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

L.Opdyke French Aeroplanes Before the Great War (Schiffer)

K.Molson, H.Taylor Canadian Aircraft since 1909 (Putnam)

Wright Model B Biplane

   In 1911 a Wright Model B biplane was made in Winnipeg by William Percy Alexander Straith. The construction of Wright aircraft by amateurs was unusual partly because there were simpler types to build and partly because of fear that the Wrights might take legal action against the builder.
   Bill Straith was born in North Keppel, Ontario, near Owen Sound, on 9 November, 1891. In 1908 he and Reginald Hay constructed a glider which he first flew on 8 September. 1908, but it is believed that only limited success was achieved. He moved to Winnipeg in December 1910, began his aeronautical experiments there the following year, and in about 1931 wrote of his first machine as follows:
   'Just prior to this time [July 1911] two machines were in the course of construction in Winnipeg. One by a young mechanic [Straith] in the employ of the Otis-Fensom Elevator Co. This machine was a warping wing Wright Type B (The original Wright Model B appeared early in 1910 and did not have the forward elevator of the earlier Wright aircraft. It was powered with a vertical four-cylinder Wright engine of 30 hp.) and was powered with a 4-cylinder, 2-cycle Elbridge [of 40/60 hp which was originally] a marine engine but modified and lightened for aircraft use. [This] machine made a good number of flights from one to six minutes during the year it was in operation. It was then dismantled with the idea of building a more modern plane'.
   Further details of Straith’s aviation activities appear in the sections on the Straith Biplane, Bleriot-type Monoplanes and the Canadian Aircraft Mallard. He went to the USA in January 1931, flew as a captain with Northwest Airlines, worked briefly for TACA, and returned to Canada to become one of the first TCA pilots. He was killed in an accident in New Mexico on 4 April, 1947.

   One 40/60 hp Elbridge engine. Span 38ft 6in (11-7m); length 28 ft 11 in (8-81 m); height 7 ft 4in (2-23m); wing area 500sqft (46-45sqm) approx. Loaded weight 1,270lb (577kg) approx. Performance details are not known.
   Specification from original Wright Model B but loaded weight adjusted for heavier Elbridge engine.

Jane's All The World Aircraft 1913

U.S.A. AEROPLANES.


WRIGHT BROS. Biplanes. The Wright Co., Dayton, Ohio. The original type of Wright machine was mounted on skids only, and started along a rail. Its special features were a biplane elevator forward, main planes with warpable tips to trailing edge, small keel in gap, 2 propellers, chain driven in rear of planes, double rudder in rear and no tail. Wilbur Wright flew a machine of this type for 2 h. 20 m. 23? s. in 1908. (Details of early Wrights see previous editions of this book.)

Model and date. B. C. EX. E.

Length......feet(m.) 31 (9.45) 29? (9) ... ...
Span........feet(m.) 39 (11.90) 38 (ll.58) 32 (9.75) 32 (9.75)
Area...sq. feet(m?.) 500 (47) 500 (47) ... ...
Weight,
   total...lbs.(kgs.) 1250 (567) ... ... ...
   useful..lbs.(kgs.) ... ... ... ...
Motor..........h.p. 30-35 Wright. 30-35 Wright. 30 or 50 30 or 50
   Wright. Wright.
Speed....m.p.h.(km.) 45 (75) 45 (75) ... ...

   1913 standard. For exhibition 1913
   This machine work only. For
   as a hydro is Single seater exhibition
   fitted with small duplicate work
   two 3 step of B. only.
   floats. Single seater
   duplicate of
   EX except
   fitted with a
   single pro-
   peller only.


GERMAN AEROPLANES.


WRIGHT. Flugmaschine Wright, G.m.b.H., Adlershof, bei Berlin. Company formed to trade in German rights for the Wright Bros.' patents. Considerable departures have been made from the U.S. pattern, and some have been built with a single propeller only. Capacity of works 100-150 a year.

