AVIATION NOTES.

Otago Witness, 1 June 1910, Page 59

AVIATION NOTES.

A trial of the Comet pedal-driven aeroplane, referred to last month, tool? plact. at the Crystal Palace recently. It Was to be> flown by' a German racing cyclist, H. J. Fredericks." The machine was run <j>wa a rough sloping track; made up of layers of old' wooden fencing. It was too rough! for the machine, and iust when the spectators anticipated it lifting in the air the* front forks collapsed, and the whole structure came to the ground. The cross-country flights effected by Henry Farman are important from .fchet point of view of the weight carried. To inaugurate the Etanipes private aerodrome created by the Agence Auto Aerienne, he, with a lady beside him, piloted his biplane' from Etampes to a field selected) beforehand' at a distance of 11 kilometres <6J miles). By that exploit he gained the" Ecole Centrale prize for the first crosscountry flight with a passenger of at least;' 10 kilometres (6^ : miles). During severa.fi days he continued' carrying passengers with? him on. his aeroplane for aerial trips ofvarious length, 10, 15, or 20 miles over the in the vicinity of Etampes, and, lastly, having his sister-in-law beside hiznf on his machine, he flew over that little town. Nearly a dozen men have been taught to fly in the Antoinette which Latham? pilots with such perfect ease. One ofLatham's most apt pupils has proved to ba Mr Hayden Sands, an Englishman, whiJe Demanest and Ruchonnet, two experts inthe Antoinette Company, have learned also to handle the monoplane, which gives one a fiplendid impression of. bird flight. During the holidays the long-expected report of a collision, between aeroplanes inl the air duly came to hand, and was published' on the authority of a news agency in some of the papers (says the Field), it; related how two aviators at Pan, MM. Montigny and Jagoweskie, in trying l to pass each other, fouled, with the result that both came down, breaking their machines, but fortunately without sustaining personal injuries. Excellent reading this, and none. .the worse for keeping for the many mo'i.hs during which the public have been wondering what would happen in an aerial coI-< lision. Another report, however, states that the collision occurred on the ground! Paulhan, the crack French aviator, -whai recently won- the £IO,OOO prize given' by the Daily Mail (London) for the first aeroplane flight from London to Manchester, now has another chance of further adding to his banking account, for the Automobile Club of France has voted' nearly £6OCB for the first aeroplane flight from Park to Brussels, with landings allowed. A sum of £2OOO is to be awarded to the fii«fc dirigible balloon accomplishing the gam's trip. BERLIN, May 26. (Received May 26, at 10.5 p.m.) A new Grawert aeroplane, a distinctive feature of which is that it can be propelled along the ground on thoroughfares, has been satisfactorily tested between) two German camps. LONDON, May 27. Rolls attempted to aeroplane from Dover to Calais. He ascended amid thousands of cheering spectators. The motor, however, misfiring, compelled, a. hurried descent in Dover, the onlookers narrowly escaping. The aeroplane war damaged. M. PAULHAN VISITS A BATTLEFIELD. LONDON, May 29. M. Paulhan flew from Verona to Solfprino (the scene of the defeat of the Austrian* by , the Franco-Sardinian army in 1859), alighted on the battlefield, and laid a wreath on the tomb of the French soldiers who fell in battle. He then flew back to Verona. A STABLE MACHINE. LONDON, May 29. Lieutenant Duane made a two-and-a-half-mile night to Sheppey without using the steering levers. He" acted thus for the purpose of proving that bis biplane was automatically stable. AMERICAN WTNS' WORLD'S COMPETITION.

Governor's Island (New York), a distance of 150 miles, in 165' minutes, not-includ-ing tvro stoppages. FAMOUS TRIP DUPLICATED. NEW YORK, May 30. Curtiss’s aerial trip was made in perfect weather. He outstripped a special train which was following him. The highest point which the aeroplane reached was 1000 ft. The journey was a duplication of Fulton’s steamboat trip in 1807. A LOCAL INVENTION. MACHINE PRACTICALLY COMPLETE. Some little time ago a good deal was heard about local inventions of aeroplanes of which great things were expected, but apparently the fever has passed away, and very .few seem to have got any further than the model stage. One inventor, however— Mr J. H. Gill, of Musselburgh,—has Kept steadily but quietly at work, and the result of his efforts, in the shape of an aeroplane that is completed save for a, few finishing touches, was seen by a representative of this journal on Thursday. _ The length of the machine from tip to tip is 35ft, and the span of the wings 31ft. The motor engine is .of 25-h.p., J.A.P. Aerial ermine is beautifully constructed, and weighs only 1301 b. The weight of the whole machine, fully constructed, is 4501 b. The inventor claims that the machine will be considerably more buoyant than the general run of aeroplanes, and that it will ■nse' without long- runs. It is estimated that it will attain a speed of 30 miles an hour. The most important feature of the machine ia the uateat automatic safety devices, which it is claimed render the machine absolutely safe. If the engine should fail (which constitutes the danger of all aeroplanes), the occupant can instantly release a lever, which throws out 190 square feet of extra sustaining surface, this really forming a parachute around the machine. Another feat u-e claimed for the machine is its safety in descending. The front is so arranged that the machine cannot fall more than 15ft at a time, so in descending 1000 ft it would recover itself about 60 times before ooming to earth. . In the event of the' machine descending in water, an air chamber, which is fitted, automatically from the exhaust of the engine, will, it is claimed,’ cause it to float on the surface, making the life of the occupants, perfectly safe. ' Mr M‘Gill’s machine presents every, appearance of stability, and it is evident that the inventor, who seems to have made provision for all reasonable contingencies, has gone to a great deal of trouble to achieve tbs successful accomplishment of his task. The aeroplane, which has been constructed at Messrs Sohlaadt Bros.’ foundry under ex- i pert supervision, will probably be finished today It will bo exhibited- at the winter phow, next week, and the trials will take tolace at an early date. I