Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1873-08-29
THE ART OF FLYING.

THE idea of aerial navigation In some
fOrms is almost as old as the human race
The imagination of the early tribes of
mankind teemed with images of gods and
demi.gods flying through space The
classic divinities of Greece and Rome
were ever and anon upon the wing, and
our later epics, like paradise Lost" have
borrowed this form of locomotion for
angels and other beings, who are depicted
with poetic license, winging their way
between heaven and earth, or between
earth and the lower abyss. Considering
how many ages it is that the idea of fly
ing through the air has been familiarized
TO the human mind, and how prodigious
is the advantage in rapidity Of transit
welded by the feathered tribes, it seems
singular that no well-authentcated use of
the principle of aeronautics can be traced
before the year 1884, and still more singu-
lar that the spirit of scientific research
and invention has made little or no ad
vance on the first rude conception of the
balloon, as ii came from the experiments
of the Frenchman, MOntgolfer.
The first scientific statement of the
principle which lies at the basis of aero
nautcs, .. e., atmospheric buoyancy ap.
pears to be found in the writings of Roger
Bacon, the admirable doctor' of the
thirteenth century. This great scholar,
grasped the elements of many scientific
truths not developed for centuries after
his death, assumed that the atmosphere
was substance of some consistency
which could float any material lighter
than itself. He also describes with clear.
ness a scheme for navigating the air bv
the help of large hollow globe, wrought
extremely thin and filed with "ethereal
ar or liquid ire" This globe, he pro-
ceeds, might be launched from some ele.
Vated point into the atmosphere, where it
would hoat like vessel on the water.
Bacon even went farther, and maintained
that there may be made some flying in
struments, so that man sitting in the
middle of the instrument, and turning
some mechanism, may put in motion
some Artificial wings, which may beat the
air Ike bird flying"
1t does not appear that Roger Bacon
ever came near realizing these notions of
aerial lOcomotion by positive experiment.
John wilkins, Bishop of Chester, man
OF learning, whose science is everywhere
overlaid with fantastical notions and base
less superstitiOns, was the next notable
writer upon the art of flying His period
was the middle of the seventeenth cen
tury. In his treatise on Mechanical
Motion" he has a chapter on the art OF
lying by the aid of wings, which he fan
cied might be moved back and forth by
the operation of powerful, yet light,
springs, similar to those used in watches.
How full of absurdity were the concep-
tions held by Bishop Wilkins on the sub
ject may be gathered by the following
four different plans by which, he says fly
ing in the air might be attempted :
Firstly, by spirits or angels; secondly,
by the help of fowls; thirdly, by wings
fastened Immediately to the body; and,
fourthly by flying chariot" Those who
have maintained that Bishop Wilkins was
the discOverer of the art of flying overlook
the fact that all which is not near fantasy
IN his book was clearly foreshadowed,
and even expressed, by Roger Bacon cen
turies before.
Francis Lana, a Jesuit, put forth in 1870
a theory of navigating the air in a boat
sustained by four hollow globes of thin
copper, each twenty feet in diameter, and
exhausted of air. This almost precisely
pretigures Professor Wise's scheme, eX-
cept as to the material of the balloons and
the means of creating buoyancy.
The flying apparatus of the Frenchman
Besnier, in 1878, and of the friar De Guz-
man, in 1909, were nothing more than
mechanical contrivances to create sub.
stitute for wings. The latter provided the
motive power for his flying man by pair
VI ONiIOho' luiS II dlOtlCI vi lllC com
pleX schemes based upon the unfounded
notion that thing can lift itself up.
In 100 appeared Joseph Gallien's trea
tise entitled, ~ Art de Ndgiger ddaSles
airs" setting forth the theory that bag
filled with any substance lighter than the
atmosphere would enable anyone to flOat
on an aerial voyage. But none of the nu
merous theorists who wrote upon this fas
cinating subject prior to 1882 ever got be
yond theory, 1t was reserved for the
brothers Montgolfier, not only to make tn,
first balloon which would rise by its owl
levity in the atmosphere, but also to etlec
the first aerial transit with human passen
gers. Their primary experiment wa
based upon the idea that light paper bal
would float, if filled with smoke or no
y air, lighter than the surrounding atmOs
INphere Accordingly they made bag a
= hrst of an oblOng shape, and containing
only forty cubic feet To the lower par
of this bag, containing an orice, they ap
piled burning paper, and soon had tn
satisfaction of seeing the bag float upwarC
TO the ceiling of the room in which the ex
pertinent was performed.
This was at Avignon, in November
l1o2. Encouraged by the success of thi
hrst simple test, the brothers constructed
an envelope of about 600 cubic feet and o
aspherical shape, which, being inflated a
before, rose in the open air to the heigh
of 600 or 200 feet This was the first bal
loon (French ballOn, from the round
shortnecked vessel of that name used il
chemistry, and il demonstrated a
once the entire feasibility of con
structing a machine that would fly
and the fact that the larger the receptacle
of heated air was made, the higher i
would ascend. Public experiments fol
lowed with larger balloons. The new ar
was hailed with acclamations by some
with skepticism and superstitious dreaC
by others. The Paris Academy of Sci
ences took up the invention, and supplieC
the means for extending the experiment
with the new principle still farther, Ii
September 1888, a large balloon, seventy
two feet high, by forty.one in diameter
was constructed, which weighed 1,00l
pounds A basket of wicker-work wa
fastened to it, and with three living ami
mails, sheep cock and duck, the ma
chine was sent up in the presence of thu
King and royal family, and a vast con
course of people, at Versailles 1t rost
about 900 feet, and descended with IN,
animals in safety.
Next NJ De Rozier volunteered TO o,
up in u balloon. He tirst made ascension