   1912. 1913. 1913. 1913.
   Military. Sporting. Military. Military.
   4-seater.
Length.......feet(m.) 28 (8.50) 26? (8.20) 31? (9.65) ...
Sp...........feet(m.) 39? (12.20) 31 (9.60) 40? (12.50) 44? (13.50)
Area....sq. feet(m?.) 452 (42) 323 (30) 463 (45) 463 (43)
Weight,
   total...lbs.(kgs.) 992 (450) 837 (380) 1433 (650) 1653 (750)
   useful...lbs.(kgs.) ... ... ... 882 (400)
Motor...........h.p. 55 N.A.G. 55 N.A.G. 100 Argus or 100
   Mercedes
Speed,
   max....m.p.h.(km.) 50 (80) 60 (95) 60 (95) 60 (95)
   min....m.p.h.(km.) ... ... ... ...
Number built
   during 1912... 10 ? ... ...

Журнал Flight

Flight, October 15, 1910

AMERICAN NOTES.

Long Cross-Country Flight in U.S.A,

   USING a Wright biplane, A. Hoxsey, on Saturday last, made a successful trip from Springfield to St. Louis. On arrival at his destination he failed to recognise his landing place and flew five miles further on, where he came down successfully. As the crow flies the distance from Springfield to St. Louis is 86 miles, but it is claimed that as Hoxsey followed a circuitous route the total distance traversed by him was 104 miles.


Mr. Roosevelt Ventures Aloft.

   DURING a visit to the flying ground at St. Louis on Tuesday, Mr. Roosevelt accepted the invitation of Mr. Hoxsey to accompany him for a short trip in the "central blue." Three laps of the aerodrome were covered, the Wright biplane being in the air for just under 3 1/2 mins. It is a good testimonial for flying that the ex-President was so greatly pleased with the trip, which he said was the finest experience he had ever had, that he would have liked to have stayed up for an hour.


Flight, October 29, 1910

Thelen Flies over Berlin.

   USING his German-built Wright biplane, Thelen on the 19th inst., in the course of a demonstration before the military authorities, started off from Johannisthal flying ground, and made a successful trip to the military parade ground at Teglitz. The distance between the two points is about 40 kiloms., and this was covered in one minute over the hour.


Flight, January 7, 1911

Death of Moisant and Hoxsey.

   THE closing day of the Old Year saw the names of two of America's foremost aviators added to the list of victims of dynamic flight, one of the two men being well known here by reason of his exploit in flying from Paris to London last year. At Harahan, on the banks of the Mississippi, not far from New Orleans, Mr. J. B. Moisant set out on a Bleriot monoplane in an attempt for the Michelin Cup, the flight being witnessed by an official representative of the Aero Club of America. The accident occurred during a preliminary trial to test the machine, when, after circling the ground twice, the monoplane was seen to dip its head and drop down from a height of 100 ft. The aviator was pitched out of the machine, and, when picked up, was still alive. He was hurried on a special train to New Orleans, but, unfortunately, died before reaching there. As to the cause of the accident nothing is known definitely; but it is pointed out that the position of the course is an extremely dangerous one, owing to the tricky air currents and the gusty winds.
   Mr. A. Hoxsey, who carried Mr. Roosevelt for a short aerial trip last autumn, was the victim of the second accident, which occurred at Los Angeles while the aviator was attempting to better his height record of the previous Monday. He had gone up to a great height and was descending in a series of spiral glides for which he was famous, when at a height of about 300 feet the machine was caught by a sudden gust of wind and overturned. In its rush to the earth the machine again turned over twice, but the aviator retained his seat and was apparently killed by the motor falling upon him. Here again the accident was probably caused by the tricky nature of the course, both Latham and Willard having given over flying for the day owing to the prevalence of dangerous air pockets.


Flight, April 1, 1911.

Third International Aero Exgibition at Olympia - 1911.

THE EXHIBITS ANALYSED.

<...>
   The Wright biplane in its present form is characterised by the absence of any front elevator and by the use of a nonlifting tail. Practically, the machine is in balance about the centre of pressure with the pilot on board, and, indeed, the spiral draught from the propellers is enough to upset this balance through its influence on the tail plane.
<...>


Flight, October 7, 1911.

