MOTORING & CYCLING

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1419, 5 July 1917, Page 24

MOTORING & CYCLING

Messrs. F. G. and A. H. Sargood, of Sydney, have given funds for a battleplane in connection with the Australian air squadron’s movement, of which Mr, C. Alma Baker is honorary organiser. The gift will be designated the “Sargood Bros.”

At a conference of motor garage proprietors at Palmerston North, it was decided to form an association for the whole motor trade of the Dominion. Mr. John Bett, Palmerston North, was elected first president, and fifteen members representing different districts of the Dominion were appointed a council to conduct the association’s business. One hundred and thirty firms joined. Representatives were present from Dunedin and Auckland.

Owing to the need for conserving lead in England, the Ministry of MuniPons have stopped the manufacture of lead shot except where required for destroying vermin or preserving crops.

The annual meeting of the New Zealand Automobile Union, which is to be held this month in Wellington, promises to be of more than passing interest to motorists generally. The deliberations of the Automobile Union carry considerable weight, as the union is the official mouthpiece of most of the leading automobile associations in the Dominion. It is quite on the cards that a model set of bylaws is being prepared, and may yet be made obligatory on all • local authorities.

Sir Rupert Clark, who has recently returned to Australia, says that one of the most energetic workers of the women engaged in war work in France is Miss Kelso King, of Sydney. M’ss King drives her own motor, and takes men and foodstuffs almost up to the trenches. Her work is strenuous and dangerous, and she thinks nothing of driving for eighteen hours at a stretch.

Motorists will be interested to learn that all the different makes of petrol in England are now “pooled” by the leading importing and distributing houses, all the deliveries now being made by one firm. In this way it is hoped to considerably economise m the cost of distribution and at the same time to free a number of transport waggons, in which direction there has been a co'nsiderable amount of overlapping. Petrol in England, therefore, now ceases to be known as “Pratt’s,” “Shell,” etc., whilst all the familiar various-coloured tin tags have given place to one standard grey label. The grades are being marketed and are known as Nos. 1 and 2, the respective specific gravities being 730, 735 to 760. The pool will last for the duration of the war.

Nearly all motor car progress during the past three years has naturally been on military lines. There were armoured cars before 1914. But now there are a score of types of armoured ears, from the all-compelling “tank” down to the mounted Maxim gun. There were a few motor ambulances before the war; now there are, literally, tens of thousands of types adapted to a score of services. Many new spheres of usefulness have been evolved. There are X-ray cars, laboratory cars, dental cars, disinfector cars, bathing cars, and a dozen other special varieties. These things are a r i of immeasurable service, and they are only possible because of the motor engine. If there had been no motor engines, there would have been no horse-drawn X-ray cars or dental cars. Of ordinary motor vehicles, whether heavy lorries or light passenger cars, there are a thousand types in use, adapted to a thousand necessities of military service. Staff cars and despatch cars, ammunition lorries and gun lorries, telegraph cars and bread wagsrons. troop ’buses and meat-safe ’buses, post office cars and bootrepa’’ring cars. Only a man in the contract department of the War Office, could catalogue them all. And as a support to each one is the motorrepair shop, with its lathes and benches ready, day or night, to perform minor or major operations on

broken-down cars, etc. When the war is over, all the energy and resources that made the above possible will be turned into different channels, and will confer benefits on all sections of the motoring community. The light car, the touring car, the commercial vehicle will all the improved as the result of the lessons of the war.

The prnciple of the caterpillar tractor which has become world-famed owing to the doings of the British “tanks” on the Western front, is the invention of Mr. B. Holt, a Californian. The propelling power in these tanks is said to be in the region of 1000 h.p., comprising four 6-cylinder petrol engines of 250 h.p. each. This big power is essential, as the weight of a tank is estimated to be between 100,000 and 125,0001 b. The two 40ft. caterpillar belts that are used to convey the driving power are about 30 inches wide, thus giving an enormous load-bearing surface, so that the pressure per square inch o: earth contact is kept very low, probably under 31b., which is a great deal less than exercised by a horse or man. It is this great tractive adhesion and tremendous grip that enables the British tanks to surmount practically any difficulties of travel.

