US1164346A - Gliding craft. - Google Patents

Description

P.' C. HEWITT.

GLIDING CRAFT. APPLICATION FILEDAAUGJS. 190s.

Patented Dec. 14, 1915.

3 SHEETS--SHIEET 3.

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ATTORNEY To Il vwhom t may concern.'

PETER COOPER HEWITT, OF BINGWOOD MANOR, NEW JERSEY.

GLIDING CRAFT.

Beit knownthat I, ln'rsn Coornn 'HEwITT.,

Va citizenv ot the United States, anda resident of Ringwood Manor, in the county of Passaic and State ot' New Jersey, have invented certain new and usct'ul Improve'- ments in 'Gliding Craft, ot' which the iollowing is a specilication.

This invention relates more particularly to craft in which -tlresupport and balance depend partially or dwholly upon dynamic reaction or displacement of the fluid medium.

lt concerns more particularly aercplanes and the maintenance ot' their stability by means of gravity. Stability requires the maintenance within limits. ot' certain relations between the distribution otl weights, distribution of lifting efforts, and the direction of pull (if-gravity. as well as between head resistance,propelling power` and the direction ot movement. In the case of the aeroplane, the medium traversed is seldom in a state of rest, and being highly elastic, the directions and velocities oi its movements are non-uniform. Moreover, the medium is extremely light.. and any cratt capable of supporting,r a useful load` must be of very considerable surface area, and it supported solely bv dynamic reaction, must be. driven at considerabley speed. Hence, in piacti(e,'tlie device as a whole traverses regions of airhavingr differently varying movementsand lifting eti'ects, and, by reason of its necessarily la rge area. it frequently happens that different parts of the area are lsimultaneously traversing dill'creutly reacting regions. it results from this non-uniformity of the medium that mere symmetry of distribution ot' areas and weights is insufficient to insure stability, and. in practice, it is necessary to compensate for thc varying lifting etl'orts exerted on different portions of the lifting area, byn'garying the lifting effort at certain points', so as to maintain stability, as,.tor i'ntance'. by increasing the area at one. side orincreasing theI deiiecting angle of part or allof the deflecting or supporting and-lifting arca with-respect to the weights and-to the direction of pull of gravity.

In accordance with my invention', the tiltin?3- movement and the resulting shift of deiiecting-.areas and weights with respect to the vdirection of pull of gravity. is utilized to prouu'ce ,automatically a. cori-el-ativeshit- Specicat'ion of Letters Patent.

PatenteaDee. 14, 1915.

,i Application filed August 2G, 1908. Serial No. 450,351.

ing ot' lifting eli'orts, tending to oppose or correct tilt. The weights utilized are preferably weights which would be necessary in any event, such as the weight ot' the motor or load, and the correcting etiort maybe produced by arranging matters so that the dynamic lift or its etfectivelevcrage with respect to thc center ot` weight and the direction ot pull of gravity are one or both increased on the down tilting side. In certain cases. the deflecting areas are. arranged so that tilting causes the down tiltingl portion to defiect the air more directly downwardly. thereby increasing the vertical component oil the dynamic reaction on said portion. These correctional changes of leverageand vertical component of the reaction may be produced solely as the result of the tilting of the structure, the distribution of delict-ting areas. and of weights being structurally lixed relatively to each other, but variable with respect to the direction of pull ot' gravity, and'in other cases. part of the weight of the craft, as the motor or load. or both.` is tree to maintain a constant vertical direction lwith respect to gravit-y, after the manner of a pendulum. and when the delectin-g area tilts, its relative movement with respect to the pendulum is utilized to correct the tilt. This may he acc: aiplished through suitable mechanical co.;- nections causing increase of detlecting area or angle on the. down tiltingl side, or decrease on the uptilting side, or both.

effects above described, the craft is so ward movement is above the center weight. and the center of propulsion is also:

erence to the degree of stability required? the stability being dependent on the position of certain terminal areas of the deecting surfaces with refeten'ce to their distance above the center of weight, both as to the height above such center and the distance horizontally therefrom. A lifting effort applied at a point directly over 'the centernof.

