Issue No 22 THE AVIATION HISTORIAN 127
plus wingtip skids, and twin spruce booms
extending rearwards from the centre wing carry
a monoplane tailplane and elevator and a single
central fin with a curved cane tailskid beneath.
There is no rudder. Ailerons are fitted on the
top and centre wings, and the whole structure is
braced with piano wire or “good steel wire”.
In his text, Camm says: “The troubles
experienced generally with gliders are: (1) lack
of storage accommodation, most machines
averaging 25ft [7·6m] to 30ft [9·1m] span; (2) the
difficulty in building a machine strongly, and
yet sufficiently light, to glide in winds of low
velocity; (3) portability. In designing the machine
under consideration, these requirements have
been kept in mind. The ‘loading’, that is, the
area of the planes divided into complete weight
of machine and pilot, is approximately ¾lb per
square foot.
“The reasons for choosing the triplane