THE BOYS’ BOOK OF MODEL AEROPLANES
[Illustration: Launching the Airship.]
THE BOYS’ BOOK OF
MODEL AEROPLANES
HOW TO BUILD AND FLY
THEM: WITH THE STORY OF
THE EVOLUTION OF THE
FLYING MACHINE
BY
FRANCIS A. COLLINS
ILLUSTRATED WITH MANY
PHOTOGRAPHS AND DIAGRAMS
BY THE AUTHOR
[Illustration]
LONDON
EVELEIGH NASH
1912
TO
ARNOLD MILLER COLLINS
(_Aged Ten_)
THAN WHOM NO COLLABORATOR COULD
HAVE BEEN MORE ENTHUSIASTIC
CONTENTS
PART I
MODELS: HOW TO BUILD AND FLY THEM
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE NEW SPORT FOR BOYS 3
II. WHY THE AEROPLANE FLIES 18
III. HOW TO BUILD A “GLIDER” 30
IV. BUILDING THE MOTOR 50
V. FINE POINTS OF CONSTRUCTION 68
VI. SIMPLE MONOPLANE MODELS 84
VII. ELABORATING THE MONOPLANE 102
VIII. BUILDING A BIPLANE 121
IX. COMBINING MONOPLANE AND BIPLANE FORMS 137
X. FAULTS AND HOW TO MEND THEM 143
PART II
THE HISTORY AND SCIENCE OF AVIATION
I. THE FIRST FLYING MACHINES 163
II. DEVELOPING THE AEROPLANE 175
III. THE WRIGHT BROTHERS’ OWN STORY 193
IV. ABOARD THE WRIGHTS’ AIRSHIP 224
V. OTHER AEROPLANES APPEAR 238
VI. SUCCESSFUL MONOPLANES 254
VII. AERIAL WARFARE 272
VIII. SPORTS OF THE AIR, AEROPLANES 293
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Launching the Airship _Frontispiece_
A Junior Aëroclub with its Instructor in One of the
New York Public Schools 7
A Young Inventor in His Workshop 14
Boys Comparing Models 14
The First Glider Weighted at the Front 28
Dowel Strips of Different Sizes 33
Plate A--Diagrams of Plan of Aëroplane on Page 58 38
A Coil of Cane or Reed 42
Splitting a Bamboo Fish-Pole 47
Plate B--The Propeller before Cutting Down 51
Model Constructed from Diagram, Plate A 58
Splitting the Segar Box Cover to Build the Propeller 63
Plate C--The Diagram of a Monoplane 65
A Model Aëroplane Built from the Drawing
(Plate C) 71
Detail of Rudder and Propeller of Model Built from
Drawing (Plate C) 78
Plate I--A Clever Folding Model. The Wings Are
Broader than Need Be 88
Plate II--A Model Aëroplane Worth Imitating 93
Plate III--An Ingenious French Model Made of
Umbrella Wire 100
Plate IV--One of the Simplest of Aëroplanes to
Construct 105
Plate V--Too Large for Beginners but Will Make
Long Flights 112
Model Shown in Plate V Ready for a Flight 117
Plate VI--A Model with Both Good and Bad
Features 124
Plate VII--A Good Example of Careful Designing
and Workmanship 129
Plate VIII--An Effective Model with Wooden
Wings 136
Plate IX--An Interesting Experiment Along New
Lines 139
Plate X--An Excellent Monoplane Capable of Long
Flights 150
Detail of Model Shown in Plate X 153
Plate XI--Well Thought Out Monoplane 158
Plate XII--A Good Example of Tilted Planes 165
Plate XIII--A Serviceable Form Made of Wire 172
Plate XIV--The Under Body of the Monoplane
Shown in Plate XIII 179
Plate XV--A Simple Model which Proves Steady in
Flight 184
Plate XVI--The Propeller and Shaft of the Model
Shown in Plate XV 189
Plate XVII--An Ingenious Model which Fails to Fly 196
Plate XVIII--A Good Model Excepting That Its
Vertical Rudders Are Too Large 201
Plate XIX--A Simple Cellular Form 208
Plate XX--A Cellular Type with Rudder and Elevating
Plane 213
Plate XXI--A Complicated Model Capable of Long
Flights 220
Plate XXII--An Interesting Form which Flies
Backward or Forward 225
Plate XXIII--A Well Built Model Badly Proportioned 230
Plate XXIV--Wright Model Ready for Flight 235
Plate XXV--Another View of the Wright Model 246
Plate XXVI--An Ingenious Model which Rises
Quickly 251
Plate XXVII--An Aëroplane with Paper Wings 255
A Very Simple Monoplane for Beginners 262
Otto Lilienthal about to Take Flight 267
A Machine for Testing the Lifting Power of Aëroplanes 274
Maxim’s First Aëroplane 280
The Machine on the Rails, as it Appeared in 1893 280
First Flight of the Wright Brothers’ First Motor
Machine 285
Three-quarter View of a Flight at Simms Station,
November 16, 1904 292
Front View of the Flight of the Wright Aëroplane,
October 4, 1905 297
PART I
MODELS: HOW TO BUILD
AND FLY THEM
THE BOYS’ BOOK OF MODEL AEROPLANES
CHAPTER I
THE NEW SPORT FOR BOYS
In the boy’s calendar nowadays the aëroplane season comes in with
sledding and runs all through skating, marble, top, kite-flying, and
bicycle time. The delights of all the old games seem to be found in
this marvelous new toy. The fun in throwing a top cannot compare with
that of launching an aëroplane, while kite-flying is a very poor
substitute for the actual conquest of the air. To watch one of these
fascinating little ships of the air, which you have fashioned and built
with your own hands, actually rise from the earth and soar aloft with
a swallow’s swiftness, is perhaps the greatest boy’s sport in the
world. Certainly no new game or toy has ever taken such hold of the
boy’s imagination, and in so short a time enrolled such an army of
enthusiasts.
