MOTORLESS RIGHT

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 4 May 1935, Page 8

MOTORLESS RIGHT

THE HISTORY OF GLIDING ft TWENTIETH CENTURY iMARVEI* FORTITUDE OF PIONEERS. The story of motorless flight or gliding was tolcl to members of the Hawera Rotary Club at its luncheon yesterday by Mr W. G. Walkley, .secretary to the Hawera Aero Club. In an interesting address Mr Wallcloy tiaced the development of gliding and referred to modern achievements and the practical aspect of the spore. “Wo live in a wonderful age, so much so that we are inclined sometimes to accept the magic of radio, talking pictures, and television, as commonplace instead of the miracles of ingenuity and science that they really are,” -said Mr -Walkley. Motorles.s flight or gliding as it was commonly called was another marvel of the 2Qth century. As long as man had existed on this planet ho had bean animated by one desire among others—to fly, and to soar like a bird. After thousands of years of patient waiting, at last man had been able to imitate the soaring of a bird. In 18b 1 Mouillard, a Frenchman residing in Algeria, commenced experimenting with gliders. Ho would go tc the top of a hill and try to take oft into tho wind. Finding himself exposed to the ridicule of his household whenever ho made these attempts, he carried'on his later experiments secretly. Then ope day ho actually flow—a gust of wind throw- him 30 loot into the air and carried him 130 foot backwards. He crashed and gave up his experiments.

IMPORTANCE OF BALANCE. - Then a 'German, Ctto Lilicnthal. realised that balancing was the first instead of tho last great problems ol flight. Very few people had been able to n:de a bicycle at their first attempt. Lilienthal built a pair of wings of a size suitable to- support his own weight and mado use of gravity as his motor. He was born in Germany in 18-13 and studied at the Technical School at Potsdam. He had no money and spent his years of early manhood in a soni:stawed condition. In 1892 lie built a springboard in his garden 3 feet high and using this managed to propel himself and his glider some six feet into the air and to float safely over the lawn. His glider had no tail, just a pair of wings, weighed 4Hbs. and had a surface measurement of 50 square feet. Finding trouble, due to air currents from neighbouring houses, he removed to a remote spot in tho hills and tllero from a knoll 30 feet, high he was ablo to glide 240 feet, or eight times the height of his starting point. He continued to make some wonderful flights up to IOJO feet, but was killed while experimenting in ttio mountains in 1596. It was from Lihenthal’s experiments that Wilbur and Orville V right received their inspiration. They experimented with gliders prior to 1902 and then conceived tho idea of putting a motor in a glider and on December 17, 1903—that is 32 years ago— they successfully got the first aeroplane .in the ail - and stayed in the air for twelve whole seconds. In 1910 Wilbur Wright prophesied that an aeroplane could be constructed to carry sufficient petrol to make a successful trans-Atlantic flight. Little did he realise that the machine he had constructed was the forerunner cf heavier than air machines and 25 years afterwards Scott and Black would fly the 11,000 odd miles from Mildenball to Melbourne in 2 days 22 hours 54 minutes and 18 seconds. REGARDED AS SPORT. “Coming back,to the subject of gliding it should be mentioned that gliding is regarded by many clubs in Europe as a sport, although its contribution to aviation has been incalculable,” said Mr Walk ley. “It is a very safe sport—few accidents happen to-day with gliders although thousands exist and are used regularly in Europe. The regular type of glider is in form a monoplane with an ordinary fuselage. It is built of light material and the pilot has a stick and controls much the same as in a power machine.” To make successful flights in a glider without the aid of a motor car or an aeroplane it was necessary to select a suitable terrain. A long hill .sloping towards a plain was the most-suitable country, for gliding because generally tho currents of air would be found to travel from the plain lip the slope and it was by taking advantage of these up-cur rents that the glider-pilot was able to keep in the air. The machine was launched by means of a rubber rope attached to the nose of tho glider and at a command from the pilot, the launching crew pulled on the rope until the pilot was ready to give the command “let go.” The machine was then catapulted into tho air, the rope automatically disconnected and the pilot found that his flying speed was sufficient to admit of his gaining height.

