The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1911-09-28
CRAHAME- WHITE,
WRITES AN ARTICLE.
Explains, Without Becoming
Technical, What Makes
Aerop|ane Fly.
- LAUDE GRAHAME-WHITE.
the English aviator who has


the English aviator who has
~ carried off many prizes in this
country, tells how he flies in
an article in the Independent. Mr..
"nlte explains what makes an aero
plane fly, describes flying without be-
coming technical and tells what he
uoes IN the air and why he does it in
a way that any person not versed in
aeronautics will be able readily to
comprehend.
Taking, for example, a Farman BIZ
plane, in which he frequently flies,
Mr.. White says in part:
"Suppose that we are watching the
aeroplane moving along the ground
PRIOR to flight. At the rear of it's
TWO main planes is the engine This.
revolving at a thousand revolutions a
minute, carries round with it the pro-
peller and so forces the machine along
the ground. The propeller of the aero
plane is constructed very carefully
from layers of special wood. It has
TWO blades. These, whirling round in
the air, thrust the aeroplane forward
in the same way as does the propeller
of ship.
Weight Carrying Effect.
The weight carrying effect with
such an aeroplane is obtained from
the two big main planes. These, set
one above the other, are kept apart by
wooden supports, which are held rigid
~ in their place by tension wires. One
of the first things that an observer
notes regarding the lifting planes of
the machine is that they have a curve
upon them. The front edge tits down
little and toward the rear of the
planes curve down slightly Also
There is no difficulty in explaining
how the curve on a plane acts when
the aeroplane is in flight You must
remember that the plane moves
through the air, when the machine is
in motion, at speed Of more than
forty miles an hour. The air first
strikes the dipping nose as 1t is
called, Of the plane. Some Of it i'm
mediately rushes up under the curve
on the lower side Of the plane and
sweeps away in a curving stream to-
ward the rear edge Of the surface The
effect is that of gripping the air when
it passes under the plane
what happens may be better IN
derstood, perhaps, if I say that the
air is thrust down by the curve of
the plane. This action allows the
plane to derive an appreciable lift out
of the air which it displaces The air
that passes over the top side Of the
plane is made to do useful work also.
Its tendency is to move straight back
from the front edge of the plane It
does not follow the downward curve
toward the rear edge Of the plane
Thus as the air passes straight away
partial vacuum is created along the
dipping down edge Of the plane, and
this exercises distinct upward pull.
Therefore the plane is pushed from
below and pulled from above.
by the adoption Of this curved plane
the builders of aeroplanes know that
if they employ a machine with GER
tain number Of square feet of surface
and thrust it through the air at GER
tain speed they will be able to lift
into the air a certain weight
Balance and Control.
The question Of balance and control
enters largely into the flying problem.
Therefore you find set out upon wood
en- booms at the rear Of the biplane
tail composed Of two small planes
placed one above the other. These
two planes tend to balance the aero
plane when in flight in the same way
as does the tail Of bird. Then one
plane Is to be made to rise or fall, turn
from side to side or balance itself
when it shows a tendency to tip side
ways in the air.
midway between the two small tail
planes one finds a vertical plane which
resembles the rudder of ship. This
plane, in fact, acts for the aeroplane
as does the rudder Of vessel.
'Now comes the question of making
the aeroplane rise or fall. To do this
one finds set out in front of the main
planes, on wooden outriggers, small
horizontal plane, which can be moved
ND or down at the will Of the pilot.
Very often this front elevating plane
is coupled up with smaller one,
which is fixed at the rear Of the tail
plane so as to exercise greater lifting
influence.
1.-THE only other controlling device is
REPRESENTED by the 'ailerons.' These
Observation-Disclosures ..-s~s"s~s~s-s-s-sOO