The Boys' Book of Model Aeroplanes; How to Build and Fly Them with the Story of the Evolution of the Flying Machine (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1910 Excerpt: ...plane forward an inch, and try another flight. There is an adjustment somewhere which will give the model the steady, horizontal flight you are after. Some models will refuse to rise and swing around in an abrupt circle the moment the motor is turned on. This may be caused by the propeller being much too small for the motor. After looking over all the photographs of the models shown in these pages you will gain an idea of the proper proportion, and be able to tell offhand if the propeller is out of proportion. A small propeller revolving very rapidly, or racing, is likely to give the model a torque, even if it be otherwise well proportioned. Don't try to remedy this with rudder surfaces, but change your propeller, or your motor, or both. When your aeroplane turns in long, even curves to one side or the other, look to your rudder surface. Turn it to one side or the other, just as you would in steering a boat. It is, of course, obvious that it must be kept rigidly in position. If a slight turn of the rudder does not straighten out the flight, you probably need more guiding surface, and the rudder must be enlarged. If the model still continues to turn away from a straight line, tilting as it does so, try a little weight at the end of the plane which rises. The commonest of all accidents to aeroplane models is the smashing up of the skids on landing. A model will frequently rise to a height of fifteen or twenty feet, and the shock of a fall from such an elevation is likely to work havoc in the underbody. There is no reason, however, why your model should not come down as lightly as a bird from the crest of the flight wave. The model, when properly proportioned, weighted, or balanced, will settle down gradually and not pitch violently. It is these quick darts to...