M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)

Журнал Flight

Flight, March 27, 1909

FLYERS AT OLYMPIA.

Weiss (HANDLEY PAGE).

   Readers of the "Flight" section of The Automoior Journal will recollect our description of the bird-like model monoplanes constructed by Mr. Weiss. The machine which Messrs. Handley Page exhibit at Olympia is a full-size flyer on the same lines, and has also been built by the inventor himself. Like most work which has been put together in this way, the flyer is naturally somewhat rough-and-ready in appearance, for practically the whole of the framework is built up of cane, and this is a material which does not lend itself very well to neat jointing.
   The Weiss flyer is of the monoplane type, and is peculiar amongst such machines in having no tail whatever. Let into the rear edges of the main wings, however, are a pair of righting planes operated by pedals so that they can work in unison for ascending and descending, and in opposite directions for steering and righting. Another peculiarity of the construction of the wings is their double curvature at the tips, it having been found from the gliding experiments with the models that everything depends upon having this curvature absolutely correct. Propulsion is effected by two propellers placed between the righting planes and the rear edges of the main planes. These propellers are chain-driven from an engine which is situated immediately behind the pilot. The machine, although comparatively small in appearance, has a considerable extent of supporting surface. As yet no actual man-lifting flight has been accomplished.