REVIEWS. 



AEK(_).\AL'TICS. 



l-:iciiuiitiiry Acroiiiiutics. — By A. P. Thukstox. 1^6 pages. 

 126 illustrations. Sl-in. X 5J-iii. 



iWhittaker ^: Co. Price 3 6.) 



Auvtliiuy from the pen of Mr. Thurston, the able associate 

 of Sir Hiram MaNini in his later experimental work, nmst of 

 necessity be of interest, and the book having the above title 

 bears this out. The book abounds with up-to-date e.xperi- 

 mental results and diagrams relative to curved surfaces. 

 Although a few of them are chiefly of academic interest most 

 are of a highly practical value. 



Another interesting feature is the large number of reproduc- 

 tions from photographs of artificial stream lines formed from 

 cloud vapour of ammonium chloride. The author introduces 

 some new work on stability although he would appear to have 

 overlooked one important aspect of the problem. We all 

 thank Mr. Thurston, and congratulate him on giving us this 



book. 



T. W. K. C. 



suggest that this book was principally intended, it still leaves 

 much to be desired, hardly half-a-dozen pages being devoted 

 to constructive detail. On page S4 the author rightly alludes 

 to the fine construction of the Antoinctfc Monoplanes but 

 refers to the figure on the opposite page which is of a Wright 

 Biplane, the very antithesis of construction. We had hoped 

 to see this error in the first edition corrected in the second. 

 Perhaps the translators will see to this in the next edition. In 

 other respects they have done their work very well indeed. 



The book is written in plain language, clearly printed on 

 good paper, and sold at a popular price. It will, we are sure, be 

 widely read. -i- ,.• ■- ,- 



'' Biri!,niii!il as the Basis of Aviation:'— By Otto 

 Lll,lENTH.4L. With a biographical introduction and addendum 

 bv GUST.WK LlLlEXTH.\L. Translated from the second 

 edition by A. W. Isenth.\l, A.M. I.E., F.R.P.S. With a 

 portrait. 142 pages. 94 illustrations, and 8 litho plates. 

 Qi-in. X 6J-in. 



(Longmans. Green & Co. Price 9 - net.) 



The Theory and Practice of Model Aeroplaning. — By 



\'. E. Johnson. M..A. 14S pages. 61 illustrations. 



7i-in. X 5-in. 



(E. & F. N. Spon. Price 3 6 net.) 



There is nothing but praise to dispose upon this little book. 

 The author has modestly dedicated it to those interested in 

 the minor branch of model aeroplaning, but there is no student 

 in anv branch of aeronautical engineering who will not learn 

 something from this book. E'rom end to end it is full of 

 reliable information. Great pains have been exercised to 

 exclude not only misleading but doubtful matter, and there is 

 a complete absence of all " padding." 



.Although written in simple language and without a mass of 

 mathematical formulae, it is yet the most truly scientific work 

 on model aeroplaning that has yet appeared, and one that all 

 taking interest in this subject must obtain. -.. ,,, j. p 



l^rinciples of Aeroplane Constrnetiou. — By Rankin 

 Kennhdv, C.E. 137 pages. 50 illustr.itions. SJ-in. X SJ-in. 



(J. & A. Churchill. Price 5 - net.) 



A considerable amount of this book might \sitli advantage 

 have been omitted, being based on a somewhat doubtful mass 

 of mathematical work and out of date methods. 



This criticism does not apply throughout, for in the second 

 half the author discusses the propeller and especially the 

 Helicoptere in a very lucid manner, disposing of some of 

 the fallacies concerning the latter, with some well-timed 

 remarks. On the whole this book. I think, might be described 

 as ■■ not sufficiently up to date." .|. ^^. j^ ^ 



Hou- to liiiilil an Aeroplane. 2nd edition. By KoHERT 

 Petit. IKS pages. 93 illustrations. fSJ-in.x 5.]-in. 



(Williams & Norgate. Price 2 6 net.) 



Thin book has reached its second eclilinn. Ihr translators 

 have taken the opportunity to correct several errors which 

 crept into the first edition and it now forms a very concise 

 little book dealing with aeronautical design. Considered from 

 the point of view of the " builder," for whom the title would 



.At the present time, when so much interest is taken in 

 .Aviation, the publication of a second edition of Lilienthal's 

 well-known book on " Birdflight " is very appropriate. The 

 translator claims, we think with justice, that Lilienthal was the 

 Father of gliding experiments. He is almost the Father of the 

 aeroplane, since it is quite evident that the experiments upon 

 gliding led to the practical development of the aeroplane. We 

 believe we are correct in saying that it was in experimenting 

 with a power-driven glider that Lilienthal, unfortunately, lost 

 his life. The translator has done his work very well. It is 

 diflicult to find any of those slips in translation that are 

 sometimes only too much in evidence, particularly when the 

 original is in German. The idioms in German and French 

 are often very difficult indeed to give the English equivalent of; 

 and the translator too often gives a literal interpretation, which 

 is oftentimes almost nonsense. In the present instance, the 

 translator understands his subject thoroughly : he is an 

 enthusiast also, and we believe he has given us what the 

 master wrote. 



The appearance of Lilienthal's book also, is of peculiar 

 interest just now, when the Ornithopter, which should be a 

 direct copy of bird wings, and so on, has so far not been 

 able to obtain even a very small footing in the aviation 

 world. The practical construction of Ornithopters has been 

 announced, and the usual claims made for them, which 

 according to Lilienthal's investigations should be maintained ; 

 but they ;ippear to get no farther. Lilienthal made a very 

 careful study of birds at first hand ; and the book before 

 us is full of very useful inform.ition, indeed, upon the mechan- 

 ism of birds' wings, how the bird uses them ; and in particular, 

 the action of the wings of sea birds. He appears to have 

 made a very exhaustive study, not only of the birds that 

 we find flying over our fields, but also of those sea birds — the 

 albatross, the sea gull, the stormy petrel, and others — whose 

 flight is apparently so different to that of the land birds. 

 Sea birds are able to rise vertically from the ground, accord- 

 ing to Lilienthal, and to maintain flight against the wind, 

 without any exertion whatever. He evidently looked forward 

 to the day when man would be able to do the same. It is, 

 perhaps, interesting to note tliat the development of the 

 aeroplane, so far from being in the direction of reduced 

 power, is going lu-adlong to the opposite extreme. The early 

 .aeropkuies were c<|uipped with engines of 25 H.P. : those a 

 little Later at 35 H.P., and the figure has steadily increased, 

 till the m.icliines which have done the best work in a certain 

 sense, during the last few months, have been equipped in 



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