1913 Newspaper W Photo JOHN DUNNE Invents Early AIRPLANE W SWEPT WINGS & NO TAIL
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:4417257 |
1913 newspaper with a photo and description - JOHN DUNNE invents a very early AIRPLANE with SWEPT WINGS & NO TAIL - inv # 5L-119Please visit our EBAY STORE for THOUSANDS of HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS on sale or at auction.SEE PHOTO----- COMPLETE, ORIGINAL NEWSPAPER, the Charleston News and Courier (SOUTH CAROLNA) dated Sept 7, 1913. This newspaper contains a prominent inside page 9" x 6" photo and text of a NEW ...AIRPLANE DESIGNED by JOHN DUNNE. It has swept wings and no tail, a radical airplane design in 1913.John William Dunne FRAeS (1875–1949) was a British soldier, aeronautical engineer and philosopher. As a young man he fought in the Second Boer War, before becoming a pioneering aeroplane designer in the early years of the 20th century. Dunne worked initially on early military aircraft, concentrating on tailless swept wing designs to achieve the first certified inherently stable aircraft. While on Army sick leave in 1901, Dunne began a systematic study of flight. Like many other pioneers he closely observed birds in flight however, unlike most, he was convinced that a safe aeroplane needed to have inherent aerodynamic stability. Encouraged among others by H.G. Wells, whom he befriended in 1902, he made a great number of small test models which would eventually lead to the development of a stable tailless swept wing configuration.On his return to England for the second time he resumed his study of flight and by 1906 had developed a tailless, swept-wing "arrowhead" configuration which was inherently stable and would become his trademark.At the request of Colonel John Capper, the unit's commanding officer, in June 1906 he was assigned to the new Army Balloon Factory in South Farnborough.A manned glider, the D.1, with provision for fitting engines and propellers, was constructed under great secrecy and, in July 1907, was taken to Blair Atholl in the Scottish Highlands for flight testing. The D.1 made several unsustained glides during secret trials conducted in the hills north of the village. On its one successful flight, Capper flew it for just long enough to demonstrate its stability before crashing into a wall. It was repaired and fitted with its powered chassis, but crashed on its first attempted flight when the takeoff trolley veered off course.In the winter of 1907–1908 Dunne designed the Dunne-Huntington triplane and a smaller glider, the D.2, to test the design. The glider was not built but the full-scale craft would eventually be built by A. K. Huntington and flown successfully from 1910.The 1908 season at Blair Atholl saw two new "arrowhead" machines brought up from Farnborough, the D.3 man-carrying glider and the D.4 powered aeroplane. The glider eventually flew well at the hands of Lt. Launcelot Gibbs and the D.4 had limited success being badly underpowered and consequently, in Dunne's words, "more a hopper than a flyer".Dunne returned to the Balloon Factory in the midst of a Government Inquiry into military aeronautics. As a result of its findings the War Office stopped all support for powered aircraft and in the Spring of 1909 Dunne left the Balloon Factory. By now, he was also an official in the Aeronautical Society.With his friends' financial investment Dunne formed a small company, the Blair Atholl Aeroplane Syndicate, to continue his experiments and took up hangar space on the Aero Club's flying ground at Eastchurch on the Isle of Sheppey. Short Brothers had a workshop there and were contracted to build the D.5, a similar biplane in which Dunne installed a more powerful 35 hp engine. Following a series of increasingly successful flights, on 20 December 1910 Dunne demonstrated the extraordinary stability of the D.5 to an amazed audience that included two official observers, Orville Wright and Griffith Brewer. He was even able to take both hands off the controls and make notes on a piece of paper. Shortly afterwards, another pilot crashed the D.5.Dunne had originally wanted to construct a monoplane, but at the time the Army expected biplanes and Capper had instructed Dunne accordingly. Dunne's next design, free of Army influence, was a monoplane, the D.6. This and its derivatives, the D.7 and D.7bis, flew throughout 1911-1913. British-built examples were flown both at Sheppey and at Larkhill on Salisbury Plain, and one was also built by the Astra company (later acquired by Nieuport) in France.Parallel with the monoplane work, the Dunne D.8 had been developed from the D.5. In 1913 an example was flown across the Channel to France, and the next year a much reorganised Farnborough evaluated the type. Production was licensed to both Nieuport in France and Burgess in America.Through 1913 and 1914 Dunne's continuing ill health was making it difficult for him to remain active in aeronautics. Production of the War Office machines for Farnborough ran into difficulties and only one was ever delivered. The Blair Atholl Syndicate was eventually liquidated and Dunne moved on to other areas.Throughout World War I, mainstream aircraft design proceeded along an entirely different path. Although the principle of inherent stability was proven and slowly gaining acceptance, Dunne's designs were now obsolete.Good condition. This listing includes the complete entire original newspaper, NOT just a clipping or a page of it. STEPHEN A. GOLDMAN HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS stands behind all of the items that we sell with a no questions asked, money back guarantee. Every item we sell is an original newspaper printed on the date indicated at the beginning of its description. U.S. buyers pay priority mail postage which includes waterproof plastic and a heavy cardboard flat to protect your purchase from damage in the mail. International postage is quoted when we are informed as to where the package is to be sent. We do combine postage (to reduce postage costs) for multiple purchases sent in the same package. We accept payment by PAYPAL as well as by CREDIT CARD (Visa and Master Card). We list thousands of rare newspapers with dates from 1570 through 2004 on Ebay each week and we ship packages twice a week. This is truly SIX CENTURIES OF HISTORY that YOU CAN OWN! Stephen A. Goldman Historical Newspapers has been in the business of buying and selling historical newspapers for over 45 years. Dr. Goldman is a consultant to the Freedom Forum Newseum and a member of the American Antiquarian Society. You can buy with confidence from us, knowing that we stand behind all of our historical items with a 100% money back guarantee. Let our 45+ years of experience work for YOU ! We have hundreds of thousands of historical newspapers (and their very early precursers) for sale.
