The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-03-31 00:00:00

THE AERIAL STEAM CARRIAGE.

(From the Times,)
Whew It was announced some time ago, b the ordinary
neentbly listssof patents granted, that Mr Henson had •
vepted a machine capable of conveyinc, despatchesin-
wagers through the air, the genera['' . and
irn ressi,
some moody and enthusiastic rojejtuorrrwPas aoout to ex..
the produce of his day dreams. e.athdrsrsismitalyt,rutthhernto
fore, be somewhat surprised to learn that
visionary scheme, but a design of very scientific conception,
carefully and perseveringly wrought out. It would perhaps
be too much to affirm (what yet we cannot deny) that the
machine in its present state will certainly succeed; but the
boat which can be said is, that the to
fully removed the difficulties whichinhvaevnehrithhtas most skil-
•rto debarred
ossthursession of the long coveted faculty of flight, and
. de its eventual, perhaps early, attainment a matter of
little less than certaint
Y.
want former attempts of this kind have failed through' the
source of power whose energy bore a sufficiently
MO ratio to the weight of the requisite machinery. Could
this source of power have been found, there was ingenuity
enOugh to turn it to the desired account. Mr. Henson, in
overcoming this difficulty, has first divided it. To set a ma_
chips ageing, and • !
_...:._ g, a bring it up to a given velocity, is one
Liman g; to maintain that velocity against opposing forces, is
0 . .. Now, is the case before us the power necessary for
sttie Sight.
is much greater than that required for maintaining
site night. Mr. Henson. therefore, starts his atrial car-
ruige by means of an apparatus which he does. n
notd carry
with him, and then embarks only the smaller powertaheo lr
ii gg bi
nt ea ri
in achinery, which are sufficient for keeping up
velocity. .
_ Bat even this happy device would not have succeeded if
the inventor had not also effected an extraordinary reduction
la the weight of his steam-engine. Our engineering readers
Tri,ll be somewhat suurprised to learn that the engine of 20
eee, ' power now in preparation for the aerial carriage weighs
wnh its condenser and requisite water but 6001 b. To the
+Ailed effect of these different branches of this important
making
in-
vention must we attribute our present prospect o
00Lpeths in the air.
we Proceed now to describe the machine itself, and its
node of fright. Its car, enclosed on all
steani-engi sides, and
ne,n is cotainsus-
ing
the Passengers, managers, burden, and
pended to the middle of a fraraework, which is so constructed
adle combine great strength with extreme lightness, and is
cowered with any woven texture which is moderately light
and close. This main frame or expanded surface, which
is 150 feet long by 30 feet wide, serves in the ms
and ost important
respects as wings ;:yet it is perfectly jointles w
.vtDratory motion. .Lt advances through the air with one of
its long sides foremost and a little elevated. To the middle
of the other long side is joined the tail, of 50 feet in length,
he4eath which is the rudder. These important appendages
efeCtualiy control the flight as to the elevation and direction,
and arc governed by cords proceeding from the car. Situated
at the back edge of the main frame are two sets o
ff vanes
or
I"PeUers• of 20 feet in diameter, driven y he steam
entehave already said that the velocity of
its f the machine i 3
imPutedat its starting. This isbeing made
: during the descent the cOver-
t°4ollCend an inclined plane
cover-
big ofthe wings is reefed, but before the machine reaches the
bottom that covering is rapidly spread : by this time the ye-
ity acquired by the descent is so great that the resistance
Pr aced by the oblique impact of the sloping under surface
°filo wings on the air is sufficient to sustain the entire weight
of the machine, just as brisk as wind upholds a kite. But
while the pneumatic resistance thus procured by the velociiy
• prevents the falling of the carriage, it opposes also its forward
aller
ht. To overcome this hitter and sm resistance is the
eo of the steam-engine.
The chief peculiarities of this important member of the
are the respective constructions of its boiler and
der. The former consists
of hollow inverted truncated
cotes, arranged above and around the furn
ord' ace • th
square
ey are
*boat SO in number, and large enough to aff 100
feet of evaporating surface, of which half is expd' maltodiating heat. The condenser is• an assemblage ofl pipes
:Lased to the stream of air produced by the flight' of the
lee. It is found to produce a vacuu of from 51b. /0
lib- to the sqpare inch. The steam employeds- in twO
4111114ers, and is cut off at one-fourth of the • stroke. Our
• datinee,„_ ring residers will be able to gather from these particu-
sant that the steam-engine is of about twenty horse.powee,
sePPourhag the evaporating power of the boiler to be equal,
foot int foot, to that of the locomotive steam-engine.
Less certain is the determination of the resistance to be
~come, Mechanical science is notoriously defective in all
tblit. t'e*te.s to the oblique impact •of solids and fluids, and ili
Wirtieetarly so on the points involved in this subject. Exr
Septa do not supply.the-.lack 'of sounci theorr; for, not
- their ppose. been to ascertain the effects of large
*al tainact to the neglect of the *rifler ones here con-
Lettlelit, the objects, of the experimenters (Robins, lint.
, c) have always required the to
of
the rag tince In the direction of the moving body, to the
..
Of that which is perpendicular to that direction
=totheir effects are so intimately connected that one
wisfibetbe determined without first knoviing the other; -and
Otthat which is to be first known—viz., that which supports
th• vehicle—we have no information on which the smallest
relhoefratn be' placed. Mr. Henson, we understand, has
iernaed hia.conclasions from the best observations he could
1116"1 the night of birds, and we think he has done wisely.
Wean informed, however, that the resources of mechanical
rtr mils bo no means exhausted by the present construction
ahlawir"".lll2lll's engine' and that recent inventions are avail-
s:- welter.w"""` its power may be doubled with little increase
..,,...
Thu sales of the sustaining surface will be, we understand,
riot iesw than 4500 square feet; the weight to be sustained,
issileibig the carriage and its total burden, is estimated at
3000 lb. The load is said to be considerably less per square
foot titan that of many birds. It may assist the conceptions
rif *sr non-mechanical readers to add that the general ap-
pearance of the machine is that of a gigantic bird with
stationery wings; that the mechanical principles concerned
its ire support are strongly exemplified in the case of a kite
MPS glat its progress is maintained by an application of
=lke that which propels a steam-boat. In the ope-
_,___o( mature, particularly in the flight of birds, will be
*sib .laßr 'tithing illustrations of the principles on which
Tiatarhes dd proce
Willitirftrin —IIIIIY, be thee eina.mediate issue ,of the resent at-
-44.. =ink it isimpossible not to award to the inventor
.a,,_,_er#it due to the removal of the great difficulties
Mr......., _rya_ nattiest° defeated all similar inventions ; nor do
21krisT, that in following out the path he has opened, Como
j' be..Willi eventually be obtained : whether that sue-
be delayed ail__Tish, early and entire, or whether it will
pasiadie resisitten:eual, depends on the facts as to oblique
lek haisitver, hi , which-have yet to be ascertained. It
107 tud cieerfoitene- to consider in the spirit of careful int-
ssoeld, mad pantican,
which
will be the changes, commercia ,
11"61 ,Will noccesam EF the possession of this new-born
ybring about.

