LAST NIGHT'S CABLES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9915, 2 August 1910, Page 1

LAST NIGHT'S CABLES.

AVIATION. *.— DISSATISFIED AEROPLANISTS. United Press Association—By Elcctrio Telegraph.—Copyright. PARIS, August 1. Twenty aviators are suing the committee- of the recent Rbeims meeting, alleging that their neglect to properly clear the ground caused damage to aeroplanes. THE BLACKPOOL MEETING. LONDON., August 1. A heavy wind at the Blackpool aviation meeting blew a competitor in. the altitude prize completely out of the aerodrome. He alighted safely in the open country. A NEW ZEALAND AIRMAN. CHAT WITH MrTh. J. PITHER. In the. most prosperous days ct cyclcraru'ng .Mr H. J. Pither had a singularly successful career., attaining the front rank amongst his contemporaries of the wheel witfi remarkable suddenness, and retiring after a comparatively brief period with his honours thick upon him. After a long sojourn in private life, Mr Pither is once more before the public,'and in a more attractive role than that he previously played, for to him belongs the honour of being the first man to construct a successful, aeroplane in the dominion, and of being the first man in New Zealand to fly in a "heavier than air" machine. Mr Pither has been residing in Invercargill, and for the past twelve months he has been engaged upon the construction and perfection of a monoplane machine in which lie claims to have incorporated improvements upon existing types in the matter of practical strength and stability in flight. Mr Pither is at present visiting Christchurch, and ha.s brought his machine with him, with the intention of giving public demonstrations of aviation if a suitable ground can be secured. In the course of a chat with a " Lyttelton Times'' reporter last evening, he said that his experience as a. cyclist and as a manufacturer of cycles had led him to doubt that the bamboo and wood universally used by American and Continental aviators in the framework of their machines was the best material for the purpose. Bamboo and hickory framed bicycles had been imported to New Zealand some years ago, and had proved neither as light nor as strong as the ordinary steel tube frame, while wear and tear on the roads had eoon caused splits to make their appearance, still further weakening the frame. He therefore applied, himself to the construction of a monoplane, built broadly upon the Bleriot principle, in which the framing should be of tubular steel of the typo used in, high-class bicycle construction. He used locally procured stout linen, varnished and painted, as the- covering for his. planes, and constructed for himself a four-cylinder petrol motor, with its cylinders set on. the "V". system. This engine was capable of revolving a propeller witli a diameter of seventy-eight inches at tho rate, of from 1000 to 1600 revolutions per minute, and he conservatively estimated its power'at- about 40 h.p. The epgine, with propeller and shafting, weighed only iliOlb,', and 'the.entire machine, with a wing area of 154 square feet, a -wing span of 2S feet, and a length of 25 feet, weighed some- N thing under oOOlb, as compared with 6051b, the weight of a Bleriot monoplane of somewhat similar dimensions. Mr Pither stated that his first practical attempts at aviation were conducted on the long beach at Riverton, where there was ample space to get up the necessary initial speed of about twenty miles per hour, and though the beach had its restrictions as an experimental ground, he had been successful in making flights up to a mile in length. - Under better conditions and with more aerial experience lie Fioped to do very much better than this.; Although he had followed.the Bleriot type fairly closely in regard to the- general configuration of his machine ho had deemed it advisable to depart from the principles of the French machine in certain matters of detail. In his machine the operation of "wing warping" was done with a wheel, instead of with a lever, and his elevating planes «nd side-rudders were of his own design. He had been encouraged in his conviction that steel tubing was to be the aeroplane material of the future by seeing the same conviction stated by experts after the trials at Rheims. He had anticipated the conclusion of the experts by finishing his steel tube machine before that date.

In reply to a question as to whether he had ally particular site in view for his Christchurch demonstration, Mr Pither said that he had not yet had time to make the necessary investigations. He needed a clear, open, level space where he could get a smooth run of at least a quarter of a mile, without any trees to obstruct the machine. Ho understood the surface of Hagley Park was too rough for his purpose, and ho proposed having a look at the Iticcartou racecourse.

Asked as to his nlans in the future, he said that while he had no intention of competing for the prize offered by the Australian Commonwealth, for an Australian-made aeroplane, he intended visiting Australia with his machine later and competing for any prizes that might be offering.