flOv

In order to insure the varlous correcting'.

signed that the center of resistance toy ormi i weight will have no rotating eilect which could serve either to tause tilting or to correct it, because the lift and the weight act inalirect. opposition to each other in the same Ivertical line. lt', however, the lifting effort is exerted any where outside ot such vertical line, the forces oll litt and weight torno a couple, thetilt-ing effort oit which is proportios'nil to :he product ot the litt multiplied hv the horizontal distance 0"" the vertical line ot litt trom the vertical line ot pull. et gravity at the center ot weight. Hence, by my invention the craft is constructed so that part ot' the deflecting area is located at a considerable distance horizontally 1from a vertical line through the center of weight and also a predetermined, desired. distance above a horizontal plane passing through the center ot' weight. lt results from this space relation that any tilt ot the structure above the center of weight, will carry the lifting area to a point where its horizontal` distance from the center of wei ght is greater or less according as the area on the down tilting or up tilting side. `For a given change of tilt, the change of tilting leverage of any element of the lifting area used as an automatic correcting` factor. is proportional to the product oi the initial horizontal distance of said element 'trom the vertical line of pull ot gravity at the center ot' Weight, multiplied by the additional horizontal distance to which said element et" the surface is carried by the tilting action. AFor tiltI through a lgiven angle, said additional horizontal distance is proportional to the initial vertical distancefot Vthe surface above the plane ot the center ot weight. For all surfaces at the same height above said plane, the additional horizontal distance through which they are moved by tilting through a given angle is the same, but the above described product representing the change ot leverage is proportional to the initial distance of the portions ol the surface trom the vertical line through the center otl gravity. Hence, other things being equal. the portionsl of the surface most remote trom the center of gravity are most effective, in correcting tilt hy change ot distance.. In most cases. the same thing is true with re- Spect to correcting tilt by increasing the vertical component of the dynamic reaction.I and accordingly, in certain cases, the tips or lateral extremities of the deflecting area are enlarged .tore and aft and the extreme torward and att defleeting surfaces are enlargedlaterally so that larger areas will be available in the locations where they are most effective.

For relatively fixed symmetrical lifting areas `symmetrically disposed on each wing at equal distances above the horizontal plane of the center of gravity, the increasel of leverage of the lift on the one side, will be .incas/ie equal to the decrease on the other side, and any incipient tilting movement will cause the amount ot cach to vary automatically on the two wings in accordance with and in opposition to such tilting movement.

rlhe above cxpedients lor correcting` tilt have been described more particularly with respect to lateral tilt, but, in accordance with my invention, the same relations and expedients are utilized to correct fore and att tilt.

I preier to distribute the operative snr- 'lace ot the wings or deflecting areas laterally across the line o't flight to such extent as is necessai'y to get the required dynamic lifting area without making the wings too wide tore and Aaft and certain parts ot the area are located above the plane of the center ot" weight. fhe amount of such area and its distance Yfrom said plane being such as is necessary to secure the desired amount ot' automatic change ot lifting power (litt .c leverage) necessary to insure the correcting effect necessary tor stability.

ln certain cases I preter to arrange the deflecting' areas at the top and bottom suri'aces ot a subs-ia ifially straight.J parallel sided, rectangular truss. in which case all ot the deflecting areas ou the upper side ot the truss are vertically eduidistant Vf'rom the horizontal plane passing through the center of. gravity. Iln this case tilting movement serves to i-,liange the lift or vertical component ot the dynamic reaction uniformly on both wings, but the cfl'cctive leverage ot the lif't becomes greater on the down tilting side and less-on the up tilting side. ln other cases, the planes may be upwardly bent or inclined trom the center toward the tips, in which case those vf'arthest trom the center of gravity will be highest; above the horizontal plane passing through the center of gravity. ln this case, both leverage and lift 'increases on the down tilting side and decrease on the up liltinirv side.

