PLANE AND RUDDER CONTROL.
Having constructed and equipped your machine, the
next thing is to decide upon the method of controlling
the various rudders and auxiliary planes by which the
direction and equilibrium and ascending and descending
of the machine are governed.
The operator must be in position to shift instantaneously the
position of rudders and planes, and also to control
the action of the motor. This latter i
work automatically and as a general thing does so with
entire satisfaction, but there are times when the supply
of gasolene must be regulated, and similar things done.
Airship navigation calls for quick action, and for this
reason the matter of control is an important one--it is
more than important; it is vital.
Several Methods of Control.
Some aviators use a steering wheel somewhat after
the style of that used in automobiles, and by this not
only manipulate the rudder planes, but also the flow of
gasolene. Others employ foot levers, and still others,
like the Wrights, depend upon hand levers.
Curtiss steers his aeroplane by means of a wheel, but
secures the desired stabilizing effect with an ingenious
jointed chair-back. This is so arranged that by leaning
toward the high point of his wing planes the aeroplane
is restored to an even keel. The steering post of the
wheel is movable backward and forward, and by this
motion elevation is obtained.
The Wrights for some time used two hand levers, one
to steer by and warp the flexible tips of the planes, the
other to secure elevation. They have now consolidated
all the functions in one lever. Bleriot also uses the
single lever control.
Farman employs a lever to actuate the rudders, but
manipulates the balancing planes by foot levers.
Santos-Dumont uses two hand levers with which to
steer and elevate, but manipulates the planes by means
of an attachment to the back of his outer coat.
Connection With the Levers.
No matter which particular method is employed, the
connection between the levers and the object to be manipulated
is almost invariably by wire. For instance, from
the steering levers (or lever) two wires connect with opposite
sides of the rudder. As a lever is moved so as to
draw in the right-hand wire the rudder is drawn to the
right and vice versa. The operation is exactly the same
as in steering a boat. It is the same way in changing
the position of the balancing planes. A movement of
the hands or feet and the machine has changed its
course, or, if the equilibrium is threatened, is back on
an even keel.
Simple as this seems it calls for a cool head, quick
eye, and steady hand. The least hesitation or a false
movement, and both aviator and craft are in danger.
Which Method is Best?
It would be a bold man who would attempt to pick
out any one of these methods of control and say it was
better than the others. As in other sections of aeroplane
mechanism each method has its advocates who dwell
learnedly upon its advantages, but the fact remains that
all the various plans work well and give satisfaction.
What the novice is interested in knowing is how the
control is effected, and whether he has become proficient
enough in his manipulation of it to be absolutely dependable
in time of emergency. No amateur should attempt
a flight alone, until he has thoroughly mastered
the steering and plane control. If the services and advice of an
experienced aviator are not to be had the
novice should mount his machine on some suitable supports
so it will be well clear of the ground, and, getting
into the operator's seat, proceed to make himself well
acquainted with the operation of the steering wheel and
levers.
Some Things to Be Learned.
He will soon learn that certain movements of the
steering gear produce certain effects on the rudders. If,
for instance, his machine is equipped with a steering
wheel, he will find that turning the wheel to the right
turns the aeroplane in the same direction, because the
tiller is brought around to the left. In the same way
he will learn that a given movement of the lever throws
the forward edge of the main plane upward, and that the
machine, getting the impetus of the wind under the concave
surfaces of the planes, will ascend. In the same
way it will quickly become apparent to him that an opposite
movement of the lever will produce an opposite
effect--the forward edges of the planes will be lowered,
the air will be "spilled" out to the rear, and the machine
will descend.
The time expended in these preliminary lessons will
be well spent. It would be an act of folly to attempt to
actually sail the craft without them.
More
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ABOUT WIND CURRENTS
One of the first difficulties which the novice will encounter is the uncertainty of the wind currents. With a low velocity the wind, some distance away from the ground, is ordinarily steady. As the velocity increases, however, the wind generally be... AMATEURS MAY USE WRIGHT PATENTS.
Owing to the fact that the Wright brothers have enjoined a number of professional aviators from using their system of control, amateurs have been slow to adopt it. They recognize its merits, and would like to use the system, but have been apprehens... CONSTRUCTING A GLIDING MACHINE.
First decide upon the kind of a machine you want-- monoplane, biplane, or triplane. For a novice the biplane will, as a rule, be found the most satisfactory as it is more compact and therefore the more easily handled. This will be easily understood... DEMAND FOR FLYING MACHINES.
As a commercial proposition the manufacture and sale of motor-equipped aeroplanes is making much more rapid advance than at first obtained in the similar handling of the automobile. Great, and even phenomenal, as was the commercial development of t... EVOLUTION OF TWOSURFACE FLYING MACHINE.
By Octave Chanute. I am asked to set forth the development of the "two- surface" type of flying machine which is now used with modifications by Wright Brothers, Farman, [1]Delagrange, Herring and others. [1] Now dead. This type origin... FLYING MACHINES VS. BALLOONS.
