The Muskogee Cimeter. (Muskogee, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 36, Ed. 1, Friday, June 19, 1908 Page: 7 of 8
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HAVE LONG SOUGHT
MASTERY OF AIR
Ambitious Minds Would Con-
trol Only Element That
Has Defied Man
Now It Is Thought That the Aero-
plane Devised by Wright Brothers
May at Least Point the Way to
Success -Could Laugh at Vessels
of War.
NEW YORK. Those reti-
'cont and Intensely ab-
Borbod westerners the
Wright brothers of Day-
ton O. appoar to have
at laat conquered the ele-
ments which have bo long bailled the
Ingenuity of man and aerial naviga-
tion bo long regarded as a fascinating
absurdity now seems to be vory much
of a practical reality sayB a writer in
the New York Times.
Aside from the- triumph of tho long
and apparently easily controlled flight
the moBt important item contained in
the news dispatches from Mantou N.
C whore tho brothers have been con-
ducting their experiments is tho state-
ment that the aeroplane not only car-
ried both men but carried them in a
sitting position. The earlier aeroplane
of these Inventors carried but one
aviator and it was necessary for him
to be prone upon his stomach.
Tho significance of the statement lies
in the apparent fact that the inventors
have at last succeeded in ovorcoming
the real problem of mechanical flight
the problem of equilibrium. Aero-
planes that would support their opera-
tors have previously boon tested. En-
gines of sufllcient lightness to propel
them through the air at a sufllcient
apeed and to carry their own weight
and that of the operators havo also
been successfully tried. There havo
been plenty of aeroplanes that would
fly in Btlll air. Tho one needful essen-
tial and undiscovered thing was an
alrBhlp that would not capalzo when
tho wind was blowing.
Writing in a recent issue of Mc-
Cluro's Magazine George Kibbo Turn-
er quotes tho Wright brothers as as-
serting that no one who had not nav-
igated the air can appreciate the real
.dlttlculty of mechanical flight that
rtho great problem tho problem of
'equilibrium never occurs to any one
who has not actually tried flying.
Thus tho real question of tho flying
machine 1b how to keep it from turn-
lug over.
Air In Constant Turmoil.
"Tho chief trouble" tho brothers ex-
plained "13 tho turmoil of tho air.
The common impression is that tho
atmosphere runs in comparatively reg-
ular currents which wo call winds.
No one who has not been thrown about
on a gliding aeroplane rising or fall-
ing ten 20 or oven 30 feet In a fow
Beconds can understand how utterly
wrong this Idea Is. Tho air along
tho surface- of the earth as a
matter of fact 1b continually churn-
ing. It Is thrown upward from every
Irregularity Hko sea breakers on a
coast line; every hill and tree and
.building sends up a wave or slanting
.current. And it moves not directly
Iback and forth upon its coast lino
Jike the sea but in whirling rotary
masses Borne of these rise up hun
dreds of yards. In a fairly strong
wind the air near the earth is more
disturbed than the whirlpools of Ni-
agara. "The problem of mechanical flight
Is how to balance In this moving fluid
which supports the Hying machine; or
technically speaking how to make the
center of gravity coincide with the
center of air-pressure. Tho wind often
veers several times a socond quicker
than thought and tho center of pres-
sure changes with it. It is as diffi-
cult to follow this center of pressure
as to keep your linger on tho flicker-
ing blot of light from a prism swing-
ing in the sun.
"It has been -tho common aim of
experimenters with the aeroplane to
solve the problom of equilibrium by
some automatic system of balancing.
Wo believe that the control should be
left to tho operator. The sense of equi-
librium Is very delicate and certain.
If you lie upon a bed throe-quarters of
an Inch out of true you know it at
once. And this sense of equilibrium Is
just as reliable a mile above the earth
as It is on it.
"The management of our aeroplane
like that of the bicycle Is based upon
tho sense of equilibrium of the opera-
tor. The mechanism for preserving
tho balanco of the machine consists of
levers operated by simple uniform
movements which readjust the flying
surfaces of the machine to tho air.
