Aero Club of New Zealand.

Progress, Volume VI, Issue 4, 1 February 1911, Page 538

Aero Club of New Zealand.

Leo A. Walsh, President.

Notes. (By K. I). Murray, Secretary.) Mr. Henning has now completed his Bleriottype monoplane of steel tubing, and has commenced the tuning up of his engine, which is of the two-cycle horizontal opposed type. In this engine there are several interesting features which we have never seen in any other aero engine, and we are anxious to see' how it will turn out. The whole machine has a very crude appearance, and there are many details which might be improved on, but Mr. Henning frankly admits that the machine is purely an experiment so we hope that when he builds another aeroplane he will have sufficient time at Iris disposal to be able to put more work into it. The Club President, Mr. Leo. Walsh, lias obtained a_ private flying ground at Manurcwa, about thirteen miles from Auckland City. He has been kind enough to give the free use of these grounds to the Aero Club of New Zealand, with the agreement that members erecting hangars be charged a small ground rent. We are very much indebted to Mr. Walsh for the and members can best show their appreciation by taking full advantage of his offer.

During the summer months the general meetings will be held monthly instead of fortnightly as before.

A competition for designs for a "club glider" has been arranged. The results will be known in February.

At a recent meeting of the Aero Club of New Zealand, at Auckland, Mr. W. Langguth gave an interesting lecture on "New Zealand Woods and their adaptability to Aeroplane Construction." Mr. Langguth first defined the necessary qualities of wood required for aeroplane construction, and then at some length described the various methods used for obtaining the different strength of woods (tensile; shearing, etc.). Tie then worked out by equation the strength of a beam of wood lin. x 2in. x 15ft. of the woods in the list given below, and compared these to a beam of aeroplane ash of similar dimensions.

In order to facilitate the comparison of the woods he divided the strength of the beforementioned beam by the weight per cubic foot, giving the figure in the third column:—

*The beam supported at both ends, and loaded equally all over.

Continuing, ..he explained that ' Matai is not necessarily more suitable than Ash, as grain, fibre, springiness, and various other factors have to be taken into consideration; but lie thought that either Matai or Kauri would make splendid formers (foils), and that Kauri would lend itself well to the construction of propellers because of its lightness, strength, and workability. Titoki, when obtained in long enough lengths, would make good spars, and Manuka would make excellent skids. In conclusion, in regard to New Zealand timbers, Mr. Langguth emphasised the fact that great importance" lay in the season in which timber was cut. "This," he said, "is sadly neglected in our country, and it is a great pity that the Government does not lay greater stress on this important factor, as the quality of the timber cut in the winter (when the sap is low) is undoubtedly superior."

The Club's Glider Competition.

The glider for which the competition closed with the last month, has been the subject of a very long felt want. It is interesting to learn chat the specifications require a glider on which provision is made for controlling the lateral and longitudinal stability of the machine by machinery or any movement except the movement of the body, a condition which reminds us that the art of flying belongs to the domain not of acrobatics but of aviation.

Wood. Average Weight in lbs. per Strength in 1’ig, of Comparcubic feet. Strength in lbs. Fig, of Comparison. Kauri . . 36 426 11.8 TitoM . . 58 533 9.2 Manuka . . 58.7 644 10.9 Hi mu . . 38 184 10.3 Mi . . 59 429 7.2 Malar . . 47 '586 12.2 Ash . . 46 169 7.9—8.3