Latham flying in his Antoinette at Rheims. To view this properly the picture should be held overhead.
August 27, 1909—Latham, with monoplane, at Rheims, flies to an altitude of 508 feet. (With this record he won first prize for altitude.)
August 27, 1909—Delagrange, with monoplane, at Rheims, flies 31 miles. (With this record he won the eighth prize for duration of flight.)
August 27, 1909—Sommer, with biplane, at Rheims, flies 37 miles. He won the seventh prize for distance.
August 27, 1909—Tissandier, with biplane, at Rheims, flies 69 miles. (This record won for him the sixth prize for distance.)
August 27, 1909—Lefebvre, with biplane, at Rheims, flies 12.4 miles in 20 minutes and 47 seconds, exhibiting great daring and skill. (He was fined for “recklessness.”)
August 27, 1909—Bleriot, with monoplane, at Rheims, flies 25 miles in 41 minutes. (This record won for him the ninth prize for distance flown.)
August 28, 1909—Lefebvre, with biplane, at Rheims, makes a spectacular flight for 11 minutes with one passenger.
August 28, 1909—Curtiss, with biplane, at Rheims, flies 12.4 miles in 15 minutes and 56 seconds, winning the Gordon Bennett cup.
August 28, 1909—Bleriot, with monoplane, at Rheims, flies 6.2 miles in 7 minutes and 48 seconds. (With this record he won the first prize for speed over course of 10 kilometres.)
August 29, 1909—Farman, with biplane, at Rheims, flies 6.2 miles with two passengers, in 10 minutes and 30 seconds, winning a prize.
August 29. 1909—Curtiss, with biplane, at Rheims, flies 18.6 miles in 23 minutes and 30 seconds. (With this record he won the first prize for speed over course of 30 kilometres.)
August 29, 1909—Curtiss, with biplane, at Rheims, flies 6.2 miles in 7 minutes and 51 seconds, winning the second prize for speed over course of 10 kilometres.
August 29, 1909—Rougier, with biplane, at Rheims, rises to a height of 180 feet, winning the fourth prize for altitude.
August 29, 1909—E. Bunau-Varilla, with biplane, at Rheims, flies 18.6 miles in 38 minutes and 31 seconds. (With this record he won the eighth prize for speed over course of 30 kilometres.)
August 29, 1909—Orville Wright, with biplane, at Berlin, makes several short flights.
August 29, 1909—S. F. Cody, with biplane, at Aldershot, flies 10 miles with one passenger.
September 4, 1909—Orville Wright, with biplane, at Berlin, flies for 55 minutes.
September 6, 1909—Sommer, with biplane, at Nancy, France, flies 25 miles in 35 minutes. He takes up a number of passengers; one at a time.
September 7, 1909—Lefebvre, with biplane, at Juvissy, is killed by the breaking of his machine in the air after he had flown 1,800 feet.
September 8, 1909—Orville Wright, with biplane, at Berlin, flies 17 minutes with one passenger—Captain Hildebrandt.
September 8, 1909—S. F. Cody, with biplane, at Aldershot, flies to Farnborough and back—46 miles in 1 hour and 3 minutes. This is the first recorded cross-country flight in England.
September 9, 1909—Orville Wright, with biplane, at Berlin, flies for 15 minutes with one passenger—Captain Englehardt.
September 9, 1909—Paulhan, with biplane, at Tournai, Belgium, flies 12.4 miles in 17 minutes.
September 9, 1909—Rougier, with biplane, at Brescia, flies 12 minutes and 10 seconds, soaring to a height of 328 feet.
September 10, 1909—Sommer, with biplane, at Nancy, flies 18 miles, accompanying troops on review.
September 11, 1909—Sommer, with biplane, at Nancy, flies to Lenoncourt—24 miles.
September 11, 1909—Curtiss, with biplane, at Brescia, flies 31 miles in 49 minutes and 24 seconds, winning the first prize for speed.
September 12, 1909—Rougier, with biplane, at Brescia, flies 31 miles in 1 hour 10 minutes and 18 seconds, soaring to a height of 380 feet.
September 12, 1909—Calderara, with biplane, at Brescia, flies 6.3 miles with one passenger, winning a prize.
September 13, 1909—Paulhan, with biplane, at Tournai, flies to Taintiguies and back in 1 hour and 35 minutes.
September 13, 1909—Santos-Dumont, with monoplane, at St. Cyr, France, flies 5 miles in 12 minutes, to Buc, to visit Maurice Guffroy, on a bet of $200 that each would be the first to visit the other.
September 15, 1909—Ferber, with biplane, at Boulogne, France, flies to Wimeroux—6 miles in 9 minutes.
September 15, 1909—Calderara, with biplane, at Brescia, flies 5.6 miles with one passenger, winning the Oldofredi prize.
September 17, 1909—Orville Wright, with biplane, at Berlin, flies for 54 minutes and 26 seconds, rising to an altitude of 765 feet (estimated). He afterward flew for 47 minutes and 5 seconds with Captain Englehardt.
September 17, 1909—Santos-Dumont, with monoplane, at St. Cyr, flies 10 miles in 16 minutes across country.
September 17, 1909—Paulhan, with biplane, at Ostend, Belgium, flies 1.24 miles in 3 minutes and 16 seconds, along the water front and out over the sea.