While wonderful success has attended the development of the dirigible (steerable) balloon the most ardent advocates of this form of aerial navigation admit that it has serious drawbacks. Some of these may be described as follows: Expense and Oth... HINTS ON PROPELLER CONSTRUCTION.
Every professional aviator has his own ideas as to the design of the propeller, one of the most important features of flying-machine construction. While in many instances the propeller, at a casual glance, may appear to be identical, close inspecti... HOW TO USE THE MACHINE.
It is a mistaken idea that flying machines must be operated at extreme altitudes. True, under the impetus of handsome prizes, and the incentive to advance scientific knowledge, professional aviators have ascended to considerable heights, flights at... LAW OF THE AIRSHIP.
Successful aviation has evoked some peculiar things in the way of legal action and interpretation of the law. It is well understood that a man's property cannot be used without his consent. This is an old established principle in common law which... LEARNING TO FLY.
Don't be too ambitious at the start. Go slow, and avoid unnecessary risks. At its best there is an element of danger in aviation which cannot be entirely eliminated, but it may be greatly reduced and minimized by the use of common sense. Theoret... MECHANICAL BIRD ACTION
In order to understand the theory of the modern flying machine one must also understand bird action and wind action. In this connection the following simple experiment will be of interest: Take a circular-shaped bit of cardboard, like the lid of ... MONOPLANES, TRIPLANES, MULTIPLANES.
Until recently, American aviators had not given serious attention to any form of flying machines aside from biplanes. Of the twenty-one monoplanes competing at the International meet at Belmont Park, N. Y., in November, 1910, only three makes were ... NEW MOTORS AND DEVICES.
Since the first edition of this book was printed, early in 1910, there has been a remarkable advance in the construction of aeroplane motors, which has resulted in a wonderful decrease in the amount of surface area from that formerly required. Mark... PECULIARITIES OF AIRSHIP POWER.
As a general proposition it takes much more power to propel an airship a given number of miles in a certain time than it does an automobile carrying a far heavier load. Automobiles with a gross load of 4,000 pounds, and equipped with engines of 30 ... PLANE AND RUDDER CONTROL.
Having constructed and equipped your machine, the next thing is to decide upon the method of controlling the various rudders and auxiliary planes by which the direction and equilibrium and ascending and descending of the machine are governed. Th... PREFACE.
This book is written for the guidance of the novice in aviation--the man who seeks practical information as to the theory, construction and operation of the modern flying machine. With this object in view the wording is intentionally plain and non-... PROBLEMS OF AERIAL FLIGHT.
In a lecture before the Royal Society of Arts, reported in Engineering, F. W. Lanchester took the position that practical flight was not the abstract question which some apparently considered it to be, but a problem in locomotive engineering. The f... PROPER DIMENSIONS OF MACHINES.
In laying out plans for a flying machine the first thing to decide upon is the size of the plane surfaces. The proportions of these must be based upon the load to be carried. This includes the total weight of the machine and equipment, and also the... PUTTING ON THE RUDDER.
Gliders as a rule have only one rudder, and this is in the rear. It tends to keep the apparatus with its head to the wind. Unlike the rudder on a boat it is fixed and immovable. The real motor-propelled flying machine, generally has both front and ... RADICAL CHANGES BEING MADE.
Changes, many of them extremely radical in their nature, are continually being made by prominent aviators, and particularly those who have won the greatest amount of success. Wonderful as the results have been few of the aviators are really satisfi... SELECTION OF THE MOTOR.
Motors for flying machines must be light in weight, of great strength, productive of extreme speed, and positively dependable in action. It matters little as to the particular form, or whether air or water cooled, so long as the four features named... SOARING FLIGHT.
By Octave Chanute. [5]There is a wonderful performance daily exhibited in southern climes and occasionally seen in northerly latitudes in summer, which has never been thoroughly explained. It is the soaring or sailing flight of certain varieties... SOME OF THE NEW DESIGNS.
Spurred on by the success attained by the more experienced and better known aviators numerous inventors of lesser fame are almost daily producing practical flying machines varying radically in construction from those now in general use. One of t... THE ELEMENT OF DANGER.
That there is an element of danger in aviation is undeniable, but it is nowhere so great as the public imagines. Men are killed and injured in the operation of flying machines just as they are killed and injured in the operation of railways. Consid... THE REAL FLYING MACHINE.
We will now assume that you have become proficient enough to warrant an attempt at the construction of a real flying machine--one that will not only remain suspended in the air at the will of the operator, but make respectable progress in whatever ... THEORY, DEVELOPMENT, AND USE.
While every craft that navigates the air is an airship, all airships are not flying machines. The balloon, for instance, is an airship, but it is not what is known among aviators as a flying machine. This latter term is properly used only in refe... VARIOUS FORMS OF FLYING MACHINES.
There are three distinct and radically different forms of flying machines. These are: Aeroplanes, helicopters and ornithopers. Of these the aeroplane takes precedence and is used almost exclusively by successful aviators, the helicopters and o...