The movement of those levers very
soon bocomes automatic with the avi
ator as does the balancing of a bicy-
cle rider and simpler to operate than
a bicycle. In fact the aoroplano Is
easier to learn. In all our experiments
with gilding and flying machines we
have not even sprained a limb; we
havo scarcely scratched our flesh."
Fatalities Among Inventors.
But If those two experimenters havo
had Immunity from mishap their pro-
docessorB havo not. Among the first
to undortako the task of demonstrat-
ing that a mechanical flying machine
is possible was Otto Lllllenthal a Ger-
man mechanical engineer. He mado a
study of the flight of birds und event-
ually concluded that vory little was
known of the laws which govern tho
flight of the feathered tribe. He be-
gan experimenting In 1801 using wings
constructed Hko those of soaring birds.
Equipped with theso ho sailed down
hill sides into valleys. After a series
of more than 2000 flights one of his
wlngB gave way one day and In his
tumble to earth he dislocated his spine
and died tho following day.
That was in 189G. Three years later
an Englishman Percy S. Pllcher be-
gan experimenting along tho same
line. He had essayed only a fow flights
when ono of his wings broke and he
sustained Injuries which caused his
death a few days later.
On thiB side of the A tl emtio Prof.
3. P. Langloy conducted Borne notablo
experiments fashioning in 1800 a
small Bteam-drlvon aoroplane which
made a flight of throe-quartors of a
mile. In the same yoar Chanuto of
Chicago constructed a glldiig ma-
chlno which attracted some attention.
Four years later the Wright brothors
two young bicycle makorB of Dayton
began experimenting.
It was not long before their offorta
bogan to attract attention. But they
sedulously avoided notoriety kept
their own counsel and dovotod them-
bcIvcb to the task of solving the prob-
lom of mechanical flight. Mr. Tumor
howover gained their confidence and
thus describes them: "Two lean
quiet men In a dingy commonplace
little brick bicycle shop; pleasant un-
assuming most approachable but
shy and silent under the oppression
of the greatest secret of the time. Or-
ville of the more social and conversa
tional temperament did tho greater
share of tho talking an amiable kind
ly-facod man of 35. Wilbur prema-
turely bald about 40 with the watch-
ful eyes marked facial lines and dry
brief speech of a naturally reticent
man."
Their New Method.
To quote his account of what tho
brothers told him Just prior to their
going abroad last year for the demon-
stration of their machines beforo for-
eign war dopartmontB:
"We had worked out a now method
of practice with gilding machines"
they explained. "Lllllenthal and Cha-
nuto had obtained their experience In
flying with tho operator's launching
himself from a hill and gliding down
on to lower land. This Involved car-
rying back their apparatus after a
short flight to tho top of tho hill
again. Because of tho difllcultles of
this awkward method although Lll-
llenthal had mado over 2000 flights
we calculated that In all his five years
of experiment ho could not have been
actually practicing flying more than
five hours far too short for the ordi-
nary man to learn to rldo a bicycle.
It was our plan to follow tho example
of soaring birds and find a place
where we could ho supported by
strong rising winds.
"A bird Is really an aeroplane. Tho
portions of Its wings near tho 'body
are used as planes of support while
the more lloxlblo parts outside when
flapped act as propellers. Some of tho
soaring birds are not much more than
animated sailing machines. A buzzard
can be safely kept In an open pen 30
feet across and ten feet high. Ho
cannot fly out of It. In fact wo know
from observation mado by ourselves
that he cannot fly for any distance up
a grade of ono to six.
"Yet theso birds sailing through the
air are among the commonest sights
through a great section of tho country.
Every one who haB been outdoors has
seen a buzzard or hawk soaring;
every ono who has been at sea has
seen the gulls sailing after a steam-
ship for hundreds of miles with scarce-
ly a movement of the wings. All of
those birds are doing the samo thing
they are balancing on rising cur-
rents of air. The buzzards and hawks
find tho currents blowing upward off
the land; tho gulls that follow tho
steamora from New York to Florida
are merely sliding down hill a thou-
sand miles on rising currents in tho
wake of the steamer In the atmos-
phero and on the hot air rising from
her smokestacks."
Think Great Speed Possible.