The. above described principles ofi my invention and fhe manner in which they may be embodied in an aeroplane, will be more f'ully understood Vf'rom a detail descrilition thereot in connection with the accompanying drawings` in which Figure l is a top plan view of an aeroplane, embodying certain principles ofE my invention; VFigs. 2 and il are respectively i'ront and sideelevafions; Figs. ll. 5, and (l are 1'es|n\.ctively top, f'ront, and side views ot a modified Vtorni of (he aeroplane; Figs. 7, 8, and 9 are respectively top, f'ront, and side views ol another mmlification; l"igs\ l0, 11, and 12 are views ol details to be referred to hereinafter.

Referring to Figs. l, 2, and 3, it will be seen that the aeroplane shown therein comprises a structure having the general characteristics of a truss extending transversely of the line of flight, with the top and bottom surfaces of the truss utilized as supports for the deiecting areas. The central portion of the truss carries the motive power, load, and steering appliances. In general, this truss comprises a frame composed of thrust members and tension members. The thrust members are preferably of wood and the tension members of steel wire. The joints of the frame and the fastening and tightening means for the tension members are of any known or desired type, and as they constitute no part of my present invention, are not shown in detail in thev drawings. The body portion of the device is made up of a light, but relatively strong, frame, comprising horizontal bottom members l, 2, and corresponding top members 3, 4, spaced apart by the vertical members 5, 6, 7 8. Between the latter member-sand the comparatively heavy platform 9, particularly adapted to sustain the shock of landing, is located a motor 10. Beneath this platform may be arranged runners, casters, mounted Wheels, or other devices adapted to withstand shock and friction of landing. 'fhese landing devices may comprise the springs il, l2, and skids or skees 13, indicated in Fig. 3. The body portion is 'adequately braced by a system of tension members diagrammatically indicated at lil, l5, Fig. 2, and 16, 17, Fig. l, but not shown in Fig 3. The motor is connected 'to propeller- s 18, 19, located at the upper corners of said central section. Power is transmitted vfrom the crank shaft of the motor 1G through beveled gears 20 to vertical shaft 2l, thence through beveled gears 22 to shaft 23. As diagrammatically indicated in F ig. 1, the shaft 23 is connected by bevel gears 28 24J, so as to rotate the propellers 18, 19' in opposite directions. From this central section of Vthe aeroplane, the truss shructure extends symmetrically in both directions across the line of Hight. Preferably, the ,entire lower surface of the truss is provided with a cloth or similar covering properly stretched to form lower gliding surfaces 30, 3l. The upper sides of the truss are provided with similar surfaces 32, 33, leaving the frame open and unobstructed in thevrear of the propellers. The vertical thrust members 34, 34, 34:, etc., are preferably stayed against buckling vby medial longitudinal thrust members 35.

rlhe above described gliding surfaces 30, 31, 32, 33, constitute the main gliding support for the craft, and one feature of :my invention consistsl in making this part of the structure stable against lateral tilting Iby causing incipient, tilt of the structure to initiate shift `of the relations between the center of weight and lthe leverage .and lift of the deflecting surfaces in such manner that the available lifting effect (lift lever.A

described, so that a considerable portion of the lifting area is above the horizontal plane passing through the center of gravity G, indicated more particularly at H-H in Fig. 2. As the deflecting areas 32 and arenormally at a lconsiderable vertical distance above said horizontal plane, their change of leverage for a given angle of lateral tilt is much greater than for surfaces 30, 3l. By referring to the geometrical dotted line diagrams adjacent the surface 33 on Fig. 2, myprinciple of change of leverage of lifting effect will be at once apparent. Considering, first, a point or small terminal area of the deflecting surface as at a, it will -be seen that a lateral tilt about the center of gravity G, sufficient to carry the point u upward 'to thepoint l), will have the effect of decreasingits horizontal distance from the vertical line by an amount equal to the line c, thereby decreasing the leverage of the lift by an amount equal to 'the distance from the vertical line V, mul- By reference totiplied by the distance c. the other two dotted line diagrams at the same vertical height from the plane H, it will be seen that if the point e had been located at el, the rotation through the same given angle would have moved the 'point al to 721, or 'through a horizontal distance c, equal to c. Similarly, if the point a had been. at (L2, the tilting through the given angle would have carried it to- ?f, thereby les bringing it nearer V by a distance equal to c2, which is the same as'cland c. Though the horizontal shift in" the direction of the line V is the same in all three cases, it will be noted that the change of leverage measured by Vthe productof this distance of shift multiplied by the distance of the line from V is quite different in the three cases.

