April I, 1915.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



369 



layer. This is what is termed "diagonal doubling," and makes 

 a very sturdy material. 



In addition to the use of rubber in the envelopes, rubberized 

 cloth is used as a weatherproof covering for the suspended car 

 hanging below the envelope of the dirigible. Further, rubber in 

 the form of tubing is used at various points to take the rub of 

 ropes and stays where surfaces are exposed to dialing. In the 

 i'ig dirigibles there is a sound-proof 

 chamber for the wireless operator, 

 and, as we already know, hard and 

 soft rubber figure extensively in 

 electrical him, illations of this sort. 

 Rubber tubing and rubber packing 

 are employed in connection with the 

 propulsive motors and the gasolene 

 feed, and. of course, the crews of 

 navigable airships all have weather 

 clothes of rubberized material. 



As the reader will realize, the in 

 dividual aeroplane has much less 

 neei For rubber cloth than the dirigi- 

 ble airships of the non-rigid or semi 

 rigid types, but the wing fabric must 

 be waterproof; otherwise the mate- 

 rial would absorb rain ■ >r moisture 

 and add an appreciable percentage of 

 dead weight to the equipment to 

 just that extent increasing tile load 

 upon the motor and altering the 

 pilot's problems of control. Here, 

 again, rubber helps out as nothing 

 else will, and this is particularly the 

 case with the seaplane or flying- 

 boat. In the Curtiss aircraft of this sort, the wings are com- 

 posed of a framework of laminated wood, fastened with copper 

 straps at the joints, over which is fastened rubber-coated fabric. 

 Indeed, this same material is used for the rudders, the elevator 

 planes, and kindred surfaces, and in the other types of military 

 Hying machines rubberized cloth is used to protect the pilots 

 ami passengers. J lie yoke by which the aviator manipulates the 

 wings, by swinging his body from side to side, is very fre- 

 quently cushioned with rubber; and the steersman's grip is also 

 "Uiii coated with the same material. As in the dirigible, stays 

 are covered with rubber tubing at points to prevent dialing, and 

 rubber tubing and rubber packing lend their services in con- 

 nection with the motors and fuel supply system. In aeroplanes 

 equipped witli wireless, rubber does duty again in the form of 

 insulation, and in the latest of these military flying machines it 

 plays its part in the telephone system by which the pilot and his 

 passenger can communicate with each other, despite the noise 

 of the propeller, the roar of the engines, and the deafening rush 

 of the passing wind. 



The military aeroplane would be of doubtful use if it could 

 m it rise from the ground quickly or make a successful landing 

 after a reconnoitring flight. These machines weigh quite a ton 

 as a rule, and it is something of a problem to bring a body as 

 heavy as this to a halt when landing at any speed admitting of 

 proper control. Remember that these air scouts cannot count 

 upon smooth roadways from which to make their starts nor turf- 

 covered level stretches for their landing. They must take the 

 ground as they find it. and this requires a good deal of rugged- 

 ness in the supporting chassis with its wheels. Therefore, in 

 order to reduce the landing impact to a minimum, and, on the 

 other hand, to facilitate getting up sufficient speed for the initial 

 rise, the wheels of the chassis are equipped with resilient tires 

 of rubber. Thus this buoyant material is indispensable to getting 

 the airman aloft and to making his return to ground a safe one 

 under normal circumstances. 



We have made no mention of the very latest improvement in 



mechanical flight; that 1-. the automatic stabilizer. But Ameri- 

 should be proud of what has been accomplished in this di- 

 rection by Elmer A. Sperry through his gyroscopic apparatus. 

 Compressed air and electricity are bis motive agents for this 

 wonderful steadying mechanism, and the precision of operation 

 and the manner of its general functioning hinge to a goodly ex- 

 tent upon tlit- aid lent by rubber in one direction or another. 



The Oxygen Restoi Exhausted Aviator. 



The man on the left has a respirator hy which he can work in foul air or go into the gas bags of an in- 

 flated war balloon for the purpose of making repairs. 



Tubing, packi.g. and insulation are needful to the gyroscopic 

 stabilizer's construction, and rubber meets these demands best, 



But, as already said, the most interesting contribution rubber 

 makes to aviation is the part it plays in the mechanisms that 

 make it possible for the aviators to breathe comfortably in the 

 rarefied air of great altitudes, and even under the water, in case 

 they fall and are temporarily submerged. These mechanisms, 

 depending for their effective operation "ii the liberal use of rub- 

 ber, enable the aviator to utilize his full energy of body and 

 mind under conditions which without this apparatus would ren- 

 der life impossible It is the miraculous exploits which the avia- 

 tor, with the ;iid ' >i science, is able to perform that make the 

 strongest appeal to the imagination. 



Perhaps a recent incident may be cited, showing the dramatic 

 side of this service. Captain von I alkenhayn. the son of tin- 

 noted German general of that name, went aloft in a "Tallin to 

 reconnoiter the position of the Allies, near Amiens. lie was 

 overtaken by a French aviator as lie was returning to his own 

 lines. Suddenly, lie ruling in his flight and turned back upon 

 his foe, who was just about to lire, and there in the air occurred 

 a duel between the two pilots. A chance bullet struck the cap- 

 tain in the heart, and immediately he plunged with his un- 

 guided craft to the earth 



In a duel of this sort, tin- effort of each antagonist is to 

 mi unit above his rival so that the pilot below shall be blanked 

 by the wings of his own machine and thus hampered in firing 

 at his foe. Often, in this struggle for the ascendency, the rival 

 aviators will mount thousands of feet into the air, and where 

 the temperature may be bitterly low. The Germans have made 

 special provision for this exacting service, and rubber fig 

 in the ingenious apparatus which makes it possible for the 

 Kaiser's aeronauts to meet the physical hardships which this duty 

 imposes. Cold soon saps the energies of a human being and, at 

 the same time, renders the sufferer incapable of performing his 

 work effectively. The hands become numb and are unable to 

 operate levers, etc., by which a flying machine is controlled. 



