The daily gazette., 1883-02-14
S5Alln 1G@etle
wLMrxGros. WEDNESDAY,. FEE. "a.
Aerial Navigation.


Aerial navigation has broken out afresI
and recent invention by a "Professol
Baranowskf' Of st. Petersburg, Russia
has set all the other inventors Of flying
machines sgog with excitement The Ap
paratus, description Of which we extrac
from the RegEe ARpGire consists Of a grea
cylinder intended TO have the form Of
gigantic bird. The Interior is provided with
steam machinery, having a power proper.
toned to the size Of the apparatus, with
space for working the same; IL has
two lateral propeIlers, and one rear pro
pelier and their rotation determines the
direction Of the machine, whether It shall
be vertical or horizontal at one extremity
of the cylinders Is seen a species OF oar
which serves as 3 rudder; two great wings,
composed Of strong membranes, give an
ascending motion 70 the apparatus, and
keep 1t afoat in the air; the part
which represents the beak Of the
bird Is 80 arranged as to per
NIT the entrance Of air 70 the In
terror Of the cylinder, 10 supply the crew
and for the combustion Of the fuel; the
NAASteNs EhENEf anu 5Ahdll lreIE lFOul tue Gnu
which, when the structure passes through
space, VIII give the appearance of the tail Of
a brilliant comet. From the uuderside
hangs pendulum weight that keeps the
apparatus in proper equilibrium.
In respect 70 the general problem OF aerial
navigation by flying machines, the Engineer
Of London, makes the following observa-
tioDs
Il may be urged that there IS nothing
mysterious about wing motion, and a simple
up and down Tapping will at least suffice to
raise bird IN the air. why should not men
fyl The answer IL that they are not strong
enough. If We consider bi-is as machines.
we eee iu the arss place that they
are ali comparatively small. There Is no
bird Of fight when weighs as much as even
a very light man; but thrre are mary birds
which are far stronger than men. TIE
Glbatross is, we believe, the iargest-we do
not mean the heaviest-bir1 Of AlghtIn exis-
tence. Its wings measure sometimes as
much as l3 feet from tip to tip, but the
total weight Of the bird seldom, if ever, ex-
eeeds % pounds, or one-sixth that of
powerful man. But the albatross can keep
its wings in motion for whole day, while
the strongest man would be exhausted If he
had 70 keep beating the air with them for
half an hour.
great deal has been written from time
TO time about the effect Of the wind on in
cilned planes in keeping birds afoat in the
air. Those who have a competent knowl-
edge of the laws Of dynamics are, however,
aware that the inclined plane action cannot
alone keep bird from falling to the ground.
The action Is at best just that Of the wind on
kite; and the equivalent Of the string must
be provided or the bird will be carried away,
just as the kite is when the string breaks.
Birds, when sailing, are either going with
the wind or are using up momen Jun
acquired by previous rapid motion.
The work done by the bird will
vary continually; but it is strictly analogous
to that Of a swimmer, who carrying a lead,
has to keep himself afoat by his own ex-
ertlons. There IS no way ont Of this. Moth
ing Is got from the air in TIE way Of help,
save when upward currents strike the iyino
bird; and that such currents exist, every
bridge lifted in gale well knows
1t Is simply for lack of muscular power
that man can not fly. There is no
combination Of wings or arrangements
of any kind yet discovered which will com
pensate for this fact. Whether man can
produce q machine to supplement his own
want Of force remains 10 be seen. Such a
motor cannot, we think, be driven by steam
1t Is, however, not impossible that ma
chine might be made to fly by means Of
small electric motor run at a very high
speed and worked by the aid Of couple Of
wires from the ground, but this would
hardly be flying 10 the true sense of the
word. That wings and such like things
can be made we have no doubt,
and experiments enough have been made TO
prove that if sufficient power be available,
flight can be achieved. There "a no telling
what the future may bring forth, and this
Russian professor may possibly have hit
upon tbs true principle for a flying machine