“SAFETY" AEROPLANES.

Hokitika Guardian, 5 November 1918, Page 4

“SAFETY" AEROPLANES.

UO MILES WITH ENGINE OFF. There are people who still think 'that if the engine of an aeroplane stops or some other mishap occurs the machine must drop like a stone to the earth. This is an erroneous impression. Even before the Avar the British Government was building aeroplanes Avliich were “stable,” as it is called. The machine Avas so balanced and the AA’ings were so arranged that if the. engine Plopped when high in the air the machine naturally assumed a gliding position and gradually and easily glided to earth. The folloAving test shows how stable those aeroplanes Avere. A pilot climbed to a sufficient height and then stopped his engine and took his hands off lhe control merely keeping his feet on the rudder bar. He steered for an aerodrome 20 miles away, and except for keeping her straight ho let the aeiroplane do what site liked. She travelled the whole 20 miles as steadily as ,a bicycle coasting down a- long straight and gentle hill. Of course the. pilot had to take hold of the control stick to land the machine in the aerodrome, but, except for that and the steering the aeroplane made the whole journey by herself. If a pilot gets into difficulties Avhen ..“stunting” with a stable aeroplane all ho has to do is to stop the engine and leave the machine to itself. Whatever | her position may be at the time she will j quickly right herself and begin to glide i (provided there is sufficient altitude.) j A very stable machine is not quick iat manoeuvring; and so for fighting | purposes other typos have to be built, j One cannot play polo on a carthorse, and JikeAviso one cannot turn and twist a A’erv stable machine as one needs to do in fight. But, all modern aeroplanes have more or less of a tendency to right themselves, and a well-trained i pilot, seldom find any difficulty in male. ! ing Ips machine, obey liis every wish. The It.A.F. training stations see to it that no pilot gets his “wings” until lie has sliOAvn. himself complete master of his machine. Eliminate the hazards of Avar —present in all parts of the battle-zone —and the risks a man runs in joining the Royal Air Force as a pilot- are small indeed, and no more than fairly comparable with those of the mail who follows the sea, mining, the railways, and such-like.