CONTENTS
| PAGE |
| INTRODUCTORY | 1-3 |
| CHAPTER I. THEORIES AND FACTS ABOUT FLYING | 5-32 |
The "Science" of Aviation. Machine Types. Shape
or Form not Essential. A Stone as a Flying Machine.
Power the Great Element. Gravity as Power. Mass
and Element in Flying. Momentum a Factor. Resistance.
How Resistance Affects Shape. Mass and Resistance.
The Early Tendency to Eliminate Momentum.
Light Machines Unstable. The Application of
Power. The Supporting Surfaces. Area not the Essential
Thing. The Law of Gravity. Gravity. Indestructibility
of Gravitation. Distance Reduces Gravitational
Pull. How Motion Antagonizes Gravity. A
Tangent. Tangential Motion Represents Centrifugal
Pull. Equalizing the Two Motions. Lift and Drift.
Normal Pressure. Head Resistance. Measuring Lift
and Drift. Pressure at Different Angles. Difference
Between Lift and Drift in Motion. Tables of Lift and
Drift. Why Tables of Lift and Drift are Wrong.
Langley's Law. Moving Planes vs. Winds. Momentum
not Considered. The Flight of Birds. The
Downward Beat. The Concaved Wing. Feather Structure
Considered. Webbed Wings. The Angle of Movement.
An Initial Movement or Impulse Necessary. A
Wedging Motion. No Mystery in the Wave Motion.
How Birds Poise with Flapping Wings. Narrow-winged Birds. Initial Movement of Soaring Birds.
Soaring Birds Move Swiftly. Muscular Energy
Exerted by Soaring Birds. Wings not Motionless.
| CHAPTER II. PRINCIPLES OF AEROPLANE FLIGHT | 33-39 |
Speed as one of the Elements. Shape and Speed.
What "Square of the Speed" Means. Action of a
"Skipper." Angle of Incidence. Speed and Surface.
Control of the Direction of Flight. Vertical Planes.
| CHAPTER III. THE FORM OR SHAPE OF FLYING MACHINES | 40-49 |
The Theory of Copying Nature. Hulls of Vessels.
Man Does not Copy Nature. Principles Essential, not
Forms. Nature not the Guide as to Forms. The Propeller
Type. Why Specially-designed Forms Improve
Natural Structures. Mechanism Devoid of Intelligence.
A Machine Must Have a Substitute for Intelligence.
Study of Bird Flight Useless. Shape of
Supporting Surface. The Trouble Arising From Outstretched
Wings. Density of the Atmosphere. Elasticity
of the Air. "Air Holes." Responsibility for
Accidents. The Turning Movement. Centrifugal Action:
The Warping Planes.
| CHAPTER IV. FORE AND AFT CONTROL | 60-64 |
The Bird Type of Fore and Aft Control. Angle and
Direction of Flight. Why Should the Angle of the
Body Change. Changing Angle of Body not Safe. A
Non-changing Body. Descending Positions by Power
Control. Cutting off the Power. The Starting Movement.
The Suggested Type. The Low Center of Gravity.
Fore and Aft Oscillations. Application of the
New Principle. Low Weight not Necessary with Synchronously-moving wings.
| CHAPTER V. DIFFERENT MACHINE TYPES AND THEIR
CHARACTERISTICS | 65 -73 |
The Helicopter. Aeroplanes. The Monoplane. Its
Advantages. Its Disadvantages. The Bi-plane. Stability
in Bi-planes. The Orthopter. Nature's Type
not Uniform. Theories About Flight of Birds. Instinct.
The Mode of Motion. The Wing Structure.
The Wing Movement. The Helicopter Motion.
| CHAPTER VI. THE LIFTING SURFACES OF AEROPLANES | 74-84 |
Relative Speed and Angle. Narrow Planes Most Effective.
Stream Lines Along a Plane. The Center of
Pressure. Air Lines on the Upper Side of a Plane.
Rarefied Area. Rarefaction Produced by Motion. The
Concaved Plane. The Center of Pressure. Utilizing
the Rarefied Area. Changing Center of Pressure.
Plane Monstrosities. The Bird Wing Structure.
Torsion. The Bat's Wing. An Abnormal Shape. The
Tail as a Monitor.
| CHAPTER VII. ABNORMAL FLYING STUNTS AND SPEEDS | 85-93 |
Lack of Improvements in Machines. Men Exploited
and not Machines. Abnormal Flying of no Value.
The Art of Juggling. Practical Uses the Best Test.
Concaved and Convex Planes. How Momentum is a
Factor in Inverted Flying. The Turning Movement.