PLAresta or IN-Intimenes.—The following is the title 0..
the bill that has just been introduced into the House of
Commons :—" An Act to repeal part of an Act of the 10th
George 11., to explain and amend so much of an Act made
in the 12th Queen Anne, entitled,nds, Sturdy 4 An Act for reducing the
relating to Rogues, Vagaho Beggarti, and
Vagrants, into one Act of Parliament, and for the more effectual punishing such Hoguei, Vagabonds, Sturdy Beggars,
and vagrants, and sending them wither they ought to be
asist,- as senates to Common a ~,a i yers of ' Interludes,' and to
make other provisions in lieu thereof." The bill stands for
eenond reading on Wednesday, the sth April.
Celeecit RATiss.—The London 7'imes has the following
observations on the subject of Sir H. J. Fust's decision in
the Braintree church-rate case :—" It seems to us, looking
, that although an assessment
at the question abstractedl
levied by a minority upon aymajority is certainly anomalous
asid inconsistent with our general practice and received
motions, yet at the same time, in the present state of our
ouelesiastical code, the impotence of its mandates, and the
feebleness of its penalties, the common law of England
would be disposed to regard such an assessment as legal.
AU the text-books as uniformly agree in defining the powers
0( cis hwardens to impose rates for repairing churches
1* requiring the separation of the churches. They enjoin,
indeed, that ' the majority of those that appear shall bind
tips porta ,
' h •' but then they add—' If none appear, the church-
and not
wardens alone may make the rate, because they,
tist parishioners, are to .
be cited and punished, in defect of
3 Thus we have it laid down
repairs.' ( I Bac. Abrid., 3°
l)the •
—first, that it is the duty o parishioners to keep the
Perish church in repair; 'second,.that it is the wardens to
mete rates, together with the parphioners assembled in the
church ; third,
lit be argued
wauts the
that if the parisbioneres dseolvneos.t attend,Now. thewe
'wardens may make the rates by
.th M
alto-
think, that from these premises it mig not
gether unsuccessfully, that when a churc
absolutely going to ruin for want of repairand the ntaigejtY
of the parishioners refuse to subscribe towards defraying tll!
elan of that reparation—then the wardens may make
, ta
• • rata with the concurrence of the minority preseon
..
And. although we know perfectly well how little weight
ought to be attached to the obiter dicta of Judges, still we
oeanot help thinking that this opinion would be viewed
favourably by some, and those not the least learned, on the
1)**0. Chief Justice Tindal, when delivering
the judgment
of the Court in Error in the rst Braintree case, expressly
said—' The repair of the fabricfi
of the church is a duty which
the parishioners may be compelled to perform; the law is
imperative upon them absolutely that they do repair the
okarch ; not binding them in a qualified manner, lo that they
may repair or not, as they think tit.' The decision, then, of
Sir N. Fast is in accordance with the only precedent known
to the Ecclesiastical Courts, with the dictum of Sit N.
Tie A. with the spirit of the common law. But that it will
stand unquestioned, or unassailed, we neither hope nor
expect. That it may be brought before the Queen's Bench
or the Privy Council is our most hearty desirie; for no time
should be lost in establishing a general, intelligible, and
efficient rule as to the obligation by which all people of all.
parishes are bound to maintain their churches in a decent
and seemly state of repair.