Taking the distance of shift as unity, the changes of leverage for the three positions, a, al, and ft2, differ in the proportion of l 34:34, for point o; 1X24:24, for point 1; and 1\ 15=15, for point (L2. ln accord ance with the same principles, it will be seen that if the areaV a had been located with respect to the center of gravity and the horizontal plane thereof in the relation of the point on, the saine angle of tilt would have carried the point 0,3 to b3, and the decrease of horizontal distance from the verticalline V, as indicated at c, would have been about 1.75 times that indicated for points at the lower level a. Considering points o* and a5, which are at the same ""ertical distance from H as as, but are horizontally distant from V the saine distance as al and z2 respectively, it will be seen that the horizontal distances moved, as indicated at c* and ci respectively are the same as at c, but the products representing the change ot leverage are less than at a in the saine ratio, and for the same reasons that those at al and Il. are less than those at a. From the various diagrams` it will be seen thatl a wing of the same structural length as 33, would have greater corrective decrease in leverage it' arranged at about l5 degrees t'rom the horizontal and that increase. of length ot' wing set at any upward angle increases theI corrective elfect for a given tilt. llence` the stability may be controlled within wide limits. l prefer to make the length ot -wing such as is necessary to secure the desired supporting area 'without mailing the surtace.-{too wide tore and aft and then to malte the heights ot the surfaces aliovle` the `plane of the center ot' gravity such as will' 'give the desired correcting decrease ol: leverage on the up tilting side and increase on the down tilting side The corrective shil't orlitt or change ot leverage may he etlected b v arranging the transverse expanse ot' the detlccting sm'- 'taces on upwardly diverging lines` as shown in Fig. E2. ll'hcn arranged in -this manner, the surfaces normally deliect the air downwardly at equal` slightly divergent angles. When so arranged. the planes operate slightly in opposition. and a certain percentage oi the. power is wasted` because the air is not deflected in exactly vertical parallel planes` but itl the divergence is not too greatI` the loss of energy will not he serious and will he more than compensated tor by the simplicity oi the construction which is used to support the terminal snrfaces in the higher and more cllicient position. Moreover. they down tilting areas. as llt), 3L), deflect the air at progressively less angles to the vertical` while the corresponding surfaces 3l. Bil, deflect the air at progressively increasing angles to the vertical` so that when 30 and 3'), become approximately horizontal` their dynamic reaction is all liit willi no lateral component` 'while the lateral component of the. dynamic reaction on ll and S2 has been doubled and the vertical component or lift. has been correspondingly decreased.

lla ving deseril'iedthe eharzn leristics ol the structure whereby portions of the delleeting area are progressively more eil'ectivc in changing leverage according yto the distance o't' their terminals above the plane ot' the center of gravity and their horizontal distance from a vertical line therethrough. and how the vertical componentI of the dynamic reaction may he made to increase ior the down tilting` and decrease ior the up tilting side. by slanting outwardly and upwardly the dicenter ot" gravity tor the purpose ot :ausii the tilting to e'llcct automatic chai of t leverage ot the dynamic lilt. and, the fry correct the tilt. appliesv equally well to the tore and att tilt. By reference to the draw ings, it'will he seen that a relatively si'nali,

light 'truss l2 is rigidly secured to the main tras-5 trani-iverfaly thereof. lt is provided at its ends with small transverse trusses 'i2-i, l-" having their tops and bottoms provided suitable deflecting surfaces l5, L i;G, fl, ano'. These trusses are pirotally mounted, as at -l-Sl, 30, and are provided with crank arms 5l, 52` and connecting means 53, whereby clecrease ol detlectingr angle oi the for *ard planes causes incrase ol the vdeliectingtl an.- gles ot the rearward planes, and rice versa. Connecting ineans 53 is operated thrtnigii bell crank 5l. and connection 55T ext vliiigg within reach. ot the operator at the motor. 'lhe areas la and il-'l' are ijnet'crahlgr symmetrical, hut one ot them 'anc be onnttetl, it desired. lt will he noted that these fore and al't dellecting surfaces are located a suitable distance verticallj.' above the plane il of the llence;"forward tilt of center ol gravity (il.