When Concaved Planes are Desirable. The Speed
Mania. Uses of Flying Machines. Perfection in Machines
Must Come Before Speed. The Range of its
Uses. Commercial Utility.
| CHAPTER VIII. KITES AND GLIDERS | 94-112 |
The Dragon Kite. Its Construction. The Malay
Kite. Dihedral Angle. The Common Kite. The Bow
Kite. The Box Kite. The Voison Bi-plane. Lateral
Stability in Kites, not Conclusive as to Planes. The
Spear Kite. The Cellular Kite. Tetrahedral Kite.
The Deltoid. The Dunne Flying Machine. Rotating
Kite. Kite Principles. Lateral Stability in Kites.
Similarity of Fore and Aft Control. Gliding Flight
One of the Uses of Glider Experiments. Hints in
Gliding.
| CHAPTER IX. AEROPLANE CONSTRUCTION | 113-130 |
Lateral and Fore and Aft. Transverse. Stability
and Stabilization. The Wright System. Controlling
the Warping Ends. The Curtiss Wings. The Farman
Ailerons. Features Well Developed. Depressing the
Rear End. Determining the Size. Rule for Placing
the Planes. Elevating Plane. Action in Alighting.
The Monoplane. The Common Fly. Stream Lines.
The Monoplane Form.
| CHAPTER X. POWER AND ITS APPLICATION | 131-142 |
Features in Power Application. Amount of Power
Necessary. The Pull of the Propeller. Foot Pounds
Small Amount of Power Available. High Propeller
Speed Important. Width and Pitch of Blades. Effect
of Increasing Propeller Pull. Disposition of the
Planes. Different Speeds with Same Power. Increase
of Speed Adds to Resistance. How Power Decreases
with Speed. How to Calculate the Power Applied.
Pulling Against an Angle. The Horizontal and the
Vertical Pull. The Power Mounting. Securing the
Propeller to the Shaft. Vibrations. Weaknesses in
Mounting. The Gasoline Tank. Where to Locate the
Tank. The Danger to the Pilot. The Closed-in Body.
Starting the Machine. Propellers with Varying Pitch.
| CHAPTER XI. FLYING MACHINE ACCESSORIES | 143-166 |
The Anemometer. The Anemograph. The Anemometrograph.
The Speed Indicator. Air Pressure Indicator.
Determining the Pressure From the Speed.
Calculating Pressure From Speed. How the Figures
are Determined. Converting Hours Into Minutes.
Changing Speed Hours to Seconds. Pressure as the
Square of the Speed. Gyroscopic :Balance. The Principles
Involved. The Application of the Gyroscope.
Fore and Aft Gyroscopic Control. Angle Indicator.
Pendulum Stabilizer. Steering and Controlling
Wheel. Automatic Stabilizing Wings. Barometers.
Aneroid Barometer. Hydroplanes. Sustaining Weight
of Pontoons. Shape of the Pontoon.
| CHAPTER XII. EXPERIMENTAL WORK IN FLYING | 167-186 |
Certain Conditions in Flying. Heat in Air. Motion
When in Flight. Changing Atmosphere. "Ascending
Currents." "Aspirate Currents." Outstretched Wings.
The Starting Point. The Vital Part of the Machine.
Studying the Action of the Machine. Elevating the
Machine. How to Practice. The First Stage. Patience
the Most Difficult Thing. The Second Stage.
The Third Stage. Observations While in Flight. Flying
in a Wind. First Trials in a Quiet Atmosphere.
Making Turns. The Fourth Stage. The Figure 8.
The Vol Plane. The Landing. Flying Altitudes.
| CHAPTER XIII. THE PROPELLER | 186-195 |
Propeller Changes. Propeller Shape. The Diameter.
Pitch. Laying Out the Pitch. Pitch Rule. Laminated
Construction. Laying up a Propeller Form.
Making Wide Blades. Propeller Outline. For High
Speeds. Increasing Propeller Efficiency.
| CHAPTER XIV. EXPERIMENTAL GLIDERS AND MODEL
AEROPLANES | 191-206 |
The Relation of Models to Flying Machines. Lessons
From Models. Flying Model Aeroplanes. An
Efficient Glider. The Deltoid Formation. Racing
Models. The Power for Model Aeroplanes. Making
the Propeller. Material for the Propeller. Rubber.
Propeller Shape and Size. Supporting Surfaces.
| CHAPTER XV. THE AEROPLANE IN THE GREAT WAR | 206-222 |
Balloon Observations. Changed Conditions in Warfare.
The Effort to Conceal Combatants. Smokeless
Powder. Inventions to Attack Aerial Craft. Functions
of the Aeroplane in War. Bomb-throwing Tests.
Method for Determining the Movement of a Bomb.
The Great Extent of Modern Battle Lines. The Aeroplane
Detecting the Movements of Armies. The Effective
Height for Scouting. Sizes of Objects at Great
Distances. Some Daring Feats in War. The German
Taube. How Aeroplanes Report Observations. Signal
Flags. How Used. Casualties Due to Bombs
From Aeroplanes.