September 18, 1909—Orville Wright, with biplane, at Berlin, establishes a world record by flying for 1 hour 35 minutes and 47 seconds, with one passenger—Captain Englehardt.
September 18, 1909—Paulhan, with biplane, at Ostend, flies for 1 hour over sea front, circling over the water; winning a prize of $5,000.
September 20, 1909—Rougier, with biplane, at Brescia, broke the record for high flying by reaching an altitude of 645 feet (official measurement).
September 20, 1909—Calderara, with biplane, at Brescia, flies 31 miles in 50 minutes and 51 seconds, winning the second prize for speed.
September 22, 1909—Captain Ferber, with a biplane, at Boulogne, flies 1 mile, when, his engine breaking in the air, his machine falls and he is killed.
September 25, 1909—Wilbur Wright, with biplane, at New York, flies from Governor’s Island around the Statue of Liberty.
September 27, 1909—Latham, in monoplane, at Berlin, flies 6.5 miles across country in 13 minutes.
September 28, 1909—Rougier, with biplane, at Berlin, flies 31 miles in 54 minutes, soaring to an altitude of 518 feet.
September 29, 1909—Latham in monoplane, at Berlin, flies 42 miles in 1 hour and 10 minutes, winning the second prize for distance.
September 29, 1909—Rougier, with biplane, at Berlin, flies 48 miles in 1 hour and 35 minutes.
September 29, 1909—Curtiss, with biplane, at New York, makes flights about the harbor from Governor’s Island.
September 30, 1909—Orville Wright, with biplane, at Berlin, soars to a height of 902 feet, making a world record for altitude.
September 30, 1909—Latham, with monoplane, at Berlin, flies 51 miles in 1 hour and 23 minutes.
October 1, 1909—Rougier, with biplane, at Berlin, flies 80 miles in 2 hours and 38 minutes, winning the first prize for distance and speed.
October 2, 1909—Orville Wright, with biplane, at Berlin, makes a flight of 10 minutes’ duration with the Crown Prince of Germany.
October 3, 1909—Farman, with biplane, at Berlin, flies 62 miles in 1 hour and 40 minutes, winning the third prize for distance and speed.
October 4, 1909—Orville Wright, with biplane, at Berlin, soared to an altitude of 1,600 feet, making a world record.
October 4, 1909—Wilbur Wright, with biplane, at New York, flies from Governor’s Island to Grant’s Tomb and back—21 miles in 33 minutes and 33 seconds.
October 10, 1909—Curtiss, with biplane, at St. Louis, Mo., makes several flights at the Centennial celebration.
October 10, 1909—Paulhan, with biplane, at Pt. Aviation, flies 21.5 miles in 21 minutes and 48 seconds.
October 12, 1909—Paulhan, with biplane, at Pt. Aviation, flies 3.6 miles in 6 minutes and 11 seconds, winning the prize for slowest flight.
October 16, 1909—Curtiss, with biplane, at Chicago, makes exhibition flights at 45 miles per hour.
October 16, 1909—Sommer, with biplane, at Doncaster, England, flies 9.7 miles in 21 minutes and 45 seconds, making the record for Great Britain.
October 16, 1909—Delagrange, with monoplane, at Doncaster, flies 5.75 miles in 11 minutes and 25 seconds.
October 16, 1909—Cody, with biplane, at Doncaster, flies 3,000 feet, when his machine is wrecked, and he is injured.
October 18, 1909—Paulhan, with biplane, at Blackpool, England, flies 14 miles in 25 minutes and 53 seconds.
October 18, 1909—Rougier, with biplane, at Blackpool, flies 17.7 miles in 24 minutes and 43 seconds, winning the second prize.
October 18, 1909—Farman, with biplane, at Blackpool, flies 14 miles in 23 minutes.
October 18, 1909—Le Blon, with monoplane, at Doncaster, flies 22 miles in 30 minutes, in a rainstorm, winning the Bradford cup.
October 18, 1909—Count de Lambert, with biplane, at Juvissy, flies 31 miles to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and back, in 49 minutes and 39 seconds.
October 19, 1909—Le Blon, with monoplane, at Doncaster, flies 15 miles in a gale.
October 19, 1909—Paulhan, with biplane, at Blackpool, flies 15.7 miles in 32 minutes and 18 seconds, winning the third prize.
October 20, 1909—Farman, with biplane, at Blackpool, flies 47 miles in 1 hour, 32 minutes, and 16 seconds, winning the first prize—$10,000.
October 20, 1909—Le Blon, with monoplane, at Doncaster, makes a spectacular flight in a fierce gale.
October 21, 1909—Count de Lambert, with biplane, at Pt. Aviation, flies 1.25 miles in 1 minute and 57 seconds, winning prize of $3,000 for speed.
October 22, 1909—Latham, with monoplane, at Blackpool, flies in a squally gale blowing from 30 to 50 miles an hour. When headed into the wind the machine moved backward in relation to points on the ground. Going before the wind, it passed points on the ground at a speed of nearly 100 miles an hour. This flight, twice around the course, is the most difficult feat accomplished by any aviator up to this date.
October 26, 1909—Sommer, with biplane, at Doncaster, flies 29.7 miles in 44 minutes and 53 seconds, winning the Whitworth cup.