At this time of the year cyclists are always wary of side-slipping, particularly those who do much riding on greasy wooden-blocked city thoroughfares. To secure the greatest immunity from side-slip, there are several factors to be taken into consideration. For example, it is essential that the wheels should be in line. We feel confident that if bicycles were tested with a straight-edge a very large proportion would be found to be faulty in this respect. Then, again, there is something in the design of the frame. The bracket should be rigid, so as to prevent any lateral whip, which has a tendency to force the driving wheel from side to side, and so overcome the frictional grip of the tyres, which should be kept well inflated. The gear also should be moderate. A high gear encourages a heavy, plunging action, and the lateral force, therefore, at each stroke is very considerable. On the other hand, with a low gear there is not the same, amount of power put into each stroke, and therefore the tendency to force the wheel in a lateral direction is not so great. Anyone can prove this for himself who possesses a variable speed machine. To prevent side slipping, it is essential that the steering should be straight, for

wobbling reduces the adhesion of the tyres to the ground, and once the ice is broken, so far as a slip is concerned, developments follow rapidly. At the same time, the handles should not be gripped rigidly; they should be rather held lightly, and when the mach ne does slip no violent effort should be made to return it to the path of rectitude. It should rather be given its head, to a slight extent, until it fetches up of its own accord. The pedalling should be easy and smooth, without any swaying of the body. Above all things, the rider should not apply his brakes suddenly, and should use the back one in preference to the front, for the reason that a slip of the driving wheel may be recovered from, but a slip of the front wheel generally brings the rider to earth.

According to a Christchurch writer, it is poss’ble that the presidency of the New Zealand Automobile Union will go this year to Canterbury, as a compliment to the oldest and most virile branch of the union. The president. Mr. McLean, has indicated that he does not wish to continue the office, and it is his view that Canterbury should accept the presidency. The matter will be decided at the annual meeting in Wellington on July 27, when many important matters will be discussed.

The list of motor racers who have signed up for war services in America numbers 400. They have the select.on of two divisions to work in, the aviation and motor car department.

A large training camp for aviators has been established on Long Island, near New York, by H. P. Davison and J. P. Morgan and Co., who have equipped a plant to train 100 men.

In a motor car dispute case that was being heard in the Supreme Court at Wellington the other day before His Honor Mr. Justice Hosking, a witness said that his firm was not charged for space for a particular new class of American car shown at the Carterton show, and did not know who paid for it. His Honor remarked that it appeared to him that the arri-

val of a new motor car created more excitement than the arrival of a noted general.

The Ministry of Munitions at Home has issued a notice drawing attention to the urgent necessity of exercising the utmost economy in the use of calcium carbide, either for use for illuminating purposes or for oxyacetylene weloing. It is added that every opportunity should be taken to employ substitutes for calcium carbide wherever possible, as it is only by such means that the serious shortage threatened can be averted.

While travelling by motor car from Whakatane recently, a party of Gisborne people met with an unenviable experience near the Motu. Approaching Otoko the motorists had to cross a stream running into the Waihuka River. Swollen by the recent rains, the crossing was higher than usual, and th© car stopped in mid-stream. Wading ashore the party set cut for assistance, which vzas eventually obtained from a neighbouring homestead. On returning to the stranded car, however, the motorists had the mortification of 'finding that the creek had risen, and that their rugs, coats and luggage had floated out of the car, and were being rapidly washed down stream. Strenuous efforts to recover the gear were unsuccessful, and the weather-bound travellers, who were detained for three days, were hospitably entertained. Eventually, by covering part of the distance on foot, the party reached Te Karaka, having then to procure another car.

TRAINING AVIATORS IN FRANCE.

The announcement that America is to manufacture 1000 aeroplanes per month for despatch to the Allied fronts does not come as a surprise to those who are at all conversant with the remarkable growth which aviation has made throughout the United States of late years. It is well known that a large number of Americans have been serving in the French air service since the early stages of the war, but few persons have any conception of the training these men have had to undergo before they are ready and in a condition to meet the requirements of active service. On arrival in Paris the candidate for admission into the FrancoAmerican Flying Corps makes a formal application to the Ministry of War, and after passing a physical examination at the recruiting office is accepted formally at the Invalides as a second-class soldier of the Foreign Legion, and is attached to the first aviation group, with headquarters at Dijon. He does not go to Dijon, however, but is sent to the training school at Buc, a few miles west of Paris, where the Bleriot factory and school is located. Subsequently he proceeds to the Pilotage, which is the office of the chief pilot responsible for all school work. He then takes up actual work, commencing at 7.30 in

winter and earlier in summer. He stops work at 10.30 a.m., has breakfast at 11 a.m., and resumes at 1 p.m., training being carried on until 5 o’clock. From 5 till 9 p.m. the pupils are at liberty to visit the villages in the neighbourhood, while lights at the school are extinguished at 9.30 p.m. promptly. All training is given on Bleriot monoplanes.

