THE BOYS’ BOOK OF MODEL AEROPLANES

Launching the Airship.

THE BOYS’ BOOK OF MODEL AEROPLANES

HOW TO BUILD AND FLY THEM: WITH THE STORY OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE FLYING MACHINE

BY

FRANCIS A. COLLINS

ILLUSTRATED WITH MANY PHOTOGRAPHS AND DIAGRAMS BY THE AUTHOR

LONDON EVELEIGH NASH 1912

TO ARNOLD MILLER COLLINS (Aged Ten)

THAN WHOM NO COLLABORATOR COULD HAVE BEEN MORE ENTHUSIASTIC

CONTENTS

PART I

MODELS: HOW TO BUILD AND FLY THEM

CHAPTER PAGE

I. The New Sport for Boys 3

II. Why the Aeroplane Flies 18

III. How To Build a “Glider” 30

IV. Building the Motor 50

V. Fine Points of Construction 68

VI. Simple Monoplane Models 84

VII. Elaborating the Monoplane 102

VIII. Building a Biplane 121

IX. Combining Monoplane and Biplane Forms 137

X. Faults and How to Mend Them 143

PART II

THE HISTORY AND SCIENCE OF AVIATION

I. The First Flying Machines 163

II. Developing the Aeroplane 175

III. The Wright Brothers’ Own Story 193

IV. Aboard the Wrights’ Airship 224

V. Other Aeroplanes Appear 238

VI. Successful Monoplanes 254

VII. Aerial Warfare 272

VIII. Sports of the Air, Aeroplanes 293

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

Launching the Airship Frontispiece

A Junior Aëroclub with its Instructor in One of the New York Public Schools 7

A Young Inventor in His Workshop 14

Boys Comparing Models 14

The First Glider Weighted at the Front 28

Dowel Strips of Different Sizes 33

Plate A—Diagrams of Plan of Aëroplane on Page 58 38

A Coil of Cane or Reed 42

Splitting a Bamboo Fish-Pole 47

Plate B—The Propeller before Cutting Down 51

Model Constructed from Diagram, Plate A 58

Splitting the Segar Box Cover to Build the Propeller 63

Plate C—The Diagram of a Monoplane 65

A Model Aëroplane Built from the Drawing (Plate C) 71

Detail of Rudder and Propeller of Model Built from Drawing (Plate C) 78

Plate I—A Clever Folding Model. The Wings Are Broader than Need Be 88

Plate II—A Model Aëroplane Worth Imitating 93

Plate III—An Ingenious French Model Made of Umbrella Wire 100

Plate IV—One of the Simplest of Aëroplanes to Construct 105

Plate V—Too Large for Beginners but Will Make Long Flights 112

Model Shown in Plate V Ready for a Flight 117

Plate VI—A Model with Both Good and Bad Features 124

Plate VII—A Good Example of Careful Designing and Workmanship 129

Plate VIII—An Effective Model with Wooden Wings 136

Plate IX—An Interesting Experiment Along New Lines 139

Plate X—An Excellent Monoplane Capable of Long Flights 150

Detail of Model Shown in Plate X 153

Plate XI—Well Thought Out Monoplane 158

Plate XII—A Good Example of Tilted Planes 165

Plate XIII—A Serviceable Form Made of Wire 172

Plate XIV—The Under Body of the Monoplane Shown in Plate XIII 179

Plate XV—A Simple Model which Proves Steady in Flight 184

Plate XVI—The Propeller and Shaft of the Model Shown in Plate XV 189

Plate XVII—An Ingenious Model which Fails to Fly 196

Plate XVIII—A Good Model Excepting That Its Vertical Rudders Are Too Large 201

Plate XIX—A Simple Cellular Form 208

Plate XX—A Cellular Type with Rudder and Elevating Plane 213

Plate XXI—A Complicated Model Capable of Long Flights 220

Plate XXII—An Interesting Form which Flies Backward or Forward 225

Plate XXIII—A Well Built Model Badly Proportioned 230

Plate XXIV—Wright Model Ready for Flight 235

Plate XXV—Another View of the Wright Model 246

Plate XXVI—An Ingenious Model which Rises Quickly 251

Plate XXVII—An Aëroplane with Paper Wings 255

A Very Simple Monoplane for Beginners 262

Otto Lilienthal about to Take Flight 267

A Machine for Testing the Lifting Power of Aëroplanes 274

Maxim’s First Aëroplane 280

The Machine on the Rails, as it Appeared in 1893 280

First Flight of the Wright Brothers’ First Motor Machine 285

Three-quarter View of a Flight at Simms Station, November 16, 1904 292

Front View of the Flight of the Wright Aëroplane, October 4, 1905 297

PART I

MODELS: HOW TO BUILD AND FLY THEM

THE BOYS’ BOOK OF MODEL AEROPLANES