the structure will operate to increai-se the leverage ot' the litt ot' the forward planes t- -lt` while decreasiirl that ol planes il', iti. This change oi leverage ot' l'ore and ait tilt is worked ont diag'frzmnnatic: ily in Fig. 3 in the same manner that the lateral tilt is worked ont in Fig. 2. rlhns. movement olt the point a ol' the rear plane by tilting through an angle sullicient to carry it to b, will decrease its horizontal distance from the vertical line V by a distance equal to c and this change ot horizontal distance represented hy c. multiplied hy the to al horizontal distance trom the linc V, .vill represent the total decrease ol leverage. ln the case shown. the. change represented hy o equals (LT. which multiplied by the 'distance i'rom Y (lll gites as a product 11.9. The other diagrams on the same horizontal level at dill'erczn distances from the vertical line Y. indicate equal changes of horizontal distance hy tilt through the given angle. but the ell'ective, leverages for the three positions are proportional to the numbers 17.5, 1M), and 9.1. 'lhe total changes of leverage represented by the saine angle ot' tilt taking eflect on planes at a higher level, are indicated on the diagram as beingr proportional to 17.

l. il@

llt]

and 25. It will be noted that the total lift .on 45 and 4G may be very small and the ltotal lift on #17 and 4S correspomlingly large by reason of adjustment of 53,-5-l,.and, 55, lint whatever the actual value of the lifts on the forward and aftplanes respectinely, their leverages will be changed by tilt in the manner and to the extent above described.

As is evident from the drawings, the vertical rudders G0, 61, are located approximately equal distances fore and aft of the main gliding planes. They are. pivoted' at G2, (33, so as to balance and are provfded with pivotally extending bell cranks (l-l. b5, connected by a member 66, so that when it is' desired to change the direction o'l' movement in the horizontal plane, they will deflect the air equally and oppositely, thereby turning the direction of the structure without dcveloping the tendency to lateral tilt which either alone would have by reason o1 its elevation above the center of' gravity.

The propellers are shown forwardly directed so as to pull the-craft rather than to push it, and their axes are parallel and disposed at a predetermined angle to the fore and aft extent of the dellecting surfaces, so

that in operation the aeroplane will travel in a direction parallel'to the axes of the p ropellers, thereby presenting the dcflecting surfaces tothe air at a normally definite predetermined angle.l As will be seen, the propellcrs are located substantially at the level of resistance to forward movement and at equal distances on opposite sides of the center of head resistance, so that the center of propulsion and center of resistance .is practically coincident and both. are above the centerof gravity. 'l

While I prefer for many purposes the above described structure, wherein change of leverage of lift is'combined with change of vertical component of lift, both operating 'to correct lateral tilt, it is nevertheless possible to utilizethe principle of change of leverage in such a degree that stability will be preserved even Where the surfaces are arranged so that when the dcviceis on a normal even keel, all deflection ot the air is directly downward in vertical, parallel Such an arrangement is shown in Figs. 4, 5, and G, where the general strncture is the same as that previously described,