Throughout the country to-day upward of ten thousand boy aviators
are struggling with the problem of the air-ship. Among these junior
aëronauts the record for height and that for distance in flying are
matters of quite as lively interest as among the grown-ups. The great
contests of aviators here and abroad are watched with intelligent
interest. Let a new form of aëroplane, a biplane or monoplane, appear,
and it is quickly reproduced by scores of models and its virtues put
to an actual test. If a new wing or new plan for insuring stability is
invented, a new thought in the steering-device, or some new application
of power, it is instantly the subject of earnest discussion among the
junior aëronauts the country over.
Nor are junior aëronauts merely imitators. The mystery of the problems
of the air, the fascination of a new world of conquest, make a strong
appeal to the American temperament. With thousands of bright boys
working with might and main to build air-ships which will actually fly,
there is certain to be real progress. Thousands of different models
have been designed and put to actual test. This army of inventors,
ranging in age from twelve to eighteen years, some of whom will be the
aviators of the future, cannot fail to do great service, as time goes
on, in the actual conquest of the air.
Within a few months this army of inventors has become organized into
clubs, and a regular program of tournaments has been arranged. The
junior aëro clubs are found in connection with many schools, both
public and private; they are made features of the Young Men’s Christian
Association amusements, or they become identified with various
neighborhoods. Tournaments are arranged between clubs of different
cities or States, while an international tournament is even planned
between the United States and Great Britain.
The junior aëro world has its prizes, which are scarcely less coveted
than the rewards for actual flight. Some fifty medals have been
distributed this year among the members of the New York Junior Aëro
Club. Many elaborate trophies will be contended for during 1910 by
the junior aëronauts of the country. A handsome silver cup of special
design has been presented by Mr. A. Leo Stevens, and a second by
Mr. Sidney Bowman, while similar trophies are offered by Commodore
Marshall, O. Chanute, and others.
The toy aëroplane is not limited to any one season, as one’s sled,
kite, or skates. In the winter months the tests of flight may be
carried out in any large room or hall. There is even an advantage in
holding such a tournament in a large school-room, riding-academy,
or armory, since there is no baffling wind to contend with. Already
definite rules have been laid down for conducting these tests and for
making official records of flights. It is possible, therefore, to
compare the records made in different cities or countries with one
another.
[Illustration: A Junior Aëroclub with Its Instructor in One of the New
York Public Schools.]
The junior aëro tournaments are likely to be the most thrilling
experience in a boy’s life. The feats which the world has watched with
such breathless interest at aviation meets at Rheims, Pau, or Los
Angeles are reproduced in miniature in these boys’ contests without
loss of enthusiasm. The weeks or months of preparation in scores of
little workshops are now put to an actual test. The model air-ship,
which has cost so many anxious and delightful hours in the building, is
to spread its wings with scores of similar air-craft. The superiority
of the monoplane or biplane forms is to be tested without fear or favor.
For the young inventors, even for the mere layman in such matters,
the scene is extremely animated. On every hand one sees the inventors
tuning up their air-craft for the final test. There are lively
discussions in progress over the marvelous little toys. The layman
hears a new language spoken with perfect confidence about him. The boys
have already made the picturesque vocabulary of the world of aviation
their own. The discussion ranges over monoplanes and biplanes, cellular
types, and flexed planes, or of rigid and lateral braces. To hear a
crowd of these enthusiasts shout their comments as the air-ships fly
about is in itself an education in advanced aëronautics.
