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reimsds.txt THE CURTISS REIMS RACER, 1909 November 2002
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INTRODUCTION
This add-on aeroplane is designed with GMax for use with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002.

INSTALLATION
Through the wonders of PKWare, there are three elements in this unzipped download: reimsds.txt (this file, read and save if you wish), file_id.diz (an id file, delete) and a folder named reimsds. Put this folder in your computer's program files/microsoft games/fs2002/aircraft folder and you'll have the Curtiss Reims Racer as a choice.
It has dedicated Sound file (shared with my earlier Bleriot). It has a Virtual Cockpit, as well as the default Sopwith one if you feel compelled to look at any instruments. Glenn had none, just a magnificent view.

HISTORY
The world's first air meet was La Grande Semaine d'Aviation, and American Glenn H. Curtiss was its starring aviator. This Great Week of Aviation, August 22-29, 1909, took place on the Bethany Plains in the Champagne region of France, near the city of Reims. (You'll also see this spelled "Rheims." Its French pronunciation is a nasal "ran.")
The sole American competitor, Curtiss represented the Aero Club of America. At the time, the Wrights were occupied with government contracts; their European pupils entered planes of Wright design. The real competition, though, came from Louis Bleriot, fresh from his cross-channel flight accomplished barely a month earlier (July 25, 1909).
What an exciting time it must have been!
There were four main prizes, the Grand Prix de la Champagne, the Gordon Bennett Aviation Cup, the Prix de la Vitesse (speed) and the Prix de Tour Piste (lapping). On Thursday, August 28, Curtiss took the Gordon Bennett Cup with two laps of the circuit at an average speed of 73.6 km/h. His nearest competitor was Bleriot, some 41 seconds behind. In the closing event on Friday, August 29, Curtiss bettered this slightly with a speed of 75.7 km/h (47.06 mph) and added the Prix de la Vitesse to his honors. His winning for the week totaled $7600.
From Reims, Curtiss went on to Brescia, in northern Italy, for a second competition. There, he won the Grand Prize, the Altitude Prize and another $7000. Glenn also gave Italian poet, patriot and general rascal Gabriele d'Annunzio his first flight. (The latter is to be remembered for his aerial raid of Vienna late in WWI, in which copies of his poems were dropped in lieu of bombs.)

THE REAL CURTISS REIMS RACER:
Wing span 26 ft 3 in. Chord 4 ft 6 in. Aspect ratio 5.8
Wing area 225 sq ft Gap 4 ft 6 in. Length 30 ft 4 in.
Weight, 700 lb
Structure: Rubberized silk over spruce, top surfaces only; bamboo struts
Control: Wing ailerons actuated by leaning in a shoulder harness;
forward elevators operated by fore/aft motion of steering wheel;
aft rudders, by rotating the steering wheel;
throttle, cable operated by left foot pedal and hand lever;
brake, shoe on front wheel, rod operated by right foot.
Power: One water-cooled Curtiss V-8, 4.00 in. bore x 4.00 in. stroke,
51.2 hp @ 1475 rpm
Propellor: wood, 6 ft. 0 in.
Performance, at Reims circuit: 47.06 mph

THE VIRTUAL ONE
What a hoot GMax is! It admits just about any detail one wishes to model. Glenn operates all the controls, including left/right lean in the shoulder harness for ailerons; fore/aft and rotation of the steering wheel for elevators and rudders, respectively. His left foot operates the throttle pedal. His right foot works the brake (through Parking Brake, keyboard "Ctrl + .").
There is one (major) cheat: I wanted operating rocker arms for the V-8. The only way I knew to key them to engine rpm was to define them as prop0_blurred_k, etc. In truth, they don't rock; they do little pirouettes around their long axes. From afar, they look pretty good to my eyes. I hope you find them entertaining as well.

FLYING THE VIRTUAL REIMS RACER
I set flight dynamics by the book. Surprisingly enough, this resulted in a very nicely handling craft. Seemingly, the aeroplane has no real vices. Try some tight turns, as performed by Glenn around the Reims circuit.

SOURCES
My primary source was the wonderful book, "Curtiss The Hammondsport Era 1907-1915," by Louis S. Casey, Crown, N.Y., 1981. Also helpful in designing the Reims Racer's controls was "How to Learn to Fly The Different Machines and What They Cost," by Augustus Post, Aero Club of America, 1909; reprinted by BFGoodrich Aerospace and The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, Akron and Hammondsport, n.d.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
How to name them all? So many fellow modelers have helped me along the GMax Learning Curve. Special thanks to Felix Rodriguez, whose Freeflightdesign.com brings us together in such an amiable setting. My thanks as well to Inspector Poly for his encouragement.

The entire fltsim community has given me much pleasure. Needless to say, this aircraft is freeware. No responsibility is taken for any loss or damage incurred directly or indirectly from its use. The original unaltered files may be freely distributed, uploaded, downloaded and shared. Please maintain proper credit, of course, and make no financial gain whatsoever.
Dennis Simanaitis FSEngEd@aol.com