October 26, 1909—Delagrange, with monoplane, at Doncaster, flies 6 miles in 7 minutes and 36 seconds—a speed of over 50 miles an hour.
October 30, 1909—Moore-Brabazon, with biplane, at Shell Beach, England, wins a prize of $5,000 for flight with a British machine.
November 3, 1909—Farman, with biplane, at Mourmelon, France, flies 144 miles in 4 hours 6 minutes and 25 seconds, far surpassing his previous best record of 112 miles in 3 hours 4 minutes and 57 seconds, made at Rheims, and winning the Michelin cup for duration and distance.
November 19, 1909—Paulhan, with biplane, at Mourmelon, broke the record for height by ascending to 1,170 feet, in a wind blowing from 20 to 25 miles an hour.
November 19, 1909—Latham, with Antoinette monoplane, surpassed Paulhan’s record by rising to an altitude of 1,333 feet.
November 20, 1909—Paulhan, with biplane, at Mourmelon, flies to Chalons and back—37 miles in 55 minutes.
December 1, 1909—Latham, with monoplane, at Mourmelon, soars to 1,500 feet in a 40-mile gale.
December 30, 1909—Delagrange, with monoplane, at Juvissy, flies 124 miles in 2 hours and 32 minutes—an average speed of 48.9 miles per hour, surpassing all previous records.
December 31, 1909—Farman at Chartres, France, flies to Orleans—42 miles in 50 minutes.
December 31, 1909—Maurice Farman, at Mourmelon, defending his brother Henry’s record against competing aviators, flies 100 miles in 2 hours and 45 minutes, without a fault. The Michelin cup remains in his brother’s possession.
January 7, 1910—Latham, with Antoinette monoplane, at Chalons, rises to height of 3,281 feet (world’s record).
January 10, 1910—Opening of aviation meet at Los Angeles, Cal.
January 12, 1910—Paulhan, Farman biplane, at Los Angeles, rises to height of 4,146 feet. (World’s record.)
January 17, 1910—Paulhan, Farman biplane, at Los Angeles, flies 75 miles in 1 hour 58 minutes and 27⅖ seconds.
February 7, 1910—First flight in South America. Bregi, Voisin biplane, makes two flights near Buenos Aires.
February 7, 1910—Duray, with Farman biplane, at Heliopolis, Egypt, flies 5 kilometres in 4 minutes and 12⅘ seconds. (World’s record.)
April 8, 1910—D. Kinet, with Farman biplane, at Mourmelon, flies for 2 hours 19 minutes and 4⅖ seconds with passenger, covering 102 miles. (World’s record for passenger flight.)
April 11, 1910—E. Jeannin, with Farman biplane, flies 2 hours 1 minute and 55 seconds, at Johannisthal. (German record.)
April 15, 1910—Opening of Nice meeting.
April 17, 1910—Paulhan, with Farman biplane, flies from Chevilly to Arcis-sur-Aube, 118 miles. (Record cross-country flight.)
April 23, 1910—Grahame-White, with Farman biplane, flies from Park Royal, London, to Rugby (83 miles) in 2 hours and 1 minute. Starting again in 55 minutes, flies to Whittington in 1 hour and 5 minutes.
April 27, 1910—Paulhan, with Farman biplane, starts from Hendon, London, at 5.31 P. M., flies within 5 mile circle and continues to Lichfield, arriving 8.10 P. M. (117 miles). Grahame-White starts from Wormwood Scrubs, London, at 6.29 P. M., flies to Roade, arriving 7.55 P. M. (60 miles).
April 28, 1910—Paulhan flies from Lichfield to within 5 miles of Manchester, winning the £10,000 Daily Mail prize.
April 30, 1910—Opening of meeting at Tours, France.
May 1, 1910—Opening of flying-week at Barcelona.
May 3, 1910—Wiencziers, with Antoinette monoplane, twice circles the Strassburg cathedral.
May 6, 1910—Olieslagers, with Bleriot monoplane, makes flight of 18 minutes and 20 seconds above the sea at Barcelona, and over the fortress of Monjuich.
May 13, 1910—Engelhardt, with Wright biplane, at Berlin, flies 2 hours 21 minutes and 45 seconds. (German record.)
May 15, 1910—Kinet, with Farman biplane, flies 2 hours and 51 minutes with a passenger at Mourmelon, making the world’s record for passenger flight.
May 15, 1910—Olieslagers, with Bleriot monoplane, flies 15 miles over the sea at Genoa.
May 21, 1910—M. de Lesseps, with Bleriot monoplane, flies from Calais to Dover in 37 minutes, winning £500 prize offered by M. M. Ruinart.
May 28, 1910—G. Curtiss, with Curtiss biplane, starts from Albany at 7.03 A. M., flies to Poughkeepsie in 1 hour and 21 minutes (70 miles). Leaves Poughkeepsie at 9.24 A. M., flies to Spuyten Duyvil in 1 hour and 11 minutes (67 miles). Rises again at 11.45, flies over New York, landing on Governor’s Island at 12.03 P. M. Wins prize of $10,000 given by the New York World.