GAINING FURTHER HEIGHT. “Jiis next object is to gain further height, so he turns the machine and commences to travel along the face of the hill,” continued the speaker, “keeping in the up-current of the air arid then when he reached the end of the hill he turns back towards Jiis starting point, thereby still remaining in the up-currents .and using thorn to gain further height. Having reached a suitable height the glider pilot looks about to find another piece of eoun-

try where up-ourrents may be found, that) 'is, of ciunrse, if ho is making a. ' (TosG-country flight, and lie merely puts his machine into the correct* gliding angle and glides on to the nextpoint.” Landing a. glider was incomparably easier than landing a power machine, principally because it could bo brought in much more slowly a.-s there was no heavy engine to make necessary high landing speeds. The catapulting of a glider into the air was the usual method, employed by glider elubs beca.use of its but in some districts where suitable terrain was not available, gliders were towed be-

hind a motor car until they had gained sufficient height, and then the tow rope was disconnected and the glider pilot left to search for his up-currents and ini due course make his landing unaided. Similarly, gliders had been towed behind aeroplanes and then when .sufficient height was reached the tow rope was disconnected and the glider pilot left to his own devices. By this means the first glider crossing of the English Channel was achieved.

“MORE OR LESS INSANE.” “Like all original thinkers, the first experimenters with gliders were looked upon as more or less insane by their contemporaries, but the history of gliding contains records of amazing fortitude and courage. For instance, one of the pioneers of gliding in Germany was a. young man entirely without means who became interested in the art. He had no. mioney, but great enthusiasm. Ho obtained tho parts of a crashed glider from his club and then obtained the use of a but in the mountains, where he spent the whole of the winter rebuilding the glider. Daring die whole of this winter the only food chat lie had consisted of /oatmeal, Jiis financial resources being insfufficient to allow him to purchase any other food. “Guide.r clubs seem to be inspired with a high .sense of sportsmanship as witness an instance in the first Russian glider competitions which were iield in 1925,” said the speaker. A great storm brought the meeting to a premature end. More than 30 Russian gliders and seven German ones were housed in tents pitched at scone distance from tho place where the competitors wore accommodated. T.he tents were guarded at night by a few Russians, but one night towards the end of the meeting a whirlwind tore across the country. Its onslaught was so sudden, that .it was impossible for the watchers to summon help and then the pilots went out next morning to investigate tho damage they found the camp a mass of ruins." All the Russian tents and machines were destroyed but the German tents still stood erect with all its planes intact. Writing on this incident. Krenfield said: “Wrlth inimitable good comradeship the Russian sentinels had devoted their energies to the preservation of their guests’ property.”

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS.

The latest developments in gliding had been truly remarkable. In 1929 KronfieJd established a record by flying 85 miles in a glider across country, attaining a height of 7525 feet, fen clays later ho beat Iris own record by gliding 93 miles and attaining a height of 3516 feet. To-day gliders were able to carry a passenger and- attain up to 5900 feet in altitude and glide up to 150 miles. In Russia there were no fewer-than 1000 gliding clubs. An aeroplane recently towed three, gliders SCO miles to Moscow and as had boon read .in tho newspapers, an English lady glider pilot was towed from Germany to England only last month-

A great deal of the technical development in gliding was due to Krontiekl’s experiments and one of the mostinteresting things that lie discovered was that beneath heavy clouds, such as thunder clouds, there was always to be found an up-draft. Re found that if ho took off from a hillside which was • being approached. by a heavy cloml that after he had attained -suitable height from his starting point he glided towards the cloud then lie could take advantage of the up-draft and so attain his record breaking heights. “Gliding is an inexpensive sport,” said Mr Walkley in conclusion. “As a matter of fact the subscription to the London Gliding Club is £lO 10s a year, which includes all flying. Jt can be learnt in a few days and sooner or later will bo dcvcloned in New Zealand.”