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Reporter's Statement of the Case

Verville-Sperry Aeroplane

42. On May 23, 1922, a contract was placed with the Lawrence Sperry Aeroplane Company for three aeroplanes; these were delivered to the Army Air Service and were accepted on October 10, 1922. The Verville-Sperry Aeroplane was of the monoplane type with the bottom fuselage merging into the lower wing surface and providing a single continuous surface extending the entire width of the aeroplane. The landing wheels, of which there were two, were each mounted upon a separate chassis folding inwardly and upwardly upon hinged members having swinging axes parallel to the longitudinal axis of the aeroplane. When first built by the contractor, openings were provided in the lower fuselage surface of conforming shape to receive the chassis or frame members of the landing gear. Rubber sheeting was applied across these openings so that when the chassis was either in an extended or retracted position the rubber sheeting would form a closure for the apertures in the fuselage to prevent the entrance of air in the wings.

After the aeroplanes had been received by the Government, and before they were used, the rubber sheets were removed and the openings in the lower surface of the fuselage were lined with thin metal so that channels or grooves were formed. As seen by the appended illustration herewith, which shows the landing gear in a partially retracted position, these channels or grooves are so constructed as to closely conform to the landing gear struts when in a folded position. These struts which are of rounded form, lie, when in a retracted position, entirely within the grooves or channels. The wheels of the landing gear, however, were not provided with any fairing discs but were left with open spokes. The landing gear when in retracted position did not lie parallel with the exterior surface of the fuselage but at an angle thereto. A strictly flush closure of the grooves is, therefore, not present in this structure. However, the air resistance occasioned by the channel openings is reduced by the presence of the strut members when the same are received therein. The only closure for the grooves is a partial closure caused

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Reporter's Statement of the Case

by the presence of the rounded struts lying within the grooves.

One of these planes participated in the Pulitzer races in October 1923, but, due to mechanical difficulties, it did not finish. Just prior to these races fairings were attached to the landing gear struts, which fairings were so shaped as to completely fill the channels or grooves which received these landing-gear frame members so that when the landing gear was retracted a continuous flush under fuselage surface was obtained insofar as the chassis frame members are concerned. Aprons or disk-shaped members were also mounted on the wheel-supporting members at such angles to the wheels that they would lie approximately flush with the under surface of the plane. These fairings and aprons were attached by the pilot on his own initiative and without official authority or direction.

All of the uses to which these planes were put were for experimental exhibitions and demonstration purposes.

Bee-Line Racer

43. Early in 1922 the Government contracted with the Bee Line Aircraft Corporation for the manufacture of two aeroplanes. These planes were delivered for tests in the latter part of September 1922 and accepted by the Government in the early part of October 1922.

Insofar as the housing of the landing gear in the lower part of the fuselage is concerned, this structure is substantially identical with that of the Verville-Sperry Aeroplane, as will be evident from the appending illustration, which shows the landing gear in a partially retracted position. In the Bee-Line Racer construction, conforming channels or grooves are formed in the lower surface of the wings and fuselage which are adapted to receive the landing gear chassis when in a retracted position. Wheel pockets are also formed in the lower fuselage surface. The landing gear struts are of rounded form and lie substantially within the channels or grooves when in a retracted position. As was the case with the Verville-Sperry type of aeroplane, a flush closure is not present in this structure, but the air resistance

Reporter's Statement of the Case

occasioned by the channel openings is reduced by the pressure of the strut members when the same are received therein, and the closure, while therefore imperfect, approaches a substantially flush surface.

It was at first proposed to use wheel fairings on this type of aeroplane to obtain a flush closure for the wheel pockets. Such fairings, however, were not on the plane when delivered to the Government for tests, and have never been applied or employed by the Government.

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