Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1912-11-08
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moving horizontally or upward in opposition 70
the surface of the planes. should be falling, then
the support OF the flying machine Is suddenly
diminished to that extent, and the aeroplane
drops. Again, IL the aviator Ia travelling against
stratum of wind of a definite speed and then
purposely descAnds reaching an air belt OF lower
speed or altered direction, these changes may re
duce the force of the air striking the surfaces
of his planes. and this drop in pressure may
cause his machine to fall speedily earthwaro
This is another proof OF course, OF the imaginary
vacant places in the air
We must bear in mind that the problem OF
the flying machine is quite distinct from tnat u
the balloon. The balloon floats because IL u
either lighter than the air it displaces-When "
rises-or remains at fixed altitude because there
is perfect balance between its weight and thas
of the air which 1t thrusts aside. 1t remains
aloft whether drifting with the wind or being
driven by motor. The heavier than-air hyins
machine, on the other hand is sustained IN night
only so long its movement forward arouses
sufficient opposition on the part Of the air to lift
or to sustain it. When the propellers cease to
revolve the aeroplane starts earthvsard, and dis
aster can be avoided only by volplaning or per-
forming a sweeping spiral descent. maneuver
of this sort is nothing more nor less than
modified drop The safety of the acceptance
therefore when in midair, depends upon the nice
balancing of the machine and the proper equaliz-
ing of pressure upon the planes. Eddies In the
air or any other disturbance which will bring
the aeroplane into conflicting atmospheric Deits
or zones will imperil the stability of the ma
chine and the life of the aviator unless he be
ever watchfuL and there are of these con-
ditions against which he cannot sufficiently
guard
The flying machine, in going ahead hits the
air a succession of rapid blows, and by this
causes an area of compression which is equal in
the force of its reaction to the weight of the
fying machine. The fact of 1t is this compress
sion actually affects a volume OF air equal In
weight to the air craft 1t sustains, and cubic
foot of atmospheric air weighs only .OS of
pound at the freezing point, little figuring will
show how wide is the area upon which the avia-
tor must draw for his support
What happens then when the flying machine
has moved onward and the atmosphere tries to
resume it's normal state? The reaction is like
the release of a spring, and the air acquires
vibratory moton-greatest in vertical direction
akin to the prolonged holdings of a partly
water-soaked log after being hit blow. But this
is not all.
We are living at the bottom of an ocean of
air and we are living in that region of the at
mosphere where it is densest. The natural ten
dency for the atmosphere is to fail when not
made lighter by heat and caused to rise. An
aeroplane shooting through this lower belt is
substantially knocking out the foundations from
beneath the atmospheric columns reaching many
thousands of feet heavenward, and have in
the air virtual duplication of our bobbing log
the onward movement of the flying machine and
the successive reactions of the compressed air
which has momentarily sustained that mechan-
ica fight Isn't it clear, then, that an aviator
when passing above below another aviator
is either stumbling into air holes thus created
or proceeding similar condition to menace his
nearby fellow? The airman advancing at the
greater speed will produce the wider area of dis
turbance and, within any prescribed limit, the
more dangerous reaction
The flying machine when aloft is in a state OF
decidedly delicate equilibrium, otherwise the
mere hexing of wing tips would be incapable of
correcting it's horizontal position. Any change
of pressure at the extremity Of its wings equiva
lent to adding or reducing the weight at the one
or the other tip, and an upsettng movement is
started. 1t is quite probable that even though
one aeroplane may be full hundred feet above
overtaking machine may cause a sufficient down
ward movement on the part of the air to over
weight suddenly one wing of the other machine
This is certainly what happened in the case of
Lieutenant Briez Mile. Dutrieu and q number of
others
The task set the investigators is that of find
Ing how wide is the region of agitation created
by a flying machine in flight and, with this
knowledge, to prescribe the proper distances
which aviators must observe when approaching
one another.
Fortunately, the flying machine is now studied
in the laboratory, and recent progress in expert
mental aerodynamics is doing much toward
clearing the way for safe advance in the near
future, but the public must be patient and K
must realize that flying is full of hazards at
best and we are really scarcely much more than
upon the Threshold of this wonderfu, sclerce