Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-03-30

and it would be strange indeed il in
this age of the muchine ii should not
find its yotaries among the ingenious
SONS of the land of the soaring eagle,
The disastrous outcome of Darius
Green's brilliant conception, far from
diScouraging other would be aeronauts,
seems only to have stimulated them to
new endeavor. The heroic exploit of
Mr. Green and the heroic promises Of
Mr.. Pennington have been duly immor-
talized in prose and rhyme, but there
are many others alike TO fortune and to
fame unknown whose genius deserves
wider exploitation than that afforded by
the records of the patent Office.
Among the aspirants for honor in this
field may be mentioned w. +. Quinby
of Wilmington, Del, who in 1867 took
out patent for device with side and
dorsal wings, which could be attached
to the body in such manner as to ad.
init of their being operated by the com
bined action Of the arms and legs. "rhe
weight of the whole machine,'' said Mr..
Quinby, ''need not exceed fifteen
pounds. The rods of the wings, com.
posed CT bamboo, may be covered with
oiled silk or gummed cloth. 1t is in
tended to start from the ground, and in
the beginning one foot must be olsen
gagged from the stirrup, when by raising
the other foot and extending the hands
upward and forward the wings are
given the proper motion to raise the
operator into the. air." Slight improve.
ments were made and patented i'll 1869
and 1872, but the apparatus was not
success, and friend of Mr. Quinby is
authority for the statement that the
wings which he made were subsequently,
used as covers for wheat bins.
patent was granted Francis X.
Lamboley Of New York in 1876 on an
apparatus which, while it in some re-
spects resembled that of Mr.. Quinbv's,
came nearer the one described by Roger
Bacon, the monk, in his second work.
Combined with a frame for supporting
the operator was a pair of wings con
sisting OF frame of sheet steel covered
with net work of wire, upon which
feathers were fastened by the quill end
and laid on in rows or courses. The in
yentor says in his application 1T is owl
dent that with such construction very
little resistance will be caused in raising
the wings, as all the feathers will easily
bend down, but the greatest possible
resistance will be produced upon the
air in descending, as the entire surface
will be closed on the under side" The
only means Of steering the apparatus
was by the motion of the aeronauL's
body, a process certainly requiring a
very nice adjustment of the centre of
gravity.
After the failure of this last invention
there seems to have been very little
time wasted by inventors in the United
States in trying to navigate the air by
means OF wings alone, as all the patents
subsequently issued were operated by
propellors or provided with reservoirs
for storing gas to buoy them up.
In 1877 Frank Barnard of Keokuk.
Ia, invented a kite or horizontal sail
provided with boat for passengers and
having propeller wheels for moving the
apparatus and device for steering
The wings Of the fan were so con
structed that by turning the propeller
wheels volume of air was thrown I'M
der the kite. The drive wheels of the
car, together with the propellors, was
supposed to cause the machine to adj
vance with such velocity that it would
be supported by the kite. This was an
entirely new idea and attracted good
deal OF attention for time.
One Of the most peculiar airