910 the famous "Henrietta"

type with E.N.Vs. and stationary Clergets. 1911 came the Clerget two-seater entered in French Military Trials, and 1912 the 100 h.p.

Hanriot-Pagny monoplane which took part in British Military Trials.

Sister machines of the same year were the single seater with 50 h.p.

Gnome and the 100 h.p. Gnome racer with stripped cha.s.sis. In 1913 the Ponnier-Pagny racing monoplane with 160 h.p. Le Rhone competed in the Gordon-Bennett race, doing about 130 miles in the hour. The 60 h.p.

Ponnier biplane was the first successful French scout tractor biplane.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XXV.]

THE WRIGHT BIPLANE.--The first power flights were made, 1903, on a converted glider fitted with 16 h.p. motor. The p.r.o.ne position of the pilot will be noted. By 1907 the machine had become reasonably practical with 40 h.p. motor. On this the first real flying in the world was done.

In 1910 the miniature racing Wright was produced; also the type with a rear elevator in addition to one in front. Soon afterwards the front elevator disappeared, and the machine became the standard American exhibition and school machine for four years. In 1915 a machine with enclosed fuselage was produced.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XXVI.]

THE BLACKBURN MONOPLANES.--In 1909 was built the curious four-wheeled parasol-type machine with 35 h.p. Green engine and chain transmission, on which flying was done at Saltburn. In 1911 the Isaacson-engined machine was built, together with a 50 h.p. Gnome single-seater on which Mr. Hucks started in the Circuit of Britain race. In 1912 another 50 h.p. single-seater was built on which a good deal of school work was done. A more advanced machine appeared in 1913 and a two-seater with 80 h.p. Gnome did a great deal of cross-country work in 1913-14.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XXVII.]

In 1908 the first Antoinette monoplane was produced by MM. Gastambide and Mengin. Then followed a machine with central skids, a single wheel, and wing skids. In 1909 came the machine with four-wheeled cha.s.sis and ailerons and later an improved edition which reverted to the central skid idea. On this M. Latham made his first cross-channel attempt.

The next machine shed the wing skids and widened its wheelbase.

During 1910-11 the ailerons vanished, warp control was adopted and the king-post system of wing-bracing was used. In 1911 the curious machine with streamlined "pantalette" cha.s.sis, totally enclosed body and internal wing-bracing, was produced for French Military Trials. In 1912 the three-wheeled machine was used to a certain extent in the French Army. Then the type disappeared.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XXVIII.]

In 1908 and 1909 detached experimental machines in various countries attained a certain success. The late Capt. Ferber made a primitive tractor biplane 1908. The Odier-Vendome biplane was a curious bat-winged pusher biplane built 1909. The tailless Etrich monoplane, built in Austria, 1908, was an adaptation of the Zanonia leaf. M. Santos-Dumont made primitive parasol type monoplanes known as "Demoiselles," in which bamboo was largely used. 1909 type is seen above. A curious steel monoplane was built by the late John Moisant, 1909. The twin-pusher biplane, built by the Barnwell Bros. in Scotland, made one or two straight flights in 1909. The Clement-Bayard Co. in France constructed in 1909 a biplane which did fairly well. Hans Grade, the first German to fly, made his early efforts on a "Demoiselle" type machine, 1908.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XXIX.]

In 1910 a number of novel machines were produced. The Avis with Anzani engine was flown by the Hon. Alan Boyle. Note the cruciform universally jointed tail. The Goupy with 50 h.p. Gnome was an early French tractor, notable for its hinging wing-tips. The Farman was a curious "knock-up"

job, chiefly composed of standard box-kite fittings. The Sommer with 50 h.p. Gnome was a development of the box-kite with a shock-breaking cha.s.sis. The Savary, also French, was one of the first twin tractors to fly. The model ill.u.s.trated had an E.N.V. engine. Note position of the rudders on the wing tips. The Austrian Etrich was the first successful machine of the Taube cla.s.s ever built.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate x.x.x.]

INTERESTING MACHINES, 1910.--The Werner monoplane with E.N.V. engine, combined shaft and chain drive, was a variant of the de Pischoff. The Macfie biplane was a conventional biplane with 50 h.p. Gnome and useful originalities. The Valkyrie monoplane, another British machine, was a "canard" monoplane with propeller behind the pilot and in front of main plane. The Weiss monoplane was a good British effort at inherent stability. The Tellier monoplane was a modified Bleriot with Antoinette proportions. The Howard Wright biplane was a pusher with large lifting monoplane tail. The Dunne biplane was another British attempt at inherent stability. The Jezzi biplane was an amateur built twin-propeller.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate x.x.xI.]

SOME INTERESTING MACHINES, 1911.--The Compton-Paterson biplane was very similar to the early Curtiss pusher; it had a 50 h.p. Gnome. The Sloan bicurve was a French attempt at inherent stability with 50 h.p. Gnome and tractor screw. The Paulhan biplane was an attempt at a machine for military purposes to fold up readily for transport. The Sanders was a British biplane intended for rough service. The Barnwell monoplane was the first Scottish machine to fly; it had a horizontally opposed Scottish engine. The Harlan monoplane was an early German effort; note position of petrol tank.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate x.x.xII.]

The Clement-Bayard monoplane, 1911, was convertible into a tractor biplane. The standard engine was a 50 h.p. Gnome. The machine was interesting, but never did much. The Zodiac was one of the earliest to employ staggered wings. With 50 h.p. Gnome engine it was badly underpowered, so never did itself justice. The Jezzi tractor biplane, 1911, was a development of an earlier model built entirely by Mr. Jezzi, an amateur constructor. With a low-powered J.A.P. engine it developed an amazing turn of speed, and it may be regarded as a forerunner of the scout type and the properly streamlined aeroplane. The Paulhan-Tatin monoplane, 1911, was a brilliant attempt at high speed for low power; it presented certain advantages as a scout. A 50 h.p. Gnome, fitted behind the pilot's seat in the streamlined fuselage, was cooled through louvres. The propeller at the end of the tail was connected with the engine by a flexible coupling. This machine was, in its day, the fastest for its power in the world, doing 80 miles per hour. Viking 1 was a twin tractor biplane driven by a 50 h.p. Gnome engine through chains. It was built by the author at Hendon in 1912.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate x.x.xIII.]

Much ingenuity was exerted by the French designers in 1911 to produce machines for the Military Trials. Among them was the 100 h.p.

Gnome-Borel monoplane with a four-wheeled cha.s.sis, and the Astra triplane with a 75 h.p. Renault engine. This last had a surface of about 500 square feet and presented considerable possibilities. Its princ.i.p.al feature was its enormous wheels with large size tyres as an attempt to solve difficulties of the severe landing tests. The Clement-Bayard biplane was a further development of the Clement-Bayard monoplane; the type represented could be converted into a monoplane at will. The Lohner Arrow biplane with the Daimler engine was an early German tractor biplane built with a view to inherent stability, and proved very successful. The Pivot monoplane was of somewhat unconventional French construction, chiefly notable for the special spring cha.s.sis and pivoted ailerons at the main planes; this pivoting had nothing to do with the name of the machine, which was designed by M. Pivot.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate x.x.xIV.]

The Flanders monoplane, 1912, with 70 h.p. Renault engine, was one of the last fitted with king-post system of wing bracing. The Flanders biplane entered for British Military Trials. Notable features: the highly staggered planes, extremely low cha.s.sis and deep fuselage. Also, the upper plane was bigger in every dimension than the lower; about the first instance of this practice. The Bristol biplane, with 100 h.p.

Gnome engine, was also entered for the Trials, but ultimately withdrawn.

The Mars monoplane, later known as the "D.F.W.," was a successful machine of Taube type with 120 h.p. Austro-Daimler engine. The building of the engine into a cowl, complete with radiator in front, followed car practice very closely. The tail of the monoplane had a flexible trailing edge; its angle of incidence could be varied from the pilot's seat, so that perfect longitudinal balance was attained at all loadings and speeds. The Handley-Page monoplane, with 70 h.p. Gnome engine, was an early successful British attempt at inherent stability.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate x.x.xV.]

The Sommer monoplane, with 50 h.p. Gnome, was a 1911-12 machine; it did a good deal of cross-country flying. The Vendome monoplane of 1912, also with 50 h.p. Gnome engine, was notable chiefly for its large wheels and jointed fuselage, which enabled the machine to be taken down for transport. The Savary biplane took part in the French Military Trials, 1911. It had a four-cylinder Labor aviation motor. Notable features are twin chain-driven propellers, rudders between the main planes, the broad wheel-base and the position of the pilot. The Paulhan triplane, which also figured in the French Military Trials, was a development of the Paulhan folding biplane. It had a 70 h.p. Renault engine. For practical purposes it was a failure. The R.E.P. biplane, with 60 h.p. R.E.P.

engine, was a development of the famous R.E.P. monoplanes. Its spring cha.s.sis, with sliding joints, marked an advance. Like the monoplanes, it was built largely of steel.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate x.x.xVI.]

In 1912 came the first really successful Handley-Page monoplane, with 50 h.p. Gnome engine. The Short monoplane, was built generally on Bleriot lines. Its cha.s.sis was an original feature. The Coventry Ordnance biplane was a two-seater tractor built for the British Military Trials. It had a 100 h.p. 14-cylinder Gnome engine, with propeller geared down through a chain drive. The machine was an interesting experiment, but not an unqualified success. The Moreau "Aerostable,"

fitted with a 50 h.p. Gnome, was a French attempt to obtain automatic stability, but it only operated longitudinally. The pilot's nacelle was pivoted under the main planes, wires were attached to the control members so that the movements of the nacelle in its efforts to keep a level keel brought them into operation. The Mersey monoplane, an entrant for the British Military Trials, was designed to present a clear field of view and fire. The 45 h.p. Isaacson engine was connected by a shaft to a propeller mounted behind the nacelle on the top tail boom. It was a promising experiment, but came to grief. The Radley-Moorhouse monoplane was a sporting type machine on Bleriot lines, with 50 h.p. Gnome engine.

It was notable for its streamlined body and disc wheels.