NEW AEROPLANE DESIGN

Southland Times, Issue 23393, 28 December 1937, Page 7

NEW AEROPLANE DESIGN

WHEEL PLACED UNDER NOSE “TRICYCLE” LANDING GEAR FOR SAFETY LONDON, November 13. The modern. aeroplane, which recently became a three-wheeler by exchanging its tailskid for a tailwheel, is now in process of shifting the third wheel from the back to the front. In readiness for the change, the pilots of the Royal Dutch Air Lines have begun to play with a toy three-wheeler, evoked in the United States by a Government competition for a fool-proof aeroplane and now promoted in Europe to the status of trainer for professional oilots. This machine, the Stearman ' -lammond Y aeroplane, was brought by a Netherlands pilot into Croydon for the edification of English experts, who will likewise have to fly aircraft that cannot “nose over.” The nosewheel is a logical outcome of modern aeroplane design, yet it means the reversal of. the take-off and landing technique of more than 20 years. Hitherto in taking off the tail has had to be raised to put the aeroplane. into the flying altitude; now it s the nose that must be raised. In anding it has always been necessary to tilt the wings upwards to spill the lift off them and let the aeroplane sit down and stay down; now the wings must be tilted downwards to obtain the same result. The development of low-wing monoplanes with stubby, retractable undercarriages, of clean structures which do not lose speed readily, and of long fuselages which complicate the combination of the stalling altitude and the three-point landing, naturally suggested putting the centre of' gravity farther forward.and a supporting wheel right in front. The ensuing tricycle undercarriage presented the aeroplane with an improved power of manoeuvre on the ground, since the front wheel was made capable of control as m a bicycle, but it also presented the air line pilot with another advantage in those cases of difficulty when a landing must be made in fog. Those who fly on certain services m winter are doubtless familiar with the system of sliding down the wireless approach beam from the outer marker beacon, over the inner marker beacon, and practically on to the aerodrome surface in fog and low cloud. Sometimes the ground may not be seen until the aeroplane is about to make contact with it. In such an event the nose wheel should be invaluable as a means of making safe contact, of diminishing speed by friction, and of keeping the wing tilted to an angle of low lift, while a hurried landing is made. The aero-, plane may, in effect, land in a gentle dive and yet avoid ballooning into the air again. The unorthodox little two-seater, which has been showing the Dutch pilots the ropes, permits the pilot to dive it at the ground and yet restrains him from diving it too steeply. Its elevator movement is strictly limited, so that the machine may neither be pulled off the ground before it has gained flying speed nor be stalled easily in file air. The rudders likewise have little traverse, so that flat turns are discouraged, because the turns may more easily be made by using the ailerons. The engine and pusher airscrew are placed behind the little cabin, and the pilot’s outlook is therefore excellent. Aft of the wing there is no fuselage, but only two slim booms to carry the big tailplane and the twin fins. With most of the weight forward, the incipient stall is counteracted by the dropping of the nose, and it has been found impossible to make the machine spin.