NEW THEORY OF FLIGHT

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 13946, 29 August 1938, Page 3

NEW THEORY OF FLIGHT

NEW PLYMOUTH MANS CLAIM. UNDING IN SMALL AREA. A revolution in the accepted theory oJ: flight, producing as its practical outcome aeroplanes capable of landing and taking off from very restricted areas, and bringing the day oi “every roof-top a landing field'’ appreciably nearer, is likely if the convictions of Mr E R. Brewster, of New Plymouth, are proved to be correct.

Mr Brewster is abandoning his considerable bee-keeping interests and hopes to leave for England shortly to submit his theory to authorities there.

His theory, Mr Brewster asserts, clearly shows the difficulties that must be overcome before aeroplanes are capable of being operated from very restricted areas. Once the difficulties are realised, he says, it is only a matter. of the correct usage of the power at present given to aeroplanes" to enable almost any aeroplane—in a slightly redesigned form—to land on and take, off from very much smaller areas than at present

•‘A complete theory of flight is still far out of reach” is a typical phrase in modern works on the theory of aerodynamics quoted by Mr Brewster to show that even after all these years it is not yet known in detail just why an aeroplane flies. However, his theory, Mr Brewster claims, fills the gap, enables numerous hitherto unexplained phenomena of flight to be clearly explained, and opens up enormous practical possibilities. FORCE OF GRAVITY. The most vital feature of Mr Brewster s theory is that it admits the vital importance of the force of gravity uppn the air, the effect of which existing theories of flight do not admit. Mr Brewster’s conclusions are the result of eight years of experiment and, as he says, “two years of solid thought.’’ For six years he experimented without arriving at results that gave him any satisfaction. Two years ago he realised just what was lacking in existing aero-dynamic theory and since then has been able to formulate a revolutionary theory of flight and achieve extremely promising results with the theory's practical application on model aeroplanes. “I have always been very keen on the idea of flying, but could not see the use of the present-day aeroplane to me, since it must have an aerodrome for landing and taking off," said Mr Brewster, when he was asked what prompted him to beigin his flight investigations. BESIDE EACH APIARY. ‘‘l am a beekeeper by occupation,- ’ he explained, “and control 800 hives in -0 apiaries spread over about 100 square miles of country, any of these apiaries are situated in places that a motor-truck cannot reach in wet weather. Lt has long been my wish to have an aeroplane, by means of which 1 could land and take off right alongside each apiary, as well as my central depot. "Also, with such an efficient means of transport I would be able to expand much further afield, to places that would take too much time to reach ibv motor-truck. I feel that I am now very close to my objective. ” Mr Brewster has always been a man of striking originality, and his approach to deficiencies in modern aviation is typical of his approach to any problem confronting him. He entered into the bee-keeping business knowing practically nothing about it and, using his own methods, lias ibnilt up the second largest beekeeping business in Taranaki. He has halved the cost of his honey boxes by manufacturing them himself, using his own original methods.

Some years ago, seeking for some more efficient means than the chisel for making vases and ornaments from the ponga tree, he and his brother devised special tools and equipment to produce them at almost mass-production rate. cur LI) NOT STALL.

“The aerqplane that I have in mind will be completely stall-proof and will not be affected by up and down currents of air to anything like the extent of present-day aeroplanes,” said Mr Brewster. “If the lift generated is not equal to the weight of the ’plane then it simply sinks, gliding at an angle of anything up to 45 degrees, without getting into the disastrous stall that such a position would mean with an ordinary ’plane. “This aeroplane is already flying well in model form and though perhaps still in the early stages of development shows promise of fulfilling my claims. It is built upon the principle that the power of the en-

gines, when they would of her wise be idle, may be used to develop lift instead of forward speed. This is done by an extremely simple method, without any sacrifice in high speed efficiency, and should make possible a great reduction in minimum speeds, particularly m landing. “The model definitely shows that the method Is effective and can be applied to any plane built for the purpose. “II my theory of gravitational movement can be substantiated by scientific investigation then it will become obvious that some forward speed is essential before flight can be achieved. All nature demonstrates this. It is only the smallest of Living creatures that can hover, and they are able to do this only by the help they receive from the viscosity of tlie air. “However, it should be possible to produce an aeroplane that will flv a.t as low a speed as ten miles an hour. Flying at this speed would, however, need a great deal of power and probably a fair amount of skill lon the part of tin* pilot. Suc.i j an aeroplane would fly more easily

at 20 miles an hour and its best performance, as far as return for power is concerned, would be in the. region of 40 to 60 miles an hour. The in mind should have a top speed of well over 100 miles an hour. ’ ONLY HALF RIGHT. “Ask the average man: ‘When air is displaced what brings about its replacement?’ and he will be sure to reply ‘the atmospheric pressure,’ ” said Mr Brewster. “This is also the belief of the aviation world in general, which considers that for purposes of flight the air is stilj and that the action of the force of gravity upon air is offset ‘by its buoyancy.’ "It is my contention that this is only half right, and then only when applied to the contact surfaces ol an aeroplane. For all retreating surfaces, on the other hand, the results obtained are according to a different set of rules altogether. “Any effect upon the atmospheric pressure is only of a very temporary nature and has no influence upon gravitation of air. rr t orrectly speaking, therefore, all replacements of air are ultimately by gravitational movement only. Consequently, in all flight the actum of the force of gravity upon the air itself must be taken into account. Because present theorists do not do so they find themselves mystified and unable to explain the theory of flight. ACTION ON STILL AIR.

“Thus the essence of flight is * brevity of action upon still air. Modern planes seldom affect the air they pass through lor more than 1-32 of second, in which time the gravitational movement is only 3-16 . ol an inch, so that at high speed the percentage of loss is very small. But gravitational movement in one second is 16 feet, which is such a loss that it is impossible to affect the air for this period and get any woithwhile lift from it.” “There are many practical phenomena of flight, some of them unexplained. which bear out this theory. ’ continued Mr Brewster. “The theory explains why it is apparently impossible lor a plane to climb vertically or to remain stationary in the air. Streamlining is also explained. Tin* perfect streamlines for any object are the exact gravitational curves, applied to the tail of the object, as worked out from the speed ol the wind and the size of the object so that gravity may be given the correct period of time to act and so cause as little ieduction of pressure as possible. It is much more important to streamlint' the rear than the front. “The theory also explains the dreaded aeroplane phenomena of stalling. Stalling occurs with unpleasant- suddenness when air creeps up the (hack of the wing from behind the gravitational movement, thereby raising a, breakdown in downthrust. A well-known slot device deflects the top stream of air downwards in such a way as largely to prevent the flow of air forwards up tlie back of the wing.” Mr Brewster stated that the Civil Aviation Department had shown interest in his theory and its practical applications and his approved of their submission to the authorities in England. He hopes to leave for Fngland before very long.