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This patent discloses the chassis or frame work of the landing gear folding against the surface of the fuselage and does not disclose the chassis entering into or lying within recesses or openings formed in the housing of the fuselage.

36. In the issue of "Aeronautics" of May 1914, there is an article illustrating and describing an aeroplane referred to as the Blanchard Monoplane. A retractable landing gear is referred to in the article as follows:

The landing chassis is simply composed of two wheels and a skid. The wheels are mounted on V-shaped members and suspended on twin coil-springs, lying parallel with the body of the machine. After leaving the ground the wheels are folded upward and inward, disappearing through apertures in the body of the machine which are closed by sliding doors. The folding of the wheels is accomplished by worm-gear operated by the feet of the

aviator.

-18

Reporter's Statement of the Case

One illustration indicates the outline of a door or panel directly above the left side wheel. There are no further directions or instructions given to enable a man skilled in the art to construct the landing gear. The article is silent as to how the sliding doors are constructed, in which direction they slide, and by which means or mechanism the sliding doors are operated.

37. In the issue of "Aeronautics" of May 30, 1914, an aeroplane referred to as the Boland Flying Boat is described.

The description makes reference to the fact that when the wheels are retracted they are "* * raised into a light

*

wheel box of a streamline form above the water line."

The shape of the box for housing, beyond its being of streamline form, is not disclosed; how far the wheels enter the box is not described, nor is there any disclosure made of the form or shape for the opening in the box. The wheels when raised into streamline position would function as a partial closure therefor.

38. In the November 1911 issue of the publication "Aero," there is described and illustrated an aeroplane having a landing gear in which the wheels are carried by two inverted tripod frame works fastened to the aircraft at their upper ends, each supporting a wheel at the lower end. This publication discloses a landing gear having a single diagonal strut adapted to receive both tensile and concussion shearing stresses.

In the construction shown in this publication, the landing wheels, instead of being mounted rigidly upon the frame work, are carried in a skid frame which has a rocking and swivelling with respect to the frame members.

This publication does not disclose a retractable landing gear having a swinging frame, the function of which is to swing to a retracted position, nor does it disclose a journalmember forming a pivot-connection with an axle rigid with the frame construction for the mounting of the wheel.

39. In the January 1914 issue of the publication "Aeronautics," there is disclosed an illustration of the NieubortDunne aeroplane landing gear.

64834-38-CC-vol. 86-25

Reporter's Statement of the Case

This landing gear is also of the inverted tripod type having its base on the underside of the plane fuselage and converging at a pivot point; a skid is pivotally mounted and connected to the aeroplane fuselage by a shock absorber at its forward end and carries at its rearward trailing end a landing wheel.

This publication does not disclose a retractable landing gear having a swinging-frame or a journal-member forming a pivoting connection with the chassis, and further, it does not disclose the wheel axle as being rigid with a swingingframe.

40. The aeroplane structures manufactured for or by the United States, and charged by plaintiff to infringing the patent in suit, have been stipulated to be the Dayton-Wright Alert; Verville-Sperry; Bee-Line Racer; Loening-Amphibian, and PW-8.

Dayton-Wright Alert Aeroplane

41. A contract was entered into by the United States with the Dayton-Wright Company on June 29, 1921, for the construction by them of three of these aeroplanes, the first of which was delivered November 13, 1922. The second of these planes was delivered June 29, 1923. The third and last plane of the contract was delivered on July 19, 1923. The second and third planes did not meet the requirements under the contract and were rejected March 12, 1924.

The retractable landing gear of this plane, as constructed, comprised a plurality of struts hinged on each side of the lower portion of the fuselage, each set of struts supporting at their outer converging ends a shock-absorber mounting, which shock-absorber mounting in turn supports a landing wheel, the landing wheel, therefore, forming a non-rigid connection with the supporting chassis or frame work.

The fuselage is provided on each side with a circular opening, which opening closely conforms to the periphery of the wheel when the same is in a folded position, sufficient clearance, however, being left to permit free entrance and

Reporter's Statement of the Case

exit of the wheel. Other openings in the fuselage covering or housing are provided to receive the struts or frame work of the landing gear when the same is retracted. These openings are not in the nature of pockets or grooves in which the landing gear lies, but are merely openings, the function of which is to permit the struts to enter and pass entirely into the interior of the fuselage when the landing gear is retracted.

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The wheels are provided with disks so that when the same are in a retracted position in the openings, the wheel tire and associated wheel disk operate automatically to substantially close the fuselage opening, as shown in Fig. 4, above, and the appended illustration of the Dayton-Wright Alert, discloses this structure in a retracted position.

All of the uses by the Government of the Dayton-Wright Alert aeroplanes were entirely experimental.

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