June 2, 1910—Rolls, with Short-Wright biplane, leaves Dover at 6.30 P. M., crosses Channel to French coast near Calais (7.15 P. M.), without landing re-crosses Channel to Dover, flies over harbor, circles Dover Castle, and lands at 8.10 P. M. Wins second Ruinart prize of £80.
June 14, 1910—Brookins, with Wright biplane, at Indianapolis, reaches height of 4,380 feet. (World’s record.)
June 25, 1910—In Italian Parliament 25 million lire (about $5,000,000) voted for aviation in the extraordinary estimates of the Ministry of War.
June 26, 1910—Dickson, with Farman biplane, at Rouen, wins total distance prize of £2,000 and the £400 for longest unbroken flight. Distance flown, 466 miles.
June 27, 1910—M. de Lesseps, with Bleriot monoplane, flies over Montreal for 49 minutes, covering about 30 miles at height generally of 2,000 feet.
July 6, 1910—First German military aeroplane makes maiden cross-country flight over Doeberitz.
July 26, 1910—M. de Lesseps, with Bleriot monoplane, starting from Ile de Gros Bois in the St. Lawrence, makes trip of 40 miles in 37 minutes.
August 1, 1910—Henry Farman takes up three passengers at Mourmelon for 1 hour and 4 minutes.
August 5, 1910—Chavez, with Bleriot monoplane, attains height of 5,750 feet. World’s record.
August 7, 1910—Lieutenants Cammerman and Villerme fly together from Mourmelon to Nancy, 125 miles in 2½ hours, with a Farman biplane.
August 11, 1910—Drexel, with Bleriot monoplane, at Lanark, beats the world’s record for height, rising 6,600 feet.
August 27, 1910—First wireless telegram from a flying aeroplane, sent by McCurdy from a Curtiss machine in the air, at Atlantic City, N. J. The sending key was attached to the steering wheel.
August 28, 1910—Dufaux, with biplane constructed by himself, flies over Lake Geneva, wins prize of £200 offered by Swiss Aero Club.
August 29, 1910—Breguet, with Breguet monoplane, makes a flight at Lille, France, carrying five passengers, establishing world’s record for passenger flight.
August 29, 1910—Morane, with Bleriot monoplane, at Havre, beats world’s altitude record, reaches height of 7,166 feet.
September 2, 1910—Mlle. Hélène Dutrieux flies with a passenger from Ostend to Bruges, Belgium, and back to Ostend. At Bruges she circled around the famous belfry at a height of 1,300 feet, the chimes pealing in honor of the feat—the most wonderful flight so far accomplished by a woman.
September 3, 1910—M. Bielovucci lands at Bordeaux, France, having made the trip from Paris, 366 miles, inside of 48 hours. The actual time in the air was 7 hours 6 minutes. Strong head winds blew him backward, forcing a landing three times on the way. This is the fourth longest cross-country flight on record, and makes the world’s record for sustained speed over a long distance.
Mlle. Hélène Dutrieux.
September 4, 1910—Morane, at Havre, rises to height of 8,469 feet.
September 7, 1910—Weyman, with Farman biplane, flies from Buc in attempt to reach the top of the Puy-de-Dôme, lands at Volvic, 5 miles from his destination. Establishes world’s record for flight with passenger, having covered 139 miles without landing.
September 28, 1910—Chavez crosses the Alps on a Bleriot monoplane from Brigue, in Switzerland, to Domodossola, in Italy, flying over the Simplon Pass.
October 1, 1910—Henri Wynmalen, of Holland, with a biplane at Mourmelon, France, rises to a height of 9,121 feet, making a new world’s record for altitude.
October 4, 1910—Maurice Tabuteau recrossed the Pyrenees, in his return trip from San Sebastian to Biarritz, without accident or marked incident.
October 5, 1910—Leon Morane, the winner of nearly all the contests in the English meets for 1910, fell with his monoplane at Boissy St. Leger, during a contest for the Michelin cup, and was seriously injured.
October 8, 1910—Archibald Hoxsey, with a biplane, makes the longest continuous aeroplane flight recorded in America, between Springfield, Ill., and St. Louis, Mo.—104 miles.
October 12, 1910—Alfred Leblanc, with monoplane, at St. Louis, flies 13 miles in 10 minutes, a speed of 78 miles per hour. It was not officially recorded, as a part of the distance was outside of the prescribed course.
October 14, 1910—Grahame-White flies from the Bennings Race Track 6 miles across the Potomac River to the Capitol at Washington, circles the dome, and then circles the Washington Monument, and finally alights with precision in Executive Street, between the Executive Offices and the building of the State, Army, and Navy Departments. After a brief call, he rose from the narrow street—but 20 feet wider than his biplane—and returned to the race track without untoward incident.
October 16, 1910—Wynmalen flies from Paris to Brussels, and returns, with one passenger, within the elapsed time of 27 hours 50 minutes, winning two prizes amounting to $35,000. The distance is 350 miles, and the actual time in the air was 15 hours 38 minutes.
October 25, 1910—J. Armstrong Drexel, with monoplane, at Belmont Park, L. I., rises to height of 7,105 feet, breaking previous records, and surpassing his own record of 6,600 feet, made at Lanark, Scotland.
October 26, 1910—Ralph Johnstone, in biplane, at Belmont Park, rises to the height of 7,313 feet, through sleet and snow, breaking the new American record made by Drexel the day before.
