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THE SUNDAY OREGON! AN. PORTLAND. AUGUST 30. 1908.
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several hundred miles away with Its
load of high explosives to attack a hos
tile fleet nations will pause before
hazarding their fleets against such
terrible risks. And When the time
comes when every nation has Its fleet
Of aerial destroyers peace conferences
will be compelled to declare an absolute
edict against warfare.
According: to my opinion the aero
plane of the future will have numerous
supporting surfaces, a narrow spread,
great length, and will fly with high
velocity.
Everything will be spindle shaped
that is to say,' of a form so fashioned
as to offer little resistance to the
wind. All the parts except the wings
will be hidden from the wind; that is.
to be a form somewhat like a winged
torpedo, and passengers and pilot will
be placed on a, sort of car with glass
windows which offers very little re
sistance to tne air.
Most probably a multicellular design,
with one, two or three series of cubes,
will be adopted for the supporting sur
faces, or elsa a series of wings In sep
arate sets, arranged like the steps of
a staircase, which .are fastened to the
front, middle and rear.
By Carl Dienstbach
expert of the Aero Club of America.
All present shortcomings are cer
tain soon to be corrected.
NEVER before have attempts to sub
Jugate the atmosphere into as obedi
ent a medium of travel as land and
water been so numerous or earnest as at
present. Many parts of the civilised world
are witnessing demonstrations of air
craft, and results have been obtained
which are so fascinating In their promise
of complete success that the consequent
shortcomings, which are quite insepar
able from pioneer efforts, are truly dis
tressing. No more pathetic spectacle
could be found In the annals of invention
than the giant Zeppelin IV, the victim of
an electrical storm after the most tri
umphant voyage of a real ship of the air
in history. The trivial lack of staytng
qualities in its machinery is an everyday
occurrence during the first few years of
automobiling, and easy to remedy when
once (feclosed by the actual endurance
test.
In New Tork recently a great crowd
which had assembled to see the flight of
the winged, birdlike machine with which
Henri Farman had Just before flown In
France for 20 minutes without any bal
loon or gas, flying speedily In any chosen
direction, had to renounce Its hope on ac
count of a wind storm, which still was
not violent enough to prevent small boats
from sailing in perfect safety on the
mater.
The question of what the aircraft of
the future, if it Is to be exempt from
such mishaps and limitations, will prob
ably be like becomes then one of the
greatest interest at the present time. In
the case of the gas-supported airships it
can safely be said that the Zeppelin sys
tem has by its last trip proved such
qualities of dlrigibility, speed and, not
the least, endurance' that its design will
require no radical future change. Care
ful scientific computations have recently
established the fact that to transport
comparatively heavy loads through the
aif, power supported flight finds certain
. well-defined limitations; while support by
gas becomes the more efficient the larger
the size of the vessel to contain It Only
very bis; balloons can stand the wear and
tear of everyday use.
This question was settled long before
the days of the "dirigible" by Ooddard'e
giant captive balloon of the Paris Expo
sition, which also disclosed superior
carrying power and gas-retaining quali
ties. For such large sizes It becomes, in
the case of the dirigible, especially If a
slender form and high speed Is the ob
ject, simply a logical conclusion to en
close the necessary stiffening frame In
the bulk of the balloon Itself, apart from
the consideration that the needed divid
ing of the gas space Into numerous sep
arate compartments Is so brought about
In the most natural way, and that the
gas bags themselves are thus most effi
ciently protected from the strain of pro
pulsion and the Influence of the sun or
the weather. That the propellers and
rudders may thus be carried where they
fcava the best effect, and that cars and
cabins, navigating devices, etc., may thus
be arranged very conveniently and com
fortably seem all but a natural' conse
quence of the foundamental correctness
of the system.
THH last objection against the rigid
construction. Its supposed Inability to
mithetand without damage the shock of
alighting on land, has been most bril
liantly disproved by the unfortunate
craft's last trip. Not even tearing from
the moorings seems to have done imme
diate harm. Moreover, it is well within
the bounds of possibility to secure the
rigid "Zeppelin" so firmly to the ground
that no storm could hurt It Its great,
length In proportion to its diameter Is
very favorable to that end. There are
15 points where the frame Is especially
strong namely, at the Intersection of Its
longitudinal pieces with the 15 rings or
hoops, which, through their strong Inside
bracings, like the spokes of a bicycle
wheel, divide the Interior of the hull into.