Captain Englehart Fatally Injured.

   ON Friday, owing to a disaster which accounted or the death of Captain Englehart, flying at the Johannisthal Meeting was stopped for the day. Piloting one of the German Wright machines, and carrying with him Herr Scdlemayr, another aviator, Englehart took the air at 3.21, in spite of a very treacherous and gusty wind. Flying low and finding the pockets very disconcerting, he rose to a height of 30 metres. At 4.26 it was noticed that something was wrong, and apparently one of the propellers had broken in somewhat similar manner to the accident which overtook Henn in the spring of last year. The machine turned over and crashed down to the earth with its two occupants. Captain Englehart was apparently killed almost instantaneously, but Sedlemayr, his companion, was more fortunate, and was at once taken to hospital, where ultimately his injuries were found to be not of an extremely serious nature, and it is hoped he will at least survive. Captain Englehart was one of the finest, although very daring, pilots in Germany. He was the third certificated aviator, dating from March of last year, and was the chief pilot of the German Wright school, having given up his position as Aide-de-Camp to the Prince Imperial for the purpose of devoting his efforts to aviation.


Flight, April 13, 1912.

Fatal Accident to Rodgers.

   ALTHOUGH only scanty details are as yet to hand it would appear that the fatal accident to Galbraith Rodgers, who made a name for himself by flying across the United States from New York to California, was largely due to recklessness. He had been giving exhibition flights at Long Beach, California, on the 4th inst., and had been amusing himself by scattering a flock of gulls by diving into them. In the last dive the machine apparently failed to answer the controls and crashed to the beach 100 ft. below. The pilot had his neck broken and must have been killed instantly.


Flight, November 2, 1912.

BRITISH NOTES OF THE WEEK.

British Duration Records.

   FLYING for the British Michelin Cup No. 1 on the 24th ult., at Brooklands.on the Sopwith-Wright biplane fitted with a 40-50-h.p. A.B.C. engine, Mr. H. G. Hawker made a non-stop trip of 8 hrs. 23 mins., the flight only being terminated by the gathering darkness. Subject to the confirmation of the Royal Aero Club Committee, this performance secured the Cup to Mr. Hawker for this year as his time was unbeaten when the competition closed on Thursday last. A Bosch magneto was fitted, and the A.B.C. engine ran without a single misfire. Shell spirit was used and Wakefield's Castrol "R" was depended on for lubricant. Mr. Hawker started at 9.15 a.m. while Mr. F. P. Raynham was still going steadily round and round on the Avro enclosed military biplane, fitted with 60-h.p. Green engine. Raynham started at daybreak and remained in the air for 7brs. 3l?mins., the flight being terminated by the lubricant giving out. Last year's record for the cup was 5 hrs. 15 mins. by Col. Cody.


Flight, May 3, 1913.

FOREIGN AVIATION NEWS.

Fatal Accidents.

   Two accidents which ended fatally, occurred at Johannisthal on the 24th ult. The first occurred to a Wright biplane, which was being piloted by Princess Schakowskaja, with her instructor Abramovitch as passenger. While the machine was about 30 ft. from the ground, the Princess apparently tried to make it rise too steeply with the result that it capsized. The pilot sustained slight injuries, while Abramovitch was so badly hurt that he succumbed during the night. About a quarter of an hour after this accident another Russian pilot, Dunetz, was making a very steep vol pique, when at a height of about 250 metres the wings of his monoplane collapsed, and he was killed on the spot. On the 22nd the monoplane of Lieut. Eblers fell from a height of 40 metres at the Doeberitz camp and the pilot was instantly killed.


Flight, July 26, 1913.

WHY PILOTS SHOULD USE THE "STRING."