Tho brothers believe that tho event-
ual speed of tho aeroplane will bo
easily U0 miles an hour and may be
forced up to 100 miles. "Our experi-
ments havo shown" they Baid "that
u flier designed to carry an aggregate
of 745 pounds at 20 miles an hour
would require only elcht horsepower
and at 30 miles an hour 12 horse-
power. At GO miles 21 horsopowor
would be needed and at 120 miles GO
or 75 horBopower. It la cloar that
there is a certain point of speed be-
yond which tho air resistance makes
It impossible to go. Just what that Is
oxporlmont will dotormine. Every
year gas engines aro bolng mado
lighter a fact which will lncroaso tho
surplus carrying power of the machlno
avallablo for fuel and oporator and
heavier construction but at preseitt
GO miles an hour can be countod on
for tho flying machlno. ThlB of
course meaiiB speed through the
air.
"Tho aoroplane running GO miles an
hour will have surplus lifting powor
enough to carry fuel for long Jour-
noys. Our 1907 machlno will carry
gasoline enough to fly 500 iuIIob at a
rato of sonio 50 miles an hour. Wo
can and possibly soon will mako n
one-man machlno carrying gasolluo
enough to go 1000 miles at 40 miles
an hour. Moreover any Machlno mado
to movo nt spoeds up to GO miles au
hour can bo operated economically at
a cost of not much over ono cent a
nillo for gasoline.
"Thero Is no question that a man
can make a lighter and moro elllclent
wing than a bird's. A cloth surfaco
for Instance can bo producod offer-
ing less surfaco friction than feathers.
Tho reason for this fact Is that a
bird's wing is really a compromise.
It Is not mado for flying only- it must
bo folded up and got out of thu way
when the bird Ib on its feot and elll-
ciency in flying must bo sacrificed to
permit this. Tho wings of aeroplanes
will vary in bIzo according to spood.
A slow machine will require a largo
wing but tho faster the speed tho Iobb
will bo tho supporting surfaco noc-
essary and wings for high speeds will
naturally bo vory small. Not only will
less support bo needed but tho slzo-
must ho reduced to reduce tho fric-
tion of tho air."
To the same writer tho brothers
mado tho interesting statement that
they did not expoct tho aeroplane ever
to displaco tho railroad or tho steam-
boat. They predict that ItB chief
valuo will bo In war time when it
may bo employed for dropping explo-
sives upon an enemy or for recon-
nolterlng purposos. In this connec-
tion may be added tho fact that tho
navy department has planned an ex-
tonslvo series of experiments with
dirigibles tho purpose being to dis-
cover their availability for war usage.
Those who advocate tho omployment
of these machines point out tho fact
that flying machines sailing over a
lloet aro immuno from any attack
save that of small arm fire and that
they could attain a height bo great a
to be out of range from these smaller
weapons. Thero Is no typo of larger
gun now carried on shipboard that la
capable of such oxtreme elevation. Of
courBe it would bo easily possible to
construct a gun mount that would per-
mit of high angle or even vertical
fire but the question Is asked how
would you bo able to hit ono of theso
small targets sailing so high in air?
When llrlng at a floating target any
error of sighting can bo detected by
the splash of the shell. But how 1b u
gun-pointer to tell where bis shells
are going when he Is firing upward
into the air?
First Year of Marriage.
From a domestic management point
of view the young wifo'B flrst year Is
her hardest sayB a writer. She has so
much to learn and unlearn. It takos
time to discover which are the most
trustworthy and economical storokoop-
oib In the district. Some shopkeep-
ers take advantage of a bride's Inex-
perience others aro kindly and give
many helping hints.
Every Man a Sculptor.
Every ma la the builder of a torn-
pie called his body to the God ho wor-
ships after a stylo puroly his own nor
can he get off by hammering marblo
Instead. Wo aro all Bculptors and
painters and our material Is our own
flesh and blood and bones. Any noble-
ness begins at once to refine a man's
features any meanness or sensuality
to Imbruto them. Thoreau.
Thero is r.o use running
out In time Is the main polnt.-
tuluo. To sot
-LaFoR.
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Twine, W. H. The Muskogee Cimeter. (Muskogee, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 36, Ed. 1, Friday, June 19, 1908, newspaper, June 19, 1908; Muskogee, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc70106/m1/7/: accessed May 5, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.