16 separate compartments. Fifteen strong
light steel hawsers slung over the hull
could, by means of eyelets, be made to
bear right acalnst these rings, and if only
fastened firm enough to the ground
(eventually to pieces of timber buried In
the earth and heavily weighted) would
render even a side gale powerless. Sim
ilarly, securing the ship fore and aft
would be very simple. In the next Zep
pelin such hawsers will no doubt form an
integral part of the framing, being inter
woven with the latter In such a way as
to distribute the strain over the Whole
structure. After all, the Zeppelin IV has
only repeated the experience of the Le
baudy on the plateau of Chalons on a
larger scale, not to mention the Patrie.
Protection against the electric .discharge
which caused the final catastrophe would
Indeed belong to an as yet remote chapter
of practical aeronautics, and had hardly
been thought of up to that time, although
there were some accidents on record. Not
to provide for an absolutely secure fast
ening to the ground In case of an unfore
seen landing -might be Indeed called an
oversight, excusable under the circum
stances. There had been some fear of
the frequent German thunder storms, es
pecially on account of the ship's vast ex
panse of metal, but as In the air these
storms are seen forming from afar, and
have often been successfully, "circum
navigated" by experienced pilots even in
drifting spherical balloons, there was con
fidence In the powers of a speedy runner
like the Zeppelin.
Perfecting the machinery against a
"panne" will be, as with an auto,
only a matter of sufficient number of
practical tests. But the future will un
doubtedly see an airship in an emergency
anchored with one unbreakable bow cable
to the top of a tall, strong steel tower
after having been sufficiently lightened,
and safely swinging to the storm like a
J weather vane. Such "anchorages" will
have to be provided everywhere. There
will also be a series of lightning con
ductors, of points for the escape of elec
trical charges, along Its back, and all
metal parts will be in good connection
with the ground, while a ventilator will
instantly dilute any gat that might escape
into the protecting air space around the
internal gas bags beyond the point where
it remains inflammable.
To become truly practical, airships will
first have to get rid of their costly
hangers, except for repairing purposes
With their necessarily large size they
possess so tough an outer skin as easily to
endure the weather, while with their
numerous separate compartments they
may be Inflated, when suitably lightened,
bag after bag, while floating In the air,
through a flexible bow connection. It
may safely be predicted that the future
development of the winged power sup
ported flying machine, as represented by
Its most successful public exponent, the
Volsin-Farman type, will involve more
changes than that of the airship.
T
HE limitations of Its possibility to
fly in the wind are at present
clearly defined, and Farman himself,
expects progress In that direction from
a different design. He has, however,
brought it under a truly wonderful
degree of control. To fly seems to him
like playing. He invariably leaves the
ground after a short run, seems per
fectly certain of what turns he can
make, how high he may go and come
safely down again, when to shut off
power while landing and many more
practical details which insure efficient
flying. There seems really no reason
why in favorable weather and over
suitable grounds he could not fly for
hours as well.
In skill he surpasses without any
doubt all his European competitors.
The question only remains why he is
not on more familiar terras with the
wind. He has repeatedly stated that
be believes practice with a power ma
chine sufficient and considers a motor
less glider as rather dangerous.
To the Impartial observer two im
portant points become apparent in the
tardiness of the "new school" of flying
apprentices to take up gliding. Prac
tice with a gliding' Machine .becomes
uninteresting and extremely tedious
and laborious when there is no wind.
The "old generation" of navigators,
from Llllenthal on, did not have the
modern marvellous light motors at
their disposal. They had to glide, and
they had by force to learn to control
an aeroplane In the wind. To the mod
' ern flyers, on the contrary, the wind
means more trouble than the calm
meant to the "gliders" and they shirk
It as much as possible. The result not
only as to their own experience, but
also especially as to the design adapted
for the machines, will clearly be shown
by a comparison of the one power ma
chine which Is known to have devel
oped from a glider, that of the Wright
brothers, to that of Farman. For instance.-
the horizontal rudder In front,
which seems so much of a common fea
ture of both machines, is In Farman's
case deprived of power through the ex
cessive leverage of the rear cell In
connection with its own position too
near to the front cell. It more than
suffices to steer in a calm, but lacks
power to force the machine back to an
even keel if struck by a gust
The Wrights' devices for Increasing
or diminishing the supporting effort on
either side and forcefully right the ma
chine If It attempts to capsize are en
tirely absent. Preserving the longi
tudinal balance by a rear cell and the
side balance by slightly uptlltlng the
wing tips, a Farman does, are devices
which are known to give excellent re
sults In a calm or a very steady mod
erate breeze, but which become act
ually a hindrance when there are gusts.