October 27, 1910—Johnstone, with biplane, at Belmont Park, rises to height of 8,471 feet, surpassing his own record of the day before and establishing a new American record. The feat was performed in a gale blowing nearly 60 miles per hour, and the aviator was carried 55 miles away from his starting point before he landed.
October 28, 1910—Tabuteau, with biplane, at Etampes, France, makes a new world’s endurance record of 6 hours’ continuous flight, covering a distance of 289 miles.
October 29, 1910—Grahame-White, with monoplane, at Belmont Park, wins the International speed race over the distance of 62.1 miles, in 1 hour 1 minute 4⅗ seconds.
October 29, 1910—Leblanc, with monoplane, at Belmont Park, makes a new world’s record for speed, reaching 70 miles per hour during the International speed race. Through a lack of fuel he lost the race to Grahame-White, after covering 59 miles in 52 minutes.
October 30, 1910—John B. Moisant, with monoplane, wins the race from Belmont Park around the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor, and the prize of $10,000. The distance is about 34 miles, and Moisant covered it in 34 minutes 39 seconds.
October 30, 1910—James Radley, with monoplane, at Belmont Park, wins the cross-country flight of 20 miles in 20 minutes 5 seconds.
October 31, 1910—Johnstone, with biplane, at Belmont Park, rises to a height of 9,714 feet, breaking the previous world’s record, made by Wynmalen on October 1.
October 31, 1910—Drexel, with monoplane, racing for altitude with Johnstone, reaches a height of 8,370 feet.
October 31, 1910—Moisant, with monoplane, at Belmont Park, wins the two-hour distance race with a record of 84 miles. His next nearest competitor covered but 57 miles.
November 14, 1910—Eugene Ely, with biplane, flew from a staging on the deck of the U. S. Cruiser Birmingham 8 miles to the shore near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. The flight was intended to end at the Norfolk Navy Yard, but an accident to the propeller at starting forced Ely to make directly for the shore.
November 17, 1910—Ralph Johnstone, holder of the world’s altitude record of 9,714 feet, was killed at Denver, Col., by a fall with his biplane.
November 23, 1910—Drexel, at Philadelphia, reaches an altitude of 9,970 feet, passing all other altitude records. Coming down he made a straight glide of seven miles.
December 2, 1910—Charles K. Hamilton, at Memphis, Tenn., flies 4 miles in 3 minutes 1 second, a speed of 79.2 miles per hour. This is a new world’s record.
Chapter XX.
EXPLANATION OF AERONAUTICAL TERMS.
Every development in human progress is marked by a concurrent development in language. To express the new ideas, new words appear, or new meanings are given to words already in use.
As yet, the vocabulary of aeronautics is in the same constructive and incomplete state as is the science to which it attempts to give voice, and the utmost that can be done at this time is to record such words and special meanings as are in use in the immediate present.
A
Adjusting Plane—A small plane, or surface, at the outer end of a wing, by which the lateral (from side to side) balance of an aeroplane is adjusted. It is not connected with the controlling mechanism, as are the ailerons—nor with any automatic device.
Aerodrome—A term used by Professor Langley as a better name for the aeroplane; but latterly it has been applied to the buildings in which airships are housed, and also in a few instances, as a name for the course laid out for aeronautical contests.
Aerofoil—Another name for the aeroplane, suggested as more accurate, considering that the surfaces are not true planes.
Aeronef—Another name for an aeroplane.
Aeroplane—The type of flying machine which is supported in the air by a spread of surfaces or planes, formerly flat, and therefore truly “plane,” but of late more or less curved. Even though not absolutely accurate, this term has resisted displacement by any other.
Aerostat—A free balloon afloat in the air.
Aeronate—A captive balloon.
Aileron—A small movable plane at the wing-tips, or hinged between the main planes, usually at their outer ends, operated by the aviator to restore the lateral balance of the machine when disturbed.
Air-speed—The speed of aircraft as related to the air in which they are moving; as distinguished from land-speed (which see).
Alighting Gear—Devices on the under side of the aeroplane to take up the jar of landing after flight, and at the same time to check the forward motion at that moment.
Angle of Entry—The angle made by the tangent to the curve of the aeroplane surface at its forward edge, with the direction, or line, of travel.
Angle of Incidence—The angle made by the chord of the arc of a curved “plane,” or by the line of a flat plane, with the line of travel.
Angle of Trail—The angle made by the tangent to the rear edge of a curved plane with the line of travel.
Apteroid—A form resembling the “short and broad” type of the wings of certain birds—as distinguished from the pterygoid (which see).
Arc—Any part of a circle, or other curved line.
Arch—The curve formed by bending the wings downward at the tips, leaving them higher at the centre of the machine.
Aspect—The view of the top of an aeroplane as it appears when looked down upon from above.
Aspiration—The (hitherto) unexplained tendency of a curved surface—convex side upward—to rise and advance when a stream of air blows against its forward edge and across the top.
Attitude—The position of a plane as related to the line of its travel; usually expressed by the angle of incidence.
Automatic Stability—That stability which is preserved by self-acting, or self-adjusting, devices which are not under the control of the operator, nor a fixed part of the machine, as are the adjusting planes.
Aviation—Flying by means of power-propelled machines which are not buoyed up in the air, as with gas bags.
