PITHER'S MONOPLANE,

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 887, 5 August 1910, Page 6

PITHER'S MONOPLANE,

TO FLY AT CHRISTCHURCH. (By Tclcgraph.-Special Correspondent.) - Christchurch, August 3. Mr. H. J. Pither, who, in the' niost prosperous days of cycle racing, had a singularly successful career, is now once more before the public. ,To him belongs the honour'of being tho 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," who now resides in Invercargill, has for- tho past twelve months been engaged, upon the perfection of a monoplane machine 'in which he claims to have incorporated improvements upon existing types in the matter of practical strength and stability in flight. He is at present visiting Christchurch, and has brought his machine with him with the intention of giving public demonstrations of aviation if a suitable ground can be secured. In conversation with a reporter he 6aid that his experience as a cyclist, and as a manufacturer of cycles, 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. He therefore applied himself to the construe-I tion of a monoplane built broadly upon the Bleriot principle, in which the framing should be of tubular steel of the type used in high-class bicycle construction. ,He used stout , linen,- varnished and painted, as the covering for his planes, and constructed for' himself a four-cylin-der petrol motor, w-ith its cylinders on the "V" system. This engine. was capable of revolving a propeller with a diameter of seventy-eight inches at the rate of from 1000 to 1000 revolutions per minute, and lie estimated its power at 40 horse-power at least. The engino with propeller and shafting weighs only' 1601b.,, and the. entire machine, with-a- wing area of 150 square feet, a wing span'ot"2B feet, and a length of 25 ieet, weighed something under 5001b., as compared with Goslb. the weight of a Bleriot monoplane of somewhat similar dimensions. Mr. Pither states that his first practical attempts at aviation were conducted on the long Beach at Rivertou, 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 inaknig flights up to a milo: in ; length. Under better conditions, and with more aerial experience, he hoped to do very much better I than this. -Although he had followed 1 the Bleriot type fairly closely in regard'to the general configuration of. his machine, he had-deemed it advisable to depart from tho principles of the French machine in certain matters of detail. He had been encouraged in his conviction that steel tubing is to be the aeroplane material of tho future, by seeing the same conviction stated by experts after the trials ,at Rheims. , . In reply to a question as to whether ho had any particular site in view for his Christchurch demonstration, Mr. Pither stated that he needed a clear open level space where he could get a smooth start of at least a quarter of a mile, without any trees to. obstruct the machine. He understood that the surface of Haglej; Park was too rough for his purpose, and he proposed having a,look at Riccarton Racecourse. He had no intention of competing for the prize offered by the Aus-tralian-Commonwealth for' an Australian'made"aer'oplane, but he intends-visiting' Australia with his machine later, andcompeting for ; .any;prize that might then be offering.. ' ' .