   THOSE who have watched Beatty evoluting at Hendon on the Wright biplane with the Gyro engine have probably provided themselves with a variety of reasons to account for the nonchalance with which this American pilot justifies his countrymen's contention that he is "some banker."
   Some may say - to the obvious benefit of the Company whose representatives have adopted this very practical method of calling attention to the Gyro engine - that it is all due to the motor, which probably develops about three times as much power as the machine requires for the purposes of straightforward flight. Others, with commendable respect for the genius of the greatest, no less than the first, of the pioneers, may say that it is all in the Wright biplane. Others again may give Beatty himself some little credit for the performance - or frankly fear that he is on his way to "collect it," according to their point of view.
   But very few, probably, have given any credit to the little piece of string that Beatty, in common with all Wright pilots, carries on the crossbar between the blinkers of his machine.
   We honestly believe that if "the string" were as universally employed as it should be by pilots that it would do more, in proportion to its intrinsic value, for the safety of flying than any other thing that it is possible to conceive.
   Wright pilots invariably use "the string." No matter how experienced they may become, they still continue to use it.
   Mr. Alec Ogilvie, the most accomplished of Wright pilots in England, uses it on his machine at Eastchurch. Mr. Beatty is using it at Hendon, and it is the secret of the nonchalance with which he performs his banks.
   The purpose of the string is to act as a warning of sideslip. So long as the string flies out good and straight parallel to the blinkers on his machine, Beatty knows that he has an axial relative wind. He is certain, in short, that his machine is not side-slipping either inwards or outwards.
   So long as he keeps the string parallel with the blinkers he cannot overbank. No matter how much he may appear to be overbanking, the fact remains that he is safe so long as the string tells him that he is so. Were he to overbank, his machine would immediately sideslip like any other machine; and the relative wind, in coming obliquely across the machine in consequence, would blow the string sideways.
   Now the pilot who has no string as a guide has to rely solely on his own discretion, which is the slow product of experience grafted upon a personal sensitiveness that characterises different people in varying degree. As a rule, the majority of pilots underbank when turning, that is to say they sideslip outwards more or less. As far as is known, there is no particular danger about side-slipping outwards and so the majority of pilots are on the safe side in thus manoeuvring.
   "Flying is a game of cards at which you only have one deal," as a pilot of great experience, and equal caution expressed it to us recently, and a man who overbanks his machine once may not have the opportunity of profiting by his experience. It is, therefore, something to be avoided, and so only those who have built up a very considerable confidence are ordinarily to be seen performing banked turns anywhere approaching the limit of what is possible and also safe. For the inexperienced to do what Beatty does without the guidance of the string would be to court disaster, notwithstanding all that may be said in favour of the Gyro engine and of the Wright machine. Nevertheless, we feel equally firmly convinced that by the guidance of the string any thoroughly qualified pilot might with comparative safety quickly learn to achieve what Beatty performs so easily and so well.
   Let it, of course, always be understood that a banked turn of any description tilts the wing pressure at an angle, and so deprives the aeroplane of a part of its support. Unless, therefore, the engine has a great deal of surplus power that can be brought into use at this moment the machine must descend while turning.
   The string gives instant warning of this.
   If the reserve power is sufficient to enable the machine to continue turning on its own level it suffices to bank the machine while flying horizontally and without previously tilting its nose down. But, on any machine that is not thus adequately engined, it is essential to put the machine into a descending attitude before the bank is commenced.
   If a piece of paper such as a foolscap envelope be held in the hand so as to represent the wings of an aeroplane in flight, the difference between banking first and dipping with the elevator afterwards, compared with dipping first and banking afterwards, is self-evident at a glance.
   If it is one's object to avoid sideslip in flying - and there can be no question that this is the safer principle of progress - then one's object in control must be always so to manoeuvre the machine that it tends naturally to follow an axial path through the relative wind. Having accepted this idea as a guiding principle, the point of immediate importance is to have a reliable indicator, which, if one accepts the evidence of the Wrights and all their pupils, is already available in "the string."
