Improvements in Flying Machines.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Mar., 1893-Accepted, 17th June, 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Flying Machines.
A communication by RUDOLF CHILLINGWORTH, of Breitsgasse 63, Nuremberg,
in the Empire of Germany, Mechanic."
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S. M.I.M.E. of the Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, & 6 Bank Street Manchester
both in the County of Lancaster, and 323, High Holborn in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:—
The construction of this flying machine is founded on the results of the newest
investigations. of the mechanical-principle of flight, which is found to be in the
elastic flexibility of the material of the wings. The actual impulse of flight is
therefore to be seen in the gravitation tension which is imparted to the wings when
floating in the air by the weight attached to them, whilst the motion of the wings
only serves for strengthening this tension, or increasing the speed of flight.
The object of this invention is the utilisation of this principle as regards the
propelling of aërial vehicles. In the opinion of the inventor, this should take
place by the vehicle in question being provided with wings which, as regards
constitution and, in particular, elasticity and mobility, resemble as closely as
possible birds' wings. In order to produce a movement in a horizontal direction in
addition to that in a vertical one, the hinder points of these wings are curved
upwards in the manner of the expanded flight feathers of a bird's wing, so that the
result an oblique surface inclined towards the front. The vertical air pressure
acting against the falling of the flying machine, therefore, encounters the bulk of
the surface of the wings vertically, but the curved points, on the other hand, are at
such an inclination that the point of the angle of incidence of the direction of
pressure lies in front. The points of the wings undergo, therefore, like all such
surfaces when encountered obliquely by air pressure (for instance, the sails of a
windmill) a movement towards that point of incidence, in other words, forwards.
The apparatus connected with the wings of course also follows this movement, and
pursues, therefore, independently of the direction of the wind, a continuous forward
course. Hence it results that an air ship, moved in this manner, must be capable
of being guided.
This improved flying machine is provided with wings on the principle herein-
before described, and has the following construction, which is more particularly
shown in Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawing, where the same is represented
in the position of flight.
The wings B B' are attached to the car A, which is preferably formed of light
Mannesmann tubes. These wings are made of steel, cane or other suitable elastic
material, and, when in a position of repose, that is to say, an unexpanded condition,
they assume the position shown in dotted lines in Figures 1 and 3, in which they
hang loose and inwardly concave; the points are, as already stated, bent up
behind. The framework of the wings is carried by rods, tubes, steel ribs or other
elastic support e d; which are movable on fixed points of the car frame.
The flapping of the wings is then produced by the wing carriers being moved up
and down on their axes by means of a mechanical device, such as shown in
Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawing, and is constructed as follows-
The wing supports c and d are secured in sockets e and f, which are connected
with two toothed segments and h projecting inwards and engaging with one
another, and are, together with these latter, revolvable on spindles i and k arranged
on the frame of the car. Tutt

page_text: One of these segments is connected, by means of a crank mechanism l m n, with
the driving shaft o, which is rotated by hand, or by means of a motor p, Figure 2,
arranged in the car. By the rotation of this shaft, both wings are then simultaneously
moved up and down, and with equal velocity. The spindles i and k are connected
by means of strong stays 9 and 9', thereby ensuring an exact engagement of the
tooth segments.
Then, in order, on the one hand, to diminish the resistance to the upward stroko
of the wings, and, on the other hand, to utilise the movement of the wings during
the up stroke for the movement of the vehicle in a horizontal direction, the wings
or their supports c d (as will be observed during the flight of birds) have, in
addition to the up and down motion, that is, the oscillation on the points and k, a
revolving motion on their longitudinal axis, and it is for this object that the following
device is employed, which is shown enlarged in Figures 6 and 7-
The ends of the supports c and d are inserted and securely fastened in a sleeve r,
which is capable of revolving in the sockets ef. Each of these sockets is provided
with a levers, which projects to the outside through a slot t in the sockets e and f,
and which is limited in its movement by contact pieces (*. Assuming now that
the wings have accomplished the downstroke, the vertical air pressure which is to
be overcome, acting from below upwards, expands the wings in the middle position
in an approximately horizontal position, and, therefore, their whole surface comes
into action as regards the vertical outwardly directed movement. By the lever s
striking the upper limiting surface t¹ of the slot t, the wings are prevented from
being raised above the most favourable position, that is, the horizontal middle one.
When the downward stroke has been completed, the resistance of the air in the
then commencing upstroke acts downwards on the surface of the wings. The
wings, in consequence of this, are turned downwards on the longitudinal axis of
the supports c or d, and are inclined backwards when the supports are in a
horizontal, that is, a middle position. In consequence of this, only a small surface,
corresponding to the projection of the wing, is opposed to the vertical resistance
of the air. The latter strikes the surface of the wing longitudinally at an angle
of incidence pointed to the front, so that the wing, as already stated, experiences
à movement towards that angle, that is, forward.
In order to bring about the turning of the wings with certainty and always at a
suitable moment, that is, at the highest and lowest positions, they may be
mechanically operated or secured and supported independently of the wind
resistance, by making the projecting end of the contact lever s, in its end position,
strike against a resistance piece w attached to the car, and be turned together with
the sleeve, or the wing holder e.
Other devices than the aforementioned and shown in the drawings may be
employed for producing the up and down stroke of the wings, as well as for the
turning of the same.
The steering of the air ship hereinbefore described is performed by means of a
rudder C arranged at the rear end of the car; the horizontal spindle a, Figure 2,
of this rudder moves in a guide socket Z. This latter is in turn attached to the
vertical movable spindle arranged on the car, so that the rudder may be moved
in any direction by means of the steering wheel, y.
In order to increase the carrying capacity of the air ship hereinbefore described,
or the work performed by the wings, and at the same time to allow of the
dimensions of the wings being decreased as far as possible, an air balloon D is
combined with the air ship for safety, and in order to facilitate the rising of the
apparatus. This balloon is pointed at each end, and its longitudinal axis is
parallel to that of the flying machine, so that it presents the point in the direction
of the flight to the horizontal air pressure opposed to the movement. The size
of the balloon, and, consequently, its rising power, is such that it may support
the greater part of the weight carried, so that only the difference between the
total weight and that carried by the balloon must be supported by the wings.
The rising of the apparatus must take place from an elevated position, from,

page_text: which the whole contrivance is launched or allowed to drop into the air. The
action described at the commencement of this Specification then takes place
through the immediately commencing tension of gravitation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is-
1. A flying machine, the forward movement of which, in a horizontal and
vertical direction, is produced by the aid of two wings attached thereto, which,
after the manner of birds wings, are movable and elastic, and are further bent up
at the rear end in such a way that the vertical wind pressure operating against
the falling of the apparatus encounters these points at an angle of incidence pointed
to the front, substantially as described.
2. A device for moving the wings in the flying machine described in Claim 1,
consisting of two toothed segments y and h engaging in one another, which are
oscillated on fixed points i and k of the car, by means of a crank mechanism l m n
from the driving shaft o, and which have outwardly directed sheaths e and fin
which the wing sockets c d are movably attached, substantially as described.
с
Dated this 22nd day of March 1893.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.