Lilienthal did real wonders when he
rode his primitive gliding surfaces
through gales, like a "bucking bron
cho," throwing his weight instantly to
the side which happened to be up.
The Wright brothers developed a sys
tem of rudder and surface movements
by which the same skill might be more.
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efficiently applied, and which would
control very large machines as certain
ly as smaller ones. They could hardly
have thought of it. If they had begun
their experiments in a calm with a
power machine, for their very system
would then have made flight much
more "difficult than with any other
type. There is also a "dark horse" In
the race for supremacy In mechanical
flying. Mr. A. M. Herring, about whose
recent work nothing is known, but
who may do all the tricks of the
Wright brothers and more by an auto
matic mechanism. The flying machine
of the aerial experiment association at
Hammondsport, which began with
practically a duplicate of the Farman
type. Is now more and more tending
toward the Wrights'.
There will soon be no more rear cell,
and a more powerful front rudder. Side
controlling had been Introduced even
earlier. Nothing, "indeed, seems lack
ing but the Wrights' several years of
experience In the air. Farman's own
future type seems as yet problemat
ical. He alms at providing for lateral
stability in gusts by decreasing the
sldewise extent or leverage of the sup
porting surfaces, substituting a num
ber of smaller superposed or staggered
ones for his two wide main surfaces,
and for the longitudinal equilibrium
by "articulating" the whole surface
and turning some of the supporting
planes themselves In place of a sep
arate rudder. He believes strongly In
a large fore and aft dimension, and he
has adopted the long cloth-covered
body of Bleriot and others to contain
the machinery. It will be seen that In
this he is rather at variance with
American tendencies. Farman does not
believe in gas-supported airships.
By Nikola Tesla
Calm comparison of balloons with
aeroplanes to the former's advan
tage. .
PROGRESS In aerial navigation is es
sentially dependent on the perfection
of a process of producing great mechan
ical effort with light machinery. Viewing
ttte possibilities, near and remote, motive
power Is obtainable in four ways first,
by transforming the heat energy of fuel
In an Internal combustion engine; second,
by converting the electro-chemical energy
' of a primary or secondary battery in an
electric motor; third, by harnessing on
the moving vessel itself, the energy of
the surrounding medium, and, fourth, by
transmitting o it without wires the elec
trical energy of a distant source.
The first two methods are based on the
use of a store of energy, which must be
carried and periodically refilled, thus lim
iting the speed and duration of flight The
last two imply a flow of energy to the
flying machine from without, the supply
being continuous and Inexhaustible. They
are, therefore, immensely superior to the
former.
Careful thought leads to the conclusion
that the wireless method would be de
cidedly the best for the peace and wel
fare of men. But no matter how perfect
the means for obtaining motive power. It
will never be possible to go beyond certain
rather narrow limits In aerial perform
ance. The atmospheric ocean is Ideally adapt
ed to travel, permitting, as It does, per
fect freedom of movement In three di
rections, but the physical properties of
the air make It rather unsuitable for nav
igation. It is a sticky or viscous sub
stance, a hundred times more so than
water, which means that it offers a rela
tively very great frictional resistance to a
body In motion. Its small density Is for
many reasons detrimental to high effi
ciency of propulsion. Its compressibility,
turbulence and perpetual unrest all cause
additional specific losses of motive power.
These properties forever preclude the pos
sibility of excessive speed with reference
to the surrounding air by the aeroplane
as well as the dirigible balloon.
Making every allowance for future
achievement, it is idle to expect that the
record on land or water will be surpassed.
The question Is frequently asked, which
of the two types, the heavier or lighter
than air. Is superior? No expert who has
studied the subject thoroughly can be In
doubt that the latter is by far the better
of the two. The aeroplane has caught the
public fancy, but such feats as those of
Count Zeppelin will tell.
