Cochrane
William Cochrane and Co.
Contents
History
William Cochrane and Co., of Clarges Street, London, developed a number of ingenious devices in the early 1900s, including a special gear for transforming rotary into oscillating motion, a petrol engine with rotary valve gear, and an oscillating water circulation pump. This interest in oscillating systems led to the design of an aircraft combining a somewhat conventional biplane (albeit using a lot of metal structure) with the concept of an an ornithopter. The company later built propellers, as well as various aeroplane materials, fittings and accessories. William Cochrane then moved his interest to propellers, writing many letters and articles on the subject to the various Aeronautical and Motor magazines of the time. By late 1909, the company had changed its name to the Cochrane Propeller Company.
Company References
- The Motor Car Journal 17 Apr 1909
- The Motor Car Journal 22 May 1909
Project Data
| Project No | Type No | Name | Alternative Name(s) | Year | Spec (Requirement) | Status | Qty | Description | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biplane | Proj | 0 | 1S, 1E biplane. | 1, 2 |
Project References
- British Aircraft Before The Great War, Michael H. Goodall and Albert E. Tagg (Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2001)
- The Motor Car Journal 17 Apr 1909
Production Details and Type Description
Two bay biplane fitted with small oscillating wings which were intended to serve both for propulsion and ascending, and to check a possibly too abrupt descent. The body of the machine was fish shaped, formed of a framework of braced wood covered in with aluminium, corrugated in the longitudinal direction of the body to reduce drag, and to increase the sustaining surface. "Feathers" stood out from the fuselage, four on each side of the body and immediately aft of the wings, were all corrugated laterally, and curved upwards at the extreme tips. They were carried by a shaft common to all on each side, which was oscillated by a patent oblique "disc-transforming gear", adjustable by a lever so that the amplitude of the oscillations could be varied from zero to a maximum according to the speed required on the machine. On the down stroke of the wing the "feathers" were so arranged that they were rigid in the plane of the machine and slightly flexible at the extreme tips; on the up stroke they would be at an oblique angle to the plane of the machine, giving propelling force to the machine, mechanically reproducing the properties of a bird’s wing. For raising and lowering the apparatus the nose of the body would be fitted at each side with steering planes located either side of the fuselage, forward of the wings and controlled from the driver’s seat at by a lever. The biplane wings featured slight dihedral, the upper wing mounted above the fuselage on centre-section struts, the lower attached to the lower fuselage structure. The tail plane was somewhat fish-tail in shape. Turning or steering to right or left was to be accomplished by varying the beat of the "feathers". There were no vertical tail surfaces. One 15 h.p. powerplant.
| Specification | |||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW |
| 35 ft | 105 sq ft | 380 lb | |||
| 10.67 m | 9.75 m2 | 172 kg | |||
All Specification Details Estimated
Total Cochrane Production0