   Hitherto, we have not discussed the string and its possibilities for fear of leading astray those who might be flying other types of machines, notably of course those with a tractor screw. Quite recently, however, we have been informed by Eng. Lieut. E. F. Briggs, R.N., of the Naval Wing of the R.F.C., that he has tried the string on a tractor monoplane and that it seems to answer its purpose thoroughly. If this is so then we most strongly advise all other pilots to start using the string and to find out for themselves whether or no it does not tend to inspire them with increased confidence. When such experienced pilots as Mr. Alec Ogilvie and Mr. Beatty are not ashamed to be seen with it on their machines, no one else need presume to suggest that it appertains to the days of "the apron."
   Besides the string, one thing else is needed materially to increase the safety of flying, and we never cease to be amazed that so many pilots continue to fly without it.
   We refer, of course, to the air speed indicator, which tells the pilot his velocity through the relative wind. Flying takes place in the atmosphere, the motion relative to the ground is incidental and of no consequence to the aerodynamic principles involved. Every machine has a proper flying speed at which it will fly horizontally in the attitude for which it was designed. The range of speeds above and below the normal are acquired by tilting the machine out of its proper attitude under the influence of the continuous action of the elevator.
   Experienced pilots with a good ear for their engine, generally know more or less when they are flying at the proper speed under power, but there are a good many who do not know all the same, and even the experienced pilots are very often at a loss to judge the proper speed while gliding.
   Just as the majority of pilots underbank at the turn, so do they come down over steeply in the descent. If they worked by the air speed meter they could descend by a glide with the same precision that they fly horizontally. Also, they would be able repeatedly to make their climbs under the best conditions, because having once determined by experiment the speed at which the particular machine was able to climb most rapidly, they would in future merely pull away at the elevator until the machine was brought down to that speed, and under those conditions they would continue to climb as long as they desired.
   Air speed meters are already on the market and there is no excuse whatever for not fitting them. The pilots of the Royal Aircraft Factory carry out all their experimental flying by the aid of an air speed meter and they would never think seriously of flying a machine without one. The instrument in question which was designed at the R.A.F. - but which is not therefore necessarily useless, in spite of popular prejudice against factory products - is manufactured and sold by the well-known instrument makers, Messrs. Elliott Bros.
   Another form of air speed meter is the Eteve, for which the Aircraft Manufacturing Company hold the English rights. In fitting it, one flies one's machine horizontally at its normal speed and notes the position of the indicator. On alighting, the instrument is adjusted until the red mark on the scale is coincident with the position occupied by the needle in flight. Whenever the machine is going through the air at the speed that it was flown during the preliminary tests, the needle will stand on the red mark. Whenever the machine increases its speed the needle will move in one direction, and whenever it decreases its speed it will move in the other direction.
   It does not matter whether the pilot is gliding or flying straight, he is always able to tell at a glance whether he has his proper air speed or not. In short, the air speed meter gives him, just as the string gives him, a readymade knowledge that he might not satisfactorily acquire during a whole lifetime as a pilot.


Flight, August 28, 1914.

EDDIES.

   The visitors to the Hendon Aerodrome on Saturday were treated to several very fine exhibition flights by Messrs. Beatty, Manton and Lillywhite. Beatty was first out, and gave some excellent demonstrations of steeply banked turns, spirals and switch-backs. He was followed a little later by Manton, who proved to have lost none of his skill in handling the bi-rudder 'bus. Shortly afterwards Lillywhite, who was on leave from the R.F.C., took up the same machine and executed some steep banks and dives, much to the delight of the spectators.


Flight, February 19, 1915.

EDDIES.

   A new Wright biplane of somewhat different design from the usual type has been completed recently at the Beatty school at Hendon. The new machine, which is fitted with a 50 h.p. Gnome, is intended for the use of pupils when making their test flights for their certificate. Those who have been fortunate enough to have a spin on her agree that she handles very nicely and wants very little attention, except in very rough weather. The chief departure from standard Wright practice is to be found in the arrangement of the struts and spars. Instead of joining the front row of struts to the leading edge of the main planes, they are joined to a front spar placed some distance behind the leading edge. In other respects the new brevet biplane follows standard Wright practice.