Many erroneous ideas relating to aerial
flight have taken hold of the minds of the
people. In view of this it may be useful
to point out the following facts:
1. The recent progress in aerial naviga
tion is the direct and obvious result of the
development of the internal combustion
engine.
2. None of the latest flying machines.
f
aeroplane or dirigible, contain a radically
novel feature of importance.
3. The self-propelled balloon Is by far
superior to the aeroplane in carrying ca
pacity, speed, cruising radius, safety and
economy. x
4. The aeroplane can never have more
than half the propelling efficiency of the
llghter-than-air machine.
6. The dirigible balleon ie all the better
the larger. The aeroplane gains nothing
with size.
6. The Inclined plans, that is, the recti
linear propeller, as a means of support is
In all practical respects inferior to a ver
tical rotary propeller.
7. To produce an efficient high speed
flying machine the screv propeller must
be replaced by a better means for pro
pulsion. 8. No machine, however perfect, sup
ported in air against the force of gravity
by buoyancy, dynamic enon or omcrwiee,
can ever equal In speed a machine which
derives Its support from !and or water.
9 The m6st pressing need in aerial nav
igation Is unfailing protection against
lightning.
By Augustus Post
Secrecy of American Inventors has
retarded development of airships.
NOTHING has so astounded the public
mind In generations as the recent
development of the flying machine. Suc
cessful flights have been made repeatedly
abroad as well as in America.. Today the
flying machine is a marvel of mechanical
achievement. For many years action was
dormant The time was not ripe, progress
In the elements that go to make up the
wonderful combination in the flying ma
chine was not sufficiently advanced. The
gas engine was strong, but not light; the
proper curves for the cylinders were not
known, and aerial propellers had not been
used for any more powerful purposes than
for fans and blowers.
The aluminum casting Anally reached a
point which gave great promise. Then
began a series of practical tests by Lang
ley, the Wright brothers and Herring in
this country end by Sir Hiram Maxim,
Santos-Dumont, Farman, Pelterle and
others abroad. Most of the flights abroad
were made in public, and each aviator
was able to watch the work of his fellow
experimenters. In the United States, I
regret to say. the flying machine Invent
ors, with one exception, have kept their
work secret, so that Jealousy, which has
greatly retarded the work In general and
even has led to scepticism, has resulted.
All this time there was formulating In
the minds of sportsmen of this country,
as well as among the Army officers, a plan
for a great organization to regulate, con
trol and utilize these wonderful apparatus.
The most potent Influence in hastening
progress and enthusiasm has -been the
achievements of those who represented
the United States and the Aero Club of
America In the Bennett Aerial Club races
In Paris and In St. Louis. Now the won
derful achievements of Mr. Farman, who
has been brought to this country under
the auspices of the Aero Club of America,
are certain to create in aeronautics the
same Influence which the bringing of for
eign automobiles to this country had on
the raising of the standard of these ma
chines. The organization of a National aeronau
tical society in Washington, consisting of
all the greatest scientists In the country
and reaching In all directions throughout
the land, which is now in progress, will
do much to co-ordinate all efforts Into
right channels and definitely formulate the
best Ideas.
The value of the airship In time of war
is, of course, obvious, but this is not the
end of aerial navigation by any means.
The present forms of airship have a
wide utility. Their value In geographical
and topographical work, for Instance,
will be enormous. The development of
the human side of this new art has not
progressed as far as the mechanical side.
It has been said "The engine will run,
the machine will fly, but man becomes
afraid or tired." The concentration of
mind required Is found to be an enormous
strain. Then, again, means of automatic
equilibrium must be perfected to relieve
the operator. The aero curve must be
studied to give the greatest lift for the
normal speed and the least amount of
surface. The efficiency of propelltrs In
the air Is of the greatest Importance.
The relation of pitch to speed and the
speed of the engine to the speed of the
propeller and the economy of fuel are all
factors to be determined. The building of
an airship to carry fre.jht is very distant
and will come as a matter of special de
velopment much later.
