A TAILLESS AEROPLANE

Shannon News, 27 July 1926, Page 4

A TAILLESS AEROPLANE

“FLYING LIZARD” THAT RFRI SKS TO STALL, A new tailless man-carrying air machine, called the- "Pterodactyl from its resemblance to one of the extinct tailless flying lizards—was des-_ cribed recently by its inventor, Captain G. T. R. Hill, at the Royal Society of Arts, London, to members of the Royal Aeronautical Society, sftates the air correspondent of the Daily Chronicle. Sarrying out a three years’ research, with. Government assistance, it has been Captain iiiirs aim to produce a type of heavier-than-air machine which its pilot commit some error , of judgment while aloft, will not get. out of hand, "stall,” and come crashing to tl*e ground.

Captain Hill, a well-know pilot, described some of the 21 flights he himself has made in the "flying lizard”—which is driven by quite a low-powered engine—at the flying ground of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, Taking it up into the air, he let go of. all the controls, and allowed the machine to fly itself .which it did with perfect steadiness.

Then, providing himself with a parachute in case of emergencies, he tried to put the machine into such a mid-air "stall” as had been the cause of the majority of aeroprane accidents. But the "Pterodactyl” fulfilled his expectations by refusing to stall. When its ■ forward speed was reduced to a point at which ordinary aircraft would get out of hand, and either side-slip or dive, all that his tailless machine did was to lose height a little, while remaining under good control. And then, at a touch upon its levers, restoring normal speed, it flew ahead as though nothing bad happened.

Captain Hill is now to test, on a large scale what he has proved with his first small "flying lizard.” He considers that when certain minor improvements have been effected system of control of his. tailless craft —the flight of : wltich is governed mainly by movable surfaces at tne tops of its single swept-baclt wing—will be better than that of any altmachine at present in use.