About the time that M. Bleriot was developing his monoplane, and Santos
Dumont was astonishing the world with his flying feats at Bagatelle,
a young army officer was at work far away in a secluded part of the
Scottish Highlands on the model of an aeroplane. This young man was
Lieutenant J. W. Dunne, and his name has since been on everyone's
lips wherever aviation is discussed. Much of Lieutenant Dunne's early
experimental work was done on the Duke of Atholl's estate, and the
story goes that such great secrecy was observed that "the tenants were
enrolled as a sort of bodyguard to prevent unauthorized persons from
entering". For some time the War Office helped the inventor with money,
for the numerous tests and trials necessary in almost every invention
before satisfactory results are achieved are very costly.
Probably the inventor did not make sufficiently rapid progress with
his novel craft, for he lost the financial help and goodwill of the
Government for a time; but he plodded on, and at length his plans were
sufficiently advanced for him to carry on his work openly. It must be
borne in mind that at the time Dunne first took up the study of aviation
no one had flown in Europe, and he could therefore receive but little
help from the results achieved by other pilots and constructors.
But in the autumn of 1913 Lieutenant Dunne's novel aeroplane was the
talk of both Europe and America. Innumerable trials had been made in
the remote flying ground at Eastchurch, Isle of Sheppey, and the
machine became so far advanced that it made a cross-Channel flight from
Eastchurch to Paris. It remained in France for some time, and
Commander Felix, of the French Army, made many excellent flights in
it. Unfortunately, however, when flying near Deauville, engine trouble
compelled the officer to descend; but in making a landing in a very
small field, not much larger than a tennis-court, several struts of the
machine were damaged. It was at once seen that the aeroplane could not
possibly be flown until it had been repaired and thoroughly overhauled.
To do this would take several days, especially as there were no
facilities for repairing the craft near by, and to prevent anyone from
making a careful examination of the aeroplane, and so discovering the
secret features which had been so jealously guarded, the machine was
smashed up after the engine had been removed.
At that time this was the only Dunne aeroplane in existence, but of
course the plans were in the possession of the inventor, and it was
an easy task to make a second machine from the same model. Two more
machines were put in hand at Hendon, and a third at Eastchurch.
On 18th October, 1913, the Dunne aeroplane made its first public
appearance at Hendon, in the London aerodrome, piloted by Commander
Felix. The most striking distinction between this and other biplanes is
that its wings or planes, instead of reaching from side to side of the
engine, stretch back in the form of the letter V, with the point of the
V to the front. These wings extend so far to the rear that there is no
need of a tail to the machine, and the elevating plane in front can also
be dispensed with.
This curious and unique design in aeroplane construction was decided
upon by Lieutenant Dunne after a prolonged observation at close quarters
of different birds in flight, and the inventor claims for his aeroplane
that it is practically uncapsizable. Perhaps, however, this is too much
to claim for any heavier-than-air machine; but at all events the new
design certainly appears to give greater stability, and it is to be
hoped that by this and other devices the progress of aviation will not
in the future be so deeply tinged with tragedy.