The student gets first a machine known as a penguin, on which he learns to make a straight line on the ground, to maintain his line of flight and to use his engine controls. He is taught to use his rudder by reflex movements, and should master all these elementary matters in about twenty trips. Having passed the first stage, he is advanced to a larger machine of about the same power and speed that can actually fly. He is forbidden,however, to get into the a r at this stage, but must drive his airplane over the ground at full speed, keeping the tail at the correct position, thus learning to judge the speed, of his machine and the force of the wind. With this machine from three to six trips are generally sufficient. At the end of this time the pilot should be able to guide a machine along the ground by the rudder.

The next machine is a higherpowered airplane, usually fitted with a six-cylinder 45 h.p. Auzani air-cooled engine. In this class the pupil learns to have his machine thoroughly in hand, to run at top speed along the ground, to get off the ground and keep a horizontal line of flight, to land, to

turn, to change his direction in the air. The first stage with this machine is called straight lines, and consists of flying 60 inches from the ground. A landing is made by combining the weight of the machine with its acquired speed, landing by switching the ignition off and on. During the short period when the ignition is cut, the weight of the machine causes it to drop to the ground, but this does not prevent it keeping its line of flight. LEARNING TO LAND. During the second stage the pilot flies at a height of not less than sft., and not more than 50ft. from the ground. The machine is then too high to land by cutting out the ignition, and too Low to land by tipping forward. It is, therefore, necessary to lose height without cutting out the ignition, coming down very gradually, and then, when sft. from the ground, regaining the normal line of flight, maintaining it for a few seconds, and finally landing as learned in the first stage.

In the third stage the pupil has to make a landing from a height of more than 50ft. He does this by causing the machine to dive, switching off the ignition immediately, bringing the machine to its normal position very gradually, so that the movement is imperceptible to the eye of a spectator, and at sft. becomes parallel with the ground. Then as the speed gathered in the descent is acting against gravity the machine lands in its line of flight, tail up, which brings the pupil back to the landing in the first stage, but in this case it is done without using the switch. This method of landing is known as an airdrome landing.

The fourth stage is known as a field landing, the object being to come down as slowly as possible, and, consequently, to roll as short a distance as possible on the ground. This system is intended for use on rough ground or very small fields, where a long roll might cause a capsize. To get this result, the nose of the machine is turned down and the ignition cut at the same time. As soon as the machine is 5 feet from the ground, instead of allowing it to land m its line of flight, it is placed as if to rise slightly and kept there by the elevating planes, thus checking speed very rapidly. The wheels will touch the ground at the same time as the tail does, the drag preventing the machine from rolling for any distance.

A trip round the aerodrome has to be accomplished in the fifth stage. This must be maoe at a height of about 330 feet. The machine should rise and make its turns in a progressive manner. In turning the machine should not be made to rise, but its nose should be kept a trifle below that of the line of flight. A trip round the aerodrome should usually be made after GO straight-line trials.

Up to this stage all the training has been carried out on monoplanes of the cross-channel type, but now the pupil goes to a much larger and heavier machine, equipped with a 50 h.p. Gnome engine and having greater speed and climbing power. This class perfects the pupil in landing at higher speed, it teaches him to turn his direction in the air by fairly sharp turns, and to fly at altitudes of GOO to 2000

feet. The pupil also learns to work adjustments on the gas and air controls and to use the switch on long dives. In this class the student should make an average of twenty trips, following a fixed route set by the instructor. In the following class use is made of a machine of the same general size, but with a still larger engine, usually a 60 h.p. Gnome. Here he learns to perform long spirals, hairpin descents, etc., from heights of 3500 to 6800 feet, and having passed this stage successfully, usually after fifteen trips, is ready for the height zest.

A barograph in a sealed case is hung round his neck, to the back, and he is expected to attain a height of 6600 feet, and having attained this to remain there for an hour. If for any reason beyond his control he is unable to remain at the minimum height for a full hour he may descend and finish the remainder of the time on a second attempt. After this he is ready for his pilot’s test, which consists in flying cross-country over a triangle with an average of 190 miles, arriving and leaving from the military flying grounds indicated on the trip. For this test 24 hours usually are considered sufficient. Three of these triangles have to be made, each one over a different course. On the successful completion of these he is given his military pilot’s certificate and the rank of corporal. There are, of course, further stages in other schools, most of these being aerial acrobatics, while machine-gun practice is another of the higher branches of the instruction.