Merely an aeroplane whose speed may be increased or reduced by degrees at the will of the aviator. This will enable the pilot to use a slow speed for rising, for instance — and on reaching a desired altitude increase his speed. On encountering high winds, for instance, the speed might be increased so that the aeroplane would cut through them almost undisturbed. The variable speed aeroplane will doubtless soon make its appearance. Many aviators expect that it will be the next great step in the advancement of the science of aviation.
Has any model aeroplane been fitted with an automatic stability device and what is it like?
No such equipment has attracted public attention up to the present writing. An interesting method of securing automatic control has been suggested by H. L. Twining, the well-known writer on aviation. His plan is to attach a geared wheel to the propeller shaft in such a way that it will not begin to move until the propeller has made about 100 revolutions. A string is then run about this wheel which is pulled back as it turns. The pull of this string in turn is made to raise or lower the horizontal rudder of the model, but only after the machine propellers have made 100 turns and the model is presumably well up in the air. In this way the propeller may be set to send the model upwards at a sharp angle and then made to take the proper angle for a horizontal flight. The attachment suggests very interesting possibilities. It may be possible, if the device works, to alter the angle of the rudders either vertical or horizontal several times during a flight.
What is the record flight for a motor-driven model aeroplane?
A flight of upwards of one mile is reported to have been made by a motor driven model in India, while in the United States the mile mark is claimed to have been passed. Neither of these flights are official. The most advanced work with motor-driven models is at present being done in France. At a recent model tournament at the Velodrome du Pare des Princess, Paris, a number of model aeroplanes equipped with engines of various types were flown. One of these, a biplane measuring nearly seven feet in length, was fitted with a petroleum two-cylinder motor which developed one-third of a horse-power. It rose beautifully, cleared a high building and was flying well when it unfortunately collided with some telegraph wires and came to grief. Before the accident it had flown nearly three hundred feet in a perfectly straight line. Another model at the same meet equipped with a carbonic acid motor flew very well for a time but was injured in a collision.
How long has a model aeroplane remained in the air?
The American record for time aloft is held, we believe, by Cecil Peoli of New York, whose model has remained in the air for sixty-five seconds. Several records of from thirty to forty seconds are reported from France. It is probable that the best record has been made in the long distance flights in England when 26,000 feet was covered.
Has the model aeroplane any practical commercial utility?
Probably not, unless we take seriously the suggestion of a writer on aerial warfare, who believes they will some day be so perfected that they may be used to drop bombs or high explosives over forts or besieged cities. His suggestion is that hundreds of model aeroplanes equipped with miniature engines might be released in a swarm, each carrying a deadly explosive which would be dropped automatically at a certain time. It would be impossible, he argues, for gunners to bring down an entire fleet of these swiftly moving machines, and so while many of them might fall short enough would succeed in dropping their missiles to make them an exceedingly dangerous weapon. The writer points out that the expense of such a mosquito fleet would be trifling compared with the cost of the ordinary engines of warfare and might be operated without risking any lives.
