MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2587, 8 October 1915, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

IBr Clutch.]

Enginss for Alroraft. In a war that teems with mechanical developments, it is not surprising (writes M. H. Massac Buist) in tho ''Morning Post") that .those who record their impressions of its phases should fall into error for lack of sufficient acquaintance with some one subject of the many that may come under their novice. Thus an observer at the front has recently published a pictur- 1 csque account- of tho latest German aircraft, which ,he deemed to be marvellous, because it was equipped with a motor of 150 horse-power. A commentator who has not had the advantage of going to the front has made bold to ' suggest that the 150 horsepower engine was a Gorman marvel unmatched by anything in 'the 'posscssioii of the Quadruple Alliance. • Lot it be recorded at once that the 150 borsopower German-made aero-engine, like, the Austrian 0110, had been-in the open market for at least a season before war broko out, and has been familiar in competitions. If it could be established that our enemy's motor industry had produced nothing moro than that by August, 1915, over a year after the war began, we should have matter for congratulation indocd. We hold the German motor industry in much higher esteem than that, even as wo do our own. The misconception as to tho motors available for equipping our aeroplanes arises from the fact • that our Hoyal Aircraft Factory produced an experimental machine that was' practically a copy-of the French, and made a 70 horse-power Renault aero-engine which, notably by alteration,of crankshaft material, was stressed up to deliver. 100 horse-power as an experiment, but not as a manufacturing proposition'. After a deal of work certain of our. motor manufacturing firms found out how to standardise this machine satisfactorily. Far from there being any secret about it, the matter is almost ancient history by this time. As is not unusual, however, stories of past troubles only filter out after, an interval of time, hence this fOO horse-power so-called R.A.F. engine has been considerably discussed during the last few months, aud from this it' has been presumed by the incompletely informed; that there is at tho disposal of the British Air Services 110 other or better power plant. ■ " In point of fact, we have any amount of other types of aero-engines. As examples of. the more powerful types of British aero-engines, which are being standardised in large numbers, and tho' existence of which is quite well known to the motoring public, one may mention the 12-c)diiider 250 horse-power Rolk-Royce und tho 12-cylinder 225 horse-power Sunbeam, if oiily for the reason that tho most important mechanical development .of - American motor manufacture for the 1916 season is the, standardising .in large quantities' of 12-cvliijdor cars, which many erroneously believe to be an entirely original development on the part of'the automobile engineers of tho-United. Suites. Today the Sunbeam Works at Wolverhampton, which wore capable of producing care .by the thousands before the" war, have been greatly enlarged and nave been largely given over to the pro-

duction of theso high-efficiency, high- ■ (lowered aeroengines,' which areTbejiif , manufactured in thousands yearly.' The cylinder boro measurement, is 90 milli- [ metres and tho piston travel IGO .millii metres, tho normal engine revolutions ! being 2000 crankshaft turns, a minuti? giving- a propeller speed of 1000 r.p.m, The motor is capable of acceleration to : r.p.m. . Four carburettors and two 6-oylinder magnetos jvre used, and the petrol-con-sumption is only half a pint per brake horsepower .per hour, and the lubricating oil consumption only about ;S-gklloD ati bout, while the weight per brake horse-power, is approximatelys.llb., which : figure .includes the initial of weight of motor, radiator,' water, petrolj and oil tanks, together with the weight of petrol and oil consumed.in one liour when developing its full brake horsepower. ■ • Case of Batteries. Tho frequent , inspection of lighting ignition batteries is very necessary . olC ! er . to detect any irregularity in their action. ; A writer iu the "Autocar" ; points out that a good idea of the state of a battery may bo obtained by merely ' observing ;the colour of the plates, and, in fact, there is really no bettor condition test. AVhoii a lead cell is first pt\t in action, the negatives are a yellowish grey and the positives a dark brown, sometimes spottcd:with a whitish or reddish grey substance. If the first charge be continued for a sufficient period, the' whitish material—the objectionable sulphate deposit-rdisapnears, and the positives should then be" dark red, chocolate, or plum colour, . turning: to a nearly black, wet slate colour when fully charged. Affe: a -small., discharge, they will regain their former appearance.. Any peculiarity in • colour, such as the appearance of a white deposit or a reddish scale, indicates want of attention, since, i 6 las Beu c^,aus ted. Such cells should be brought; back into condition by prolonged charging at a slow rate on a charging board. ■AVhen the cells are fully charged, the riogative plates should. assume a hsht metallic grey colour, and, siuce the ideal condition to aim at is always •to keep tho battery fully charged, the negatives should be of the colour indicated and . the positives a, dark chocolate or pluni colour. The. negatives, iti noted, are always considera j ?^ Cl . " l co^our thau tho positives, and this hint may be of service in ascertaining tho polarity, if doubt should arise on this point; , v It is quite possible to become' an expei't in regard to the colour .of the plates , for, by . constant observation and ;after • a run, taken in conjunction with, the voltmeter reading, the motorist will soon-lcam to appre°laie ,^ ie^,Gr: phites are of a good or bad colour, and-also to ascertain the .amount of charge ••remaining .in' the battery. Hers and There. ' Legal lighting-up time,for motor-cars and motor-cycles: To-day, 6.13 n.m.: next Friday, 6.22 p.m. '■ A new by-law is in operation in London under wlrich police court proceedings may be taken against owners and drivers who use vehicles in a dcfoctive condition on. the roads, and it. is reported that breakdown cases aro becoming frequent at the Lambeth Police j Court., In one of.these recently a man S' as a ti ln |tt°N6d to answer the complaint that hp drove a vehicle, which, by reasoir of the defective condition' of one' of the wheels, broke down on tho. tramway line at Denmark Hill and obstructed the traffic, and tho manager of- the company which permitted the . vehicle to be used was also summoned. The driver was fined 65., and the manager zOs.

Tlio motor-cycle side-car. has ■ opened up ninny fiolds of usefulness. One of the latest applications in America is that of applying it to street-cleaning. In front ol tlio side-car is a steel brviali, winch may be depressed so iis to bring it into contact with the pavement. Tlio brush then scrapes and loosens up tlio (lii't, so that the rotary broom which is immediately behind it can sweep it up. A liaudlo is attached to the side of the driver's noat. When tiiis is raised the brooin is lowered into contact with tlio pavement n(id caused to rotate. When the handle is lowered, the broom rotating mechanism is thrown out. .of operation. A machine of this

type is particularly .adapted for use on streets paved with asphalt or . with wood. These machines liavo been tried in Washington, and have : proved very efficient,