The aerial navy of the future will surely
be one of the greatest sights conceivable,
far eclipsing the picture of a fleet at ea
XESLA
in spectacular grandeur. Only a small
portion of the great bulk of our present
battleships Is visible, and they are limited
to one plane of action. The cruisers of
the air moving freely In all directions
will be clearly visible. What a sight will
be the flying squadron of the future, as
with banners flying and with music it
casts a shadow over the .earth' below by
day or by night fills the firmament with
its dazzling searchlights! In course of
time there will be personally conducted
aerial excursions to the poles of the
earth, and the gondoliers of the sky will
land their passengers in all the cities of
the world.
By A. Leo Stevens
Aeronaut who built and operated
the first flying machine In Amer
ica. NEW TORK Is destined to be the
great air port of the world. The
magnificent harbor, which has attract
ed the ships from all parts of the
world, will serve equally well when we
navigate the air. We will be crossing
the Atlantic Ocean in three or four
years. At first It will be done by some
adventurous sportsman, but as our. air
ships are improved and we grow more
confident and skilled in handling air
ships their practical commercial value
will appear. Some day we will Bee
great airships, after making the trip
from Europe In lncredi'bly short time,
hovering over our harbor and lower
ing their great boat-like baskets or
cabins into the water, while tugs will
bring them alongside the docks to land
their passengers and freight.
The future of the airship, it seems to
me, lies In some improved form of the
dirigible balloon. The development of
this form has been carried further than
in the case of the aeroplane. I am
rather skeptical as to the commercial
value of the aeroplane, at least for a
long time to come. The dirigible bal
loon travels further, and If not as fast
at least with more certainty. The
French and German governments have
accomplished much with their war bal
loons. They will stay aloft hours
where the aeroplane will stay up for
minutes. At the present stage of their
development they are the more prac
tical machine.
The lifting powers of balloons may
be increased indefinitely by building
larger bags. As we learn to control
them better there Is no reason why
they should not be used as commercial
machines. There Is today a very gen
eral terror- of the balloon and aerial
navigation in general, but this will dis
appear largely as the airships become
more familiar. I have made 1280 as
censions and taken up nearly 600 per
sons without serious mishap. In time
aerial navigation will grow safer as In
the case of any other means of loco
motion. The airship is by no means as dan
gerous a vehicle as most people imag
ine. When accidents occur it is usually
due to carelessness or ignorance. Just
as In the case of automobiles. The time
has come when the pilots or naviga
tors of airships should be governed by
explicit laws. I purpose having some
such legislation presented at Albany
this Fall. No one should be allowed
to go up who has not received a pilot's
license and proved his ability as an
engineer. At present a pilot's license
Is granted to any one who has made
10 ascensions, one at night, and has
been passed by two regularly licensed
pilots. I would suggest that the en
gineer on a dirigible or aeroplane be
licensed In the same way.
By Charles M. Manley
Consulting engineer of the Aero
Club of America.
WE are accomplishing more In a
month nowadays in aeronautics
than we did in a year half a decade
ago. The slow, discouraging prelim
inary work Is largely a thing of the
past. Within two years such will be
the progress that there will be from
20 to 30 aeronautic contests a year In
New Tork alone. We will see races In
mid-air, feats In staying aloft for long
periods and similar contests. Such con
tests, by the way, will not take place
over the city of New Tork, for cities
are dangerous localities for aeronauts.
The high buildings are dangerous
snags In such flights, and they create
vortexes of air and other disturbances
of the atmosphere which the mariners
of the air wish to avoid. But we. will
see great fields Just outside, the city set
aside for them. Perhaps our race
tracks will be used for this purpose.
With the present development of the
flying machine two fields are open.
Our airships are valuable In warfare
and In sport. The demand for them In
these two fields is enough to stimulate
their development. Their value in war
is certainly a sufficient incentive for
us to devote our time and our money
to their development. If you ask me
if they will have a practical commer
cial value in five years, I should say no.
Irl 10 years it is very likely they will
be utilised; certainly they will have
a very wide application within the next
20 years. The development of the lo
comotive and the steamboat was slow
er and in Its day more discouraging
than that of the flying machine In our
own day. '
By A. M. Herring
Builder of an aeroplane for the
United States Government.