` except that the main truss is straight and rectangular, so that the main def'lecting areas are approximate planes tilted only m the direction ot movement. 1n this case, the

supports 107 and 108 corresponding to 74 and 8 on F ig. 2 are carried a'considerable distance below the trnss to serve as a suspension frame for themotor 110, stays l111, 112,`being extended to the members 105, 10G. `With this arrangement, the-center of gravity may be at G1 and all of the surfaces being above that level, all of them will operate to change the leverage of the lift upon tilting. The upper surfaces 132', 133, bcing at a greater distance above the horizontal plane than are the other surfaces 130, 1251, will' be subject to a `greater change ot' the fkerage for agiven angle of tilt. ln this aeroplane, as in that first described, the surfaces at the extremities of the truss will be subject'to the greatest change ol lever. age. ln this forn'tof device, any tilt serves tochange the direction of deflection otair from the4 vertical, on all surfaces on both sides of the cent-er, and thereby decreases the vertical component of theI total dynamic displacement, instead of causing it to increase on the down tilting side and decrease on the: up tilting side, as in the device of Fig. 2. The center of gravity (l1 is so low, however that, for`a given angle of the tilt, the aggregate `change of leverage on all the deflectiugsurfaces is much greater than in` Fig. 2, and may be made great-enough to furnish all the correcting effect required for stability with the advantage that normally all the air is deflected in the most efficient direction. ln this device, as in that first described, the propeller-s are arranged with their axes at a predetermined desired angle with respect to the deflecting surfaces, so

more clearly in Fig. where the platform 1&2() is shown in full lines, is also the inclosing frame, consisting of the upper member `121, vertical members 122, and diagonal tension members 123.

Another expedient whereby weight may be used to insure stability of the aeroplane,

involves mounting the weight, which is preferably a necessary part of the apparatus,or load7 so that it is free to maintain a fixed direction with respect to the pull of gravity .even though the deflccting surfaces be'tilted through very considerable angles, the resulting relative movement of the parts being utilized to change the area of the deflecting surface or its ,locations orits deflecting angle. For such purposes, the gliding part of the structure which carries the defleeting, surfaces, may be constructed so that itsjchange of'fposition, due to tilting, causes leverage or lift to change in a direction to correct the tilting, as above described. For purposes ot' illustration of the invention, however, I have shown the gravity or pendulum member as pivoted to a rectangular gliding structure at a point compara.-

izo

las

tively near the geometrical center of the gliding portion of the structure.

As shown in the drawings, the car or load platform 120 similar to that described with respect to the other figures, is suspended by members 161, 102, extending upwardly to a.

universal joint on the wing structure. This joint comprises a case 170, mounted in bearings 1.71, 171, secured to suitable frame work diagrannnatically indicated at 172, 172. Suspended from the case i170 are pivots 173, 173, to which are-pivted the car suspending menibers,1t 1','162. Referring to Figs. 9, 10 and 11, it will be seen that relative swinging movement in a plane at right angles to vthe line of flight is permitted by slight rotary movement of the case 170 in bearing 171, while the pivotal connection at 173 permits relative movement in a fore and aft plane. AThese two pivotal movements and combinations thereof, permit relative swing in any intermediate direction.

As the motor is located in the pendulum portion of the structure` it is necessary for the transmission gear to have the same double pivotal movement on axes coincident with those of the suspension joint just above described. Hence, the vertical shaft 174, geared to the motor at the lower end, is provided with a keyedball joint 175, permitting relative movement about the same axis as the pivots 173. The female member of this joint drives the shaft 176 carrying beveled gear 177, meshing with beveled gear 178 on propeller shaft 179,