Directly the floor is cleared, the judges take their position, and the
junior sky-pilot toes the mark, air-ship in hand. “One, two, three,”
shouts the starter, and with a whir the graceful air-craft is launched.
The flutter of the tiny propeller suggests the sudden rise of a covey
of partridges. The little craft, at once so graceful and frail,
defies all the accepted laws of gravitation. It darts ahead in long,
undulating curves as it floats over the invisible air-currents. As in
the aëroplanes of larger size, the length of the flight is dependent
almost wholly on the motive power. As the little engine slows down,
the craft wavers, and then in a long curve, for it can do nothing
ungraceful, it glides to rest, skidding along the floor like a bird
reluctant to leave the sky.
When the time comes for the races between the air-craft, enthusiasm
runs high. Naturally these contests are the most popular features of
the tournament. A line of inventors, with their air-craft, usually six
at a time, take their positions at the starting-line. Each air-craft
has been tuned to its highest powers. The labor of weeks, the study
of air-craft problems, the elaboration of pet inventive schemes, are
represented in the shining model. And the problem before the young
inventors is most baffling. There are few models to work from, the
science is still so young, and the inventor may well feel himself
something of a Columbus in launching his frail craft upon this
uncharted sea.
At the signal half a dozen propellers are instantly released, a
whirring as of innumerable light wings fills the air. The curious
flock of mechanical birds rises and falls, dipping in long, graceful
curves as they struggle toward the goal. Some graceful little craft
perfectly reproducing to the last detail the famous Wright machine
shoulders along beside a glistening monoplane which resembles a great
hawk with wings outspread. The next craft is perhaps a complicated
arrangement of planes of no registered type, while the craft made
familiar by the photographs of the famous aviators are reproduced.
The thrill of an aëroplane race is a sensation peculiarly its own.
It seems so astonishing that the graceful little craft should remain
aloft at all, that they are a never-failing delight to the eye. The
varying fortunes of the race, the temporary lead gained by one craft,
to be lost the next moment to another, which a second later itself
falls behind, and the final heat between the survivors in the race as
they approach the goal, are enough to drive the average boy crazy with
delight.
[Illustration: A Young Inventor in His Workshop.]
[Illustration: Boys Comparing Models.]
The rules for these contests are rigidly observed. Each air-craft is
sent aloft by its inventor or owner. The start must be made from a
mark, and of course each aëroplane must toe the mark. There must be
three judges for each event. One stands at the starting-line and gives
the word of command for the start of the race or flight, as the case
may be. A second judge stands midway down the course, and the third
at or near the finishing-line. Each young aviator winds up his craft,
adjusts the power with his own hands, and sets the rudder for the
flight.
The miniature air-craft must act in flight exactly the same as the
great working air-craft which carry men aloft. A toy air-ship must
make its flight in a horizontal position, and if it turns over in
flight, even though it flies farther and faster than any other, it is
disqualified. The craft must also fly in a reasonably straight line
toward the goal, and should it be deflected for any reason and go off
at a tangent, the flight, no matter how successful otherwise, will
not be counted. In case of a collision between air-craft, the race
is repeated. The responsibility for adjusting the power, arranging
the steering-gear, and giving direction to the flight at the start is
entirely in the hands of the young engineer himself.
In measuring the length of the flights, again, the point at which the
air-ship first touches the ground is fixed arbitrarily as the end.
Often the little craft merely grazes the ground to rise and skid for
many feet, but in the official count this secondary flight is not
considered. First and last, no one but the owner of the little craft
is permitted to touch it. The grace with which the ship lands is also
taken into consideration in granting the prizes. Each boy is permitted
three trials. As in the regular aviation world, these records rarely
stand for more than a few days at a time.
These air-ships are driven by ropes of rubber bands which are turned
on themselves until they are tightly knotted, when in unwinding they
serve to drive the propeller around some hundreds of times. The rubber
is so light that it adds little to the weight of the craft. The motor
is of course a makeshift and at best only serves to keep the propeller
in motion for a fraction of a minute. Experiments have been made in
driving the propeller with compressed air, which is carried in an
aluminium rod fastened beneath the planes. But the force of thousands
of youthful inventive geniuses is certain to bring forth some new
motive power.
It is characteristic of the American boy that our young aviators should
feel themselves disgraced to fly a model not of their own make. As a
result, miniature craft of amazing ingenuity and workmanship are being
turned out by the amateur aviators all over the country. The materials
employed, such as rattan, bamboo, or light lath, and the silk for
covering the planes, or the wires for bracing the frame, cost but a few
pennies. Toy aviation is one of the most democratic of sports.