THE airship has actually arrived; Its
practical utility is assured. It is pos
sible to construct aeroplanes which will
carry two men and will operate within a
radius of 600 miles by following the pres
ent forms. It has come to be largely a
question of expense how large or how
far such airships will travel. I am willing
to contract to build an aeroplane which
will carry 20 people. By utilizing a ma
chine of this size to carry fuel and with
but one or two people as passengers the
radius is greatly increased. It is not
inconceivable that such a machine could
cross the ocean.
I believe that an aeroplane which will
carry 100 peopl6 is already a possibility
with the present form and machinery.
The development of the motor. Its light
ness compared with its weight, is mar
velous. It is now possible to build frames
of extreme lightness which will be strong
enough to support motors and passengers
with safety. Without waiting for new
development or new machinery the aero
plane la already practical commercially.
It will soon enjoy wide popularity among
sportsmen. The sensation of riding on
an aeroplane is one oi tne musi exim
arating in the world. The airship has al
ready been taken up by the military ex
perts all over the world, and its develop
ment 1b certain to be very rapid. Within
a few years we will see the aeroplane
serving as a carrier for the mails and for
lighter freight for considerable distances.
The frame of an aeroplane Is one of the
most remarkable achievements of modern
mechanics. Its lightness and strength, its
adaptability to the strains it encounters
and Its elasticity are marvelous. The best
frames today are made or .steei. Alumi
num has been tried, but it has not proved
satisfactory. It has but one-third the
Btrength of steel with equal weights. The
layman in such matters does not realize
how far we have progressed in these con
structions. As one becomes more familiar
with what has actually been accom
plished his faith in flying machines will
be increased to confidence.
By Israel Ludlow
Inventor of an aeroplane, member
Aero Club.
THE arrival of Henry Farman In
this country with his aeroplane
provides an opportunity to see a
mechanical contrivance which will ulti
mately take a place similar to the auto
mobile runabout of today. I mean to
say that the aeroplane will In time be
a popular vehicle for one or two persons
for cross-country riding. A few feet
above the ground they will speed at a
rate between 30 and 40 miles an hour,
and In an air line direction take their
course, hurdling trees and houses in the
way; and either certain broad streets
running in the four directions will ba
given up to them or large open spaces
will be provided as landing places.
They will be as cheap as motorcycles
and as economical in their upkeep. They
will either have wheels on which to
make preliminary runs on the ground in
starting and stopping, or some aviators
by a quick run against the wind or a
Jump from a slight elevation will get
away on their flight There will always
be a spice of danger In their use. which
will prevent the owner either issuing or
having his Invitations to fly with him
generally accepted.
The fact that the aeroplane has so far
made but a partial success does not
discourage any inventor or deprive it of
Intense attractiveness. Most of us look
upon the early models of locomotive,
steamboat and automobile with some
thing of awe; and now with prophetic
vision we may dream the future as we
gaze upon Farman's machine. Its at
tractiveness would be destroyed if one
had not a belief In Its coming feats and
Judged Its performance by the standard
of a sensational balloon ascent or a
parachute drop.
Suppose the aeroplane s flight is only
a few hundred yards, the fact that there
Is a flight at all proves that man has en
tered the bird's domain with a heavier-than-air
flying machine. Since, through
mechanical aid. he has beaten in speed
and endurance the animal on land and
the fish In the sea, may he not hope for
rivalry with the winged flyers in the
sky?
The Incentive of the posibillty of most
extraordinary flights with the aeroplane
Is held out by Nature's examples; for
If the most clumsy flying bird were in
creased In else until it was as large
and heavy as an aeroplane and man. It
could keep afloat in the air by the ex
ercise of less than two horsepower,
and many birds could soar without the
expenditure of apparently any energy.
See what it will mean If a motor of
approximately two horse power and a
few yards of canvas will make a suc
cessful aeroplane. Why. even the ho
boes will have their flying machines
and will in season flit from shady bower
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to grassy lawn and beg of the Salvation
Army piston rings Instead of shoes; or
at the country farmhouse ask at the
back door for a little bit of gasoline
and the poet's dream, "Oh, for the wings
of a dove." will come true.
