The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing Part 67

Balance--To maintain equilibrium by hand or automatic movement of balancing surfaces, as opposed to equilibrium maintained by stabilizing.

See "Stabilizer."

Body--The center part of an aeroplane or other aerial vehicle, in which the motor, fuel tanks, pa.s.senger accommodation, etc., are placed.

Camber--The camber of the ribs is the amount of curvature which is imparted to them in the same way that a motor car spring or a road has a camber or curvature.

Cha.s.sis (shas-see)--That part of the main framework of a monoplane to which the main planes and tail planes are fitted and which contains the engine and aviators seat.

Center of Pressure--Really a line of pressure along the under side of a wing or aeroplane surface, on either side of which the pressures are equal.

Center of Gravity--The center of weight, about which the vehicle balances in all directions.

Chord--A straight line drawn between the ends of the arc of a circle or other curve.

Dirigible (dir'-igihle)--Steerable or navigable; applied to balloons.

Derrick--A tower in which a falling weight is dropped in starting an aeroplane.

Diagonal--A diagonal brace or stay in a framework.

Dihedral (di-he'dral)--Said of wing pairs inclined at an upward angle to each other.

Elevator--A princ.i.p.al supplementary surface, usually of a miniature form of the main planes. Used for purpose of altering the vertical direction of machine.

Gap--The distance between two main planes in a biplane.

Gliding--Flying down a slant of air without power.

Gyroscopic Effect--The property of any rotating ma.s.s whereby it tends to maintain its plane of rotation against disturbing forces.

Gauchiss.e.m.e.nt (or warping)--Applied to the main planes and produces the same ultimate effect as the use of ailerons.

Hangar (hang'ar)--A shed for housing balloons or aeroplanes, generally the latter.

Horsepower--A rate of work equivalent to the lifting of 33,000 ft.-lb. a minute.

Head Resistance--The resistance of a surface to movement through the air; closely proportionate to its projected area.

Heavier-than-air--Applied to dynamic flying machines weighing more than the air they displace.

Horizontal Rudder--A horizontally placed rudder for steering in vertical directions.

Lift--The sustaining effect, expressed in units of weight of an aeroplane or wing surface.

Monoplane--An aeroplane with one or more main surfaces in the same horizontal plane.

Main Plane--Usually the largest or lowest supporting surface of a multi-surfaced aeroplane.

Mast--A spar or strut used for the attachment of wire or other stays to stiffen the wings or other parts of a structure.

Main Spars--Lateral spars upon which the main planes are built.

Main Landing Wheels--In an alighting gear, the wheels that take the chief shock in landing.

Ornithopter--A dynamic flying machine of the heavier-than-air type, in which sustension is provided by the effect of reciprocating wing surfaces.

Pylon--A tower to mark the course in aerial racing contests.

Ribs--Supports for the fabric, made of ash or spruce and bent to the correct curves.

Rudder--One or more steering planes are invariably fitted to practical machines to control the direction of flight.

Superposed Planes--Arrangement of one plane over the other, as in the Wright, Voisin and Farman machines.

Supplementary Planes (or surfaces)--Additional surfaces which are used for stabilization.

Stabilizer--Any surface for automatically maintaining lateral or longitudinal balance.

Struts--Fixtures used in biplane construction to maintain an equal distance between two planes.

Skids--Long skates on which the machine can land in safety.

Span--The distance from tip to tip of the main planes in a transverse direction to that of flight.

Soaring Flight--The flight of certain large birds without wing flapping.

Its solution and imitation const.i.tute one of the problems of aerial navigation.

Sustaining Surface--Any surface placed in a horizontal or approximately horizontal position, primarily for the purpose of affording sustension.

Triplane--An aeroplane with three main surfaces.

Webs--Small blocks of wood placed between the ribs which act as distance pieces.

Wing Warping--A system of maintaining lateral balance by differential twisting of wing tips in such manner as to increase the sustension on one side and decrease it on the other.

--New York Tribune.

COLLEGE COLORS.

Amherst--Purple and white.

Beloit--Old gold,

Bowdoin--White.

Brown--Brown and white.