Aviator—The operator, driver, or pilot of an aeroplane.
B
Balance—Equilibrium maintained by the controlling mechanism, or by the automatic action of balancing-surfaces—as distinguished from the equilibrium preserved by stabilizing surfaces.
Balancing Plane—The surface which is employed either intentionally, or automatically, to restore a disturbed balance.
Biplane—The type of aeroplane which has two main supporting surfaces or planes, placed one above the other.
Body—The central structure of an aeroplane, containing the machinery and the passenger space—as distinguished from the wings, or planes, and the tail.
Brace—A construction member of the framing of aircraft which resists a compression strain in a diagonal direction—as distinguished from a “stay,” or “diagonal,” which supports a pulling strain; also from a strut which supports a compression strain in a vertical direction.
C
Camber—The distance from the chord of the curve of a surface to the highest point of that curve, measured at right angles to the chord.
Caster, or Castor, Wheel—A wheel mounted on an upright pivoted shaft placed forward of its axle, so that it swivels automatically to assume the line of travel of an aeroplane when landing: used in the alighting gear. To be distinguished from a fixed wheel, which does not swivel.
Cell—A structure with enclosing sides—similar to a box without top or bottom stood upon one side. The vertical walls of the cell give lateral stability, and its horizontal walls fore-and-aft stability.
The first Santos-Dumont biplane, constructed of cells.
Centre of Gravity—That point of a body where its weight centres. If this point is supported, the body rests in exact balance.
Centre of Lift—The one point at which the lifting forces of the flying planes might be concentrated, and produce the same effect.
Centre of Resistance—The one point at which the forces opposing the flight of an air-craft might be concentrated, and produce the same result.
Centre of Thrust—The one point at which the forces generated by the revolving propellers might be concentrated, and produce the same effect.
Chassis—The under-structure or “running-gear” of an aeroplane.
Chord—The straight line between the two ends of an arc of a circle or other curved line.
Compound Control—A mechanical system by which several distinct controls are operated through different manipulations of the same lever or steering-wheel.
Compression Side—That side of a plane or propeller blade against which the air is compressed—the under surface of a flying plane, and the rear surface of a revolving propeller.
Curtain—The vertical surface of a cell—the wall which stands upright.
D
Deck—A main aeroplane surface. The term is used generally in describing biplanes; as the upper deck, and the lower deck; or with aeroplanes of many decks.
Demountable—A type of construction which permits a machine to be easily taken apart for transportation.
Derrick—A tower-shaped structure in which a weight is raised and allowed to fall to give starting impetus to an aeroplane.
Dihedral—That form of construction in which the wings of an aeroplane start with an upward incline at their junction with the body of the machine, instead of stretching out on a level.
Dirigible—The condition of being directable, or steerable: applied generally to the balloons fitted with propelling power, or airships.
Double Rudder—A rudder composed of two intersecting planes, one vertical and the other horizontal, thus enabling the operator to steer in any direction with the one rudder.
Double-Surfaced—Planes which are covered with fabric on both their upper and lower surfaces, thus completely inclosing their frames.
Down-Wind—Along with the wind; in the direction in which the wind is blowing.
Drift—The recoil of an aeroplane surface forced through the air: also the tendency to float in the same direction as the wind.
E
Elevator—A shorter name for the elevating planes or elevating rudder, used for directing the aeroplane upward or downward.
Ellipse—An oval figure outlined by cutting a cone through from side to side on a plane not parallel to its base. Some inventors use the curves of the ellipse in forming the wings of aeroplanes. See Hyperbola and Parabola.
Entry—The penetration of the air by the forward edge of aircraft surfaces. See Angle of Entry.
Equivalent Head Area—Such an area of flat surface as will encounter head resistance equal to the total of that of the construction members of the framework—struts, braces, spars, diagonals, etc., of the aerial craft.
F
Feathering—A form of construction in which mounting on hinges, or pivots, permits the surfaces to engage the air flatwise in one direction and to pass edgewise through it in other directions.
Fin—A fixed vertical stabilizing surface, similar in form to the fin on the back of a fish.
Fish Section—A term applied to the lengthwise section of an aircraft when the outline resembles the general shape of a fish—blunted in front and tapering toward the rear. This form is believed to encounter less resistance than any other, in passing through the air.
Fixed Wheel—A wheel in a fixed mounting, so that it does not swivel as does a caster wheel.
Flapping Flight—Flight by the up-and-down beating of wings, similar to the common flight of pigeons.
Flexible Propeller—A propeller in which the blades are frames covered more or less loosely with a fabric which is in a measure free to adjust its form to the compression of the air behind it as it revolves.
Flying Angle—The angle of incidence of the main surface of an aeroplane when in flight. See Ground Angle.
Footpound—The amount of force required to raise one pound to a height of one foot.
Fore-and-aft—From front to rear: lengthwise: longitudinal.
Fuselage—The framework of the body of an aeroplane.
G
Glider—A structure similar to an aeroplane, but without motive power.
Gliding—Flying down a slope of air with a glider, or with an aeroplane in which the propelling power is cut off.
Gliding Angle—The flattest angle at which a given machine will make a perfect glide. This angle differs with different machines. The flatter the gliding angle the safer the machine.
Ground Angle—The angle of incidence of an aeroplane surface when the machine is standing on the ground.