The crux of the problem of the Im
provement of the aeroplane, although the
reliable operation of the motor is im
portant, is that of equilibrium. T would
suggest three changes in the Farman
aeroplane, not in the sense tn depreciate
It or his exceptionally creditable achieve
ment, but In response to your request
to state what I think about the aero
plane and because a discussion of the
merits .of any design is of extreme In
terest to those studying aerial naviga
tion. First If the propeller were placed In
front and drew the aeroplane, instead of
in the rear where It pushes, the change
would be a factor which would tend to
increase the aeroplane's equilibrium. An
analogous example of the difficulty of
pushing may be found by holding the
shafts of a wagon and running it back
ward or by taking a strip of cardboard
by the rear end and balancing it when
pushing it forward on a horizontal line.
Any variation of the balance results in
an ever increasing tendency to upset.
When holding the cardboard by the front
end it balances itself, its angle of in
clination rising and falling automatically
with the variations in speed. The axis
of this forward propeller should be placed
so that backward draft of air created
by its revolutions would Impinge up
wardly on the aeroplane's supporting sur-
faces at a slight angle to increase the
resultant uplift. Proper application of
power is a great saving of energy.
Second If two horizontal rudders, In
dividually movable at the will of the
operator, each one much smaller than
the present front horizontal rudder of the
Farman aeroplane, which should be done
away with, were placed in the front and!
to the right and left near the outer tips
of the supporting surfaces, they would
answer to raise and lower the aeroplane
and In addition could restore the aero
plane's balance In the event of a sldewise
tilt when In flight. If these balancing
rudders were placed upon a slight dihe
dral angle, it would increase their effi
ciency, as In the event of a lateral tilt
the rudder on the side which was down
would be in a more or leess horizontal
position and able to exert a maximum
force.
At present the lateral balance of Far
man's aeroplane is controlled by a slight
ly curved dihedral angle in the support
ing surfaces. This is not sufficient to
counteract even the vagaries of a slight
breeze or the -tilt which is the natural
result of a somewhat sharp change in
the direction of flisrht.
Third The boxlike tnll should be
placed further to the rear. The great
fault of all aeroplanes is their lack of
longitudinal equilibrium. All have great
tendency to make headlong dives. To
counteract this, nerve racking attention
Is necessary in the manipulation of the
front horizontal rudder. Placing the box
like tail further to the rear Increases
the leverage against a diving movement.
I believe in a new aeroplane now build
ing in France M. Farman has increased
the ratio of the length of the aeroplane
to Its width, and that M. Bieriot's new
monoplane recently successfully tried has
a length from front to rear greater than
Its width.
My own aeroplane, which was borne in
high winds as a man carrying a kite
with an automobile and tug boat to tow,
and was developed to meet those condi
tions, I regard as superior to Farman's
and I only regret that financial reasons
have prevented my placing a suitable
motor in it.
By Allen R. Hawley
Acting president Aero Club of
America.
LESS than a decade ago I attended
an automobile run from the Wal
dorf to Clairmont and return, when
only seven out of 40 cars finished. To
day a car runs from New Tork to
Paris. A similar advance In aeronaut
ics would revolutionize transportation.
It is only a few years since the flying
machine men could travel In but one
direction, and that was straight down
ward. Today, they can travel for
miles. The situation speaks for Itself.
Publio Interest In flying Is gener
ally aroused and confidence In them
machines will soon follow. Thou
sands of people are watching these
experiments, who are ready to change
their automobiles for aeroplanes as soon
as the sport becomes a trifle more famil
iar. In Paris hundreds of people motor
out to watch the tests regularly. In a
year or two these same people will be op
erating their own machines. The situ
ation is the same In America.
At first .flying will be a sport, but its
commercial value will come later. In
warfare, in science. Its utility is already
assured. I believe it may solve the North
Pole problem. Meanwhile a great many
people are only waiting for the airship
to become more familiar, to have their
confidence a little strengthened, and we
will see the airship relatively as common
as automobiles.
By Capt. Thos. S. Baldwin
Builder of the dirigible balloon for
Government tests.
T" HE Kreat future of the airship
I lies in transportation both for
passengers and merchandise. Use in
war It will have. Just as the telegraph
and the railroad have had, but the
great development of the airship will
be for commercial purposes and to
utilize the one free highway of the
earth. The air Is free for us all, and
It's going to be conquered with the
boat and the railway.
"How long? I cannot tell. No one
(Concluded on Page 11.)