which is coaxial with the bearings 171, 171.,

From the above described mounting, it results that the motor and load is free to maintain a constant position vertically below the suspension joint, notwithstanding any tilting of the wing structure. By reference to Fig. 8, it will be seen that when the truss tilts laterally, the defiecting area on one side moves nearer to the motor and load, while that on the other side moves farther away. This relative movement is caused to shorten the effective deflecting area on the uptilting side and to lengthen it on the down 4tilting side. In Fig. 8, the wings are provided with supplemental deflecting area consistin of sliding sections 180, 180, on one side, and 181, 181, on the other side. These are preferably mounted on the tips of the wings, the change of area at this point being more effective. The supplemental sliding sections are preferably mounted so that normally a portion projects beyond the main defiecting area, and the flexible connections diagrammatically indicated at 185, 186, are rigged so as to thrust the sections farther out to secure a greater lift on the down tilting side and to draw in those on the other side, to secure a decreased leverage and lift. It will be obvious'that .many other Connections may be devised changing the lift or its leverage, in accordance with theA 12, the supplemental surface 280 is shown4 as pivoted `at 200 to the extremity of a main deflecting surface. 1n this case, the relative movement of wing tips with respect to the pendulum portion may be applied directly to the supplemental plane by means of links 201. In the operation of this arrangement, the supplemental surface 280 may be normally inclined laterally so that the deflection has a considerable lateral component and the upward resultant or lift is considerably less than the total dynamic reaction. 1With such a device, downward movement of a wing tip will have the effect of causing outward movement of linksV 201, thereby swinging the supplemental surface 280 to a .position where the defiection is more directly downward and lifting effect is thereby in* creased. In case of reverse movement, the links 201 cause the surfaces 280 to swing downwardly about the pivot 200; so that the deflection of air becomes progressively more lateral and has less and less vertical component or lift. In each case the leverag of the lift also changes.

It will be noted with respect to forward and aft tilt, that the supplemental surfaces 14:5, 146, 147, 148, have an initial position .ata considerable distance vertically above the horizontal plane passing through the center of gravity, and hence have a certain. amount of automatic correcting action by reason of the change of the leverage which results from fore and aft tilt. The amount of the lift on the forward planes 145, 146,

may be increased and that on the rear planes lfd-7, 148, decreased automatically by the relative movement with respect to the pendulum, if desired. For this purpose, it is only necessary to connect the bell crank 190, controlling the delecting angles on said planes by a link 191 to'some part of the pendulum which will give a required leverage and relative movement. As shown in the drawings, link 191 is connected to the short arm 192 of a pivotal lever, the long arm 193 of which may be adj ustably fixed with respect to thependulum by means of the sector 194, the handle 195 for effecting such adjustment being within reach of the operator.

It @ylll be evident that any one or all 0f the above described principles of utilizing.

weight -for the purpose of causing tilt to be automatically self correcting in an aerof plane, may be utilized separately or together 1n any desired combination to produce any required degree of stability or automatic 4 self righting quality.

insee/ie While l have herein fully shown and described, and have pointed out in the agpended claims certain novel features of construction, arrangement, and operation which characterize my invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the ar' that. various omissions, substitutions, and changes inthe forms, proportions, sizes, and details off the device and of its operation, ma)T be madewithout departing from the spirit of my in- 'ventioir I claim:

l. An aeroplane comprising a lifting area and weights supported thereby, said aeroplane being?y arranged with its centers ot resistance and of propulsion a considerable distance above the center ofi n'rarity and having; its lifting area per uni" length greater toward the extremities than at the center, in such degree as to render the aeroplane scll-corrccting` as against inequalities of effort found in atmospheric air, up to a desired percentage of the total lift ot the aeroplane.

A flying machine comprising` a. gliding structure provided with a supporting sur face having. reeling extremities, in combination with a pendulous weight and nie-ans whereby tilt of the gliding structure Wit-h respect to the weight operates to extend or reef said extremities so as t0 correct the tilt.

3. A ying machine comprising a gliding structure provided with a supporting surface having reeiing extremities, in combination with a weight mounted for relative movement by gravity upon tilt ofthe gliding structure, and means wherebj,7 said relative increment operates to extend and reef said extremities so as 'to correct 'the tilt.

Ll. An aeroplane comprising sustaining plane frame, a lengit inal drivi shaft, e, pendant traine, pii'otallj/ mou ted i axis t axis, a motor in coincit ent with the sl said pendant. Ytraine, transmission between said motor and shait, ailerons mounted (1n/the plane traine and connections whereby the ailerons are operav'ed by a move ment ot the pendant trame and plane frame with respect to each othe Signed at New Yori; city, in the county of New York and State of" New Yoir 'this 25th day of August, l). 1908. PIETER CQPER Vitnesses:

fr. L

mf'iNG M. BRIEGHT.

gearing.

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