February 15, 1920

February 15, 1920

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An Approximate Method of Testing Airplane Wing Ribs

By N. W. McLachlan24 min

The Floyd Smith Aerial Life Pack

By Floyd Smith17 min

Balanced Control Surfaces on Aircraft

By R. N. Wing5 min

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5859

An Approximate Method of Testing Airplane Wing Ribs

Introduction.—The stresses which occur in a wing rib when an airplane is in flight are due chiefly to the tension in the warp and weft threads of the fabric. These tensions are the resultants of the initial tensions, and those caused by the air pressure, either positive or negative, on the fabric constituting the upper and lower surfaces of the wing.

By N. W. McLachlan24 min

6667

The Floyd Smith Aerial Life Pack

Parachutes have been in use for over thirty years for such purposes as exhibition descents from balloons, but were first used from speeding aircraft in 1912, when Captain Berry made a descent from an airplane traveling at a speed of about 48 m.p.h. at St. Louis, Mo. He used a medium size and weight parachute, folded and stuffed into a conical cylinder which was tied underneath the front end of the skid on the three wheeled pusher biplane used.

By Floyd Smith17 min

5657

Balanced Control Surfaces on Aircraft

The purpose and the value of the balanced control surfaces used on the larger size airships and air planes, are not fully appreciated by persons unfamiliar with the fundamentals of aerodynamics. The layman casually observing a typical balanced aileron, elevator or rudder, Fig. 1 and 2, and noting the comparatively small portion of it which is located in front of the hinge line or pivot, will naturally think that this is done for appearance rather than for any practical reason.

By R. N. Wing5 min

6465

The 450-Hp. Napier Lion Engine

The Napier Lion aeronautic engine has many points of interest. The most noticeable feature of the latest model is the new type of water-jacket. There is now a separate jacket to each cylinder instead of a multiple jacket for each block of four cylinders.
5455

New Aircraft Engines at the Paris Aero Show

In the accompanying illustrations are shown some of the most striking aircraft engines that were exhibited at the recent Aero Show in Paris. The following data and particulars are available regarding these engines, several of which have not as yet been tested in flight.
5859

A Study of Airplane Engine Tests

The following is a resume of Report No. 46 of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, being A Study of Airplane Engine Tests, by Victor R. Gage. This report is a study of the results obtained from a large number of tests of an Hispano-Suiza airplane engine in the altitude laboratory of the Bureau of Standards.
5253

Editorials

THE New York Aeronautical Show which will open its doors on March 6 at the 71st Regiment Armory promises to be by far the most important public manifestation of the aircraft trade this year. The preceding exposition was chiefly a war show. It afforded the public the first comparative view of America’s war effort in the air, restrictions of censorship and of other war time measures having generally prevented the average citizen from examining at leisure the fighting aircraft of the United States before that date.
5657

The German Parseval Airship PL-27

The accompanying illustration is photographic evidence tending to disprove the belief, quite general among airship engineers, that during the war Germany abandoned the construction of nonrigid and semirigid airships in order to concentrate upon the production of rigids of Zeppelin and Schutte-Lanz design.
6667

New N.A.C.A. Reports

Following are the titles of the technical reports Nos. 51 to 82 inclusive, which have been prepared by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in conjunction with its fifth annual report: No. 51. Spark Plug Defects and Tests. No. 52. Temperatures in Spark Plugs Having Steel and Brass Shells.
6465

The Edstrom Wire Wrapping Machine

In the January 1, 1920, issue of AVIATION there was given a short historical notice of the Edstrom wire wrapping machines. Some illustrations are now available which give a much clearer idea of this interesting instrument. Fig. 1 shows the Edstrom machine for making cable terminals.
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