Guy—A wire attached to a more or less distant part of the structure of any aircraft to prevent spreading. Also used to denote controlling wires which transmit the movements of the levers.
Gyroscopic Action—The resistance which a rotating wheel, or wheel-like construction, exhibits when a disturbing force tends to change its plane of rotation.
H
Hangar—A structure for the housing of aeroplanes.
Head Resistance—The resistance encountered by a surface moving through the air.
Heavier-than-air—A term applied to flying machines whose weight is not counterbalanced or buoyed up by the lifting power of some gas lighter than air; and which weigh more than the volume of air displaced.
Helicopater—A type of flying machine in which propellers revolving horizontally lift and sustain its weight in the air.
Horizontal Rudder—The rudder surface which is used to steer an aircraft upward or downward: so-called because it lies normally in a position parallel to the horizon; that is, level.
Horse-power—An amount of work equivalent to the lifting of 33,000 footpounds in one minute. See Footpound.
Hyperbola—The outline formed by the cutting of a cone by a plane passing one side of its axis at such an angle that it would also intersect another cone placed apex to apex on the same axis.
K
Keel—A framework extending lengthwise under an aircraft to stiffen the construction: usually employed on airships with elongated gas-bags.
L
Lateral—From side to side; that is, crossing the length fore-and-aft, and generally at right angles to it.
Land-speed—The speed of aircraft as related to objects on the ground. See Air-speed.
Landing Area—A piece of land specially prepared for the alighting of aeroplanes without risk of injury.
Leeway—Movement of a machine aside from the intended course, due to the lateral drift of the whole body of air; measured usually at right angles to the course.
Lift—The raising, or sustaining effect of an aeroplane surface. It is expressed in the weight thus overcome.
Lighter-than-air—A term used to designate aircraft which, owing to the buoyancy of the gas attached, weigh less than the volume of air which they displace.
Longitudinal—In a lengthwise, or fore-and-aft direction.
M
Main Plane—The principal supporting surface of an aeroplane. In the biplane, or the multiplane type, it denotes the lowest surface, unless some other is decidedly larger.
Main Landing Wheels—Those wheels on the alighting gear which take the shock in landing.
Mast—A vertical post or strut giving angular altitude to guys or long stays. Also used (erroneously) to designate a spar reaching out laterally or longitudinally in a horizontal position.
Monoplane—An aeroplane with one main supporting surface. A Double Monoplane has two of such surfaces set one behind the other (tandem) but on the same level.
Multiplane—An aeroplane having several main planes, at least more than three (for which there is the special name of triplane).
N
Nacelle—The framework, or body, of a dirigible balloon or airship.
Negative Angle of Incidence—An angle of incidence below the line of travel, and therefore expressed with a minus sign. Surfaces bent to certain curves fly successfully at negative angles of incidence, and exhibit a comparatively large lift.
O
Ornithopter—A type of flying machine with wing surfaces which are designed to raise and sustain the machine in the air by flapping.
P
Panel—Another name for Curtain—which see.
Parabola—The form outlined when a cone is cut by a plane parallel to a line drawn on its surface from its apex to its base. Declared to be the correct scientific curve for aeroplane surfaces, but not so proven, as yet.
Pilot—A term widely used for an operator, or driver, of any form of aircraft.
Pitch—The distance which a propeller would progress during one revolution, if free to move in a medium which permitted no slip (which see); just as the thread of a bolt travels in the groove of its nut.
Plane—Speaking with exactness, a flat spread of surface; but in aeronautics it includes also the curved sustaining surfaces of aeroplanes.
Polyplane—Another term for Multiplane.
Port—The left-hand side of an aircraft, as one faces forward. See Starboard.
Projected Area—The total area of an irregular structure as projected upon a flat surface; like the total area of the shadow of an object cast by the sun upon a plane fixed at right angles to its rays.
Propeller Reaction—A force produced by a single revolving propeller, which tends to revolve the machine which it is driving, in the contrary direction. This is neutralized in various ways in the machines driven by single propellers. Where two propellers are used it is escaped by arranging them to move in opposite directions.
A pterygoid plane.
Pterygoid—That type of the wings of birds which is long and narrow—as distinguished from the apteroid type.
Pylon—A tower-shaped structure used as a derrick (which see); also for displaying signals to aeronauts.
R
Radial Spoke—A wire spoke extending from the hub of an alighting wheel straight outward from the centre to the rim of the wheel. See Tangent Spoke.
Rarefaction Side—A correct term for the incorrect “vacuum side,” so-called. The side opposite the compression side: the forward side of a revolving propeller blade, or the upper side of a flying surface, or the side of a rudder-surface turned away from the wind.
Reactive Stratum—The layer of compressed air beneath a moving aeroplane surface, or behind a moving propeller blade.
Rib—The smaller construction members used in building up surfaces. Generally they run fore-and-aft, crossing the spars or wing-bars at right angles, and they are bent to form the curve of the wings or planes.
Rising Angle—Technically, the steepest angle at which any given aeroplane will rise into the air.
Rudder—A movable surface by which the aeronaut is enabled to steer his craft in a desired direction. See Horizontal Rudder and Vertical Rudder.
Runner—A construction similar to the runners of a sleigh, used for alighting on some machines, instead of the wheel alighting gear; a skid.
S
Screw—Another term for propeller; properly, screw-propeller.
Single-surfaced—A term used to designate wings or planes whose frames are covered with fabric only on the upper side. See Double-Surfaced.
Skid—Another name for runner.
Skin Friction—The retarding effect of the adherence of the air to surfaces moving rapidly through it. It is very slight with polished surfaces, and in case of slow speeds is entirely negligible.
Slip—The difference between the actual progress of a moving propeller, and the theoretical progress expressed by its pitch. It is much greater in some propellers than in others, due to the “churning” of the air by blades of faulty design and construction.
Soaring Flight—The sailing motion in the air achieved by some of the larger birds without the flapping of their wings. It is to be distinguished from gliding in that it is in an upward direction. Soaring has never been satisfactorily explained, and is considered to be the secret whose discovery will bring about the largest advance in the navigation of the air.
Spar—A stick of considerable length used in the framing of the body of aeroplanes, or as the long members in wing structures.
Stabilize—To maintain balance by the automatic action of adjunct surfaces, as distinguished from the intentional manipulation of controlling devices.
Stabilizer—Any surface whose automatic action tends to the maintaining of balance in the air.
Stable Equilibrium—That equilibrium which is inherent in the construction of the machine, and does not depend upon automatic or controlling balancing devices.
Starboard—The right-hand side of an aircraft as one faces forward. See Port.
Starting Area—An area of ground specially prepared to facilitate the starting of aeroplanes into flight.
Starting Device—Any contrivance for giving an aeroplane a powerful impulse or thrust into the air. See Derrick.
Starting Impulse—The thrust with which an aeroplane is started into the air for a flight. Most machines depend upon the thrust of their own propellers, the machine being held back by force until the engines have worked up to flying speed, when it is suddenly released.
Starting Rail—The rail upon which the starting truck runs before the aeroplane rises into the air.
Starting Truck—A small vehicle upon which the aeroplane rests while it is gaining sufficient impulse to take flight.
Stay—A construction member of an aeroplane sustaining a pulling strain. It is usually of wire.
Straight Pitch—That type of pitch (which see) in a propeller blade in which every cross-section of the blade makes the same angle with its axis of revolution.
Strainer—Another term for Turnbuckle—which see.
Strut—An upright, or vertical, construction member of an aeroplane sustaining a compression strain; as distinguished from a brace which sustains a diagonal compression strain.
Supplementary Surface—A comparatively small surface used as an adjunct to the large surfaces for some special purpose; as, for instance, the preserving of balance, or for steering.
Sustaining Surface—The large surfaces of the aeroplane whose rapid movement through the air at a slight angle to the horizontal sustains the weight of the machine.
T
Tail—A rear surface on an aeroplane designed to assist in maintaining longitudinal stability. It is in use principally on monoplanes, and is often so arranged as to serve as a rudder.
Tail Wheel—A wheel mounted under the rear end of an aeroplane as a part of the alighting gear.
Tangent—A straight line passing the convex side of a curved line, and touching it at one point only. The straight line is said to be tangent to the curve at the point of contact.
Tangential—In the position or direction of a tangent.
Tangent Spoke—A wire spoke extending from the outer edge of the hub of a wheel along the line of a tangent until it touches the rim. Its position is at right angles to the course of a radial spoke (which see) from the same point on the hub.
Tie—A construction member connecting two points with a pulling strain.
Tightener—A device for taking up the slack of a stay, or tie; as the turnbuckle.
Tractor Propeller—A propeller placed in front, so that it pulls the machine through the air, instead of pushing, or thrusting, it from behind.
Triplane—An aeroplane with three main surfaces, or decks, placed in a tier, one above another.
Turnbuckle—A device with a nut at each end, of contrary pitch, so as to take a right-hand screw at one end, and a left-hand screw at the other; used for drawing together, or toward each other the open ends of a stay, or tie.
U
Uniform Pitch—That varying pitch in a propeller blade which causes each point in the blade to move forward in its own circle the same distance in one revolution.
Up-wind—In a direction opposite to the current of the wind; against the wind; in the teeth of the wind.
V
Vertical Rudder—A rudder for steering toward right or left; so called because its surface occupies normally a vertical position.
W
Wake—The stream of disturbed air left in the rear of a moving aircraft, due mainly to the slip of the propeller.
Wash—The air-currents flowing out diagonally from the sides of a moving aeroplane.
Wing Bar—The larger construction members of a wing, running from the body outward to the tips. The ribs are attached to the wing bars, usually at right angles.
Wing Plan—The outline of the wing or main plane surface as viewed from above.
Wing Section—The outline of the wing structure of an aeroplane as it would appear if cut by a plane passing through it parallel to the longitudinal centre of the machine.
Wing Skid—A small skid, or runner, placed under the tip of the wings of an aeroplane, to prevent damage in case of violent contact with the ground.
Wing Tip—The extreme outer end of a wing or main plane.
Wing Warping—A controlling device for restoring disturbed lateral balance by the forcible pulling down or pulling up of the tips of the wings, or of the outer ends of the main surface of the aeroplane.
Wing Wheel—A small wheel placed under the outer end of a wing or main plane to prevent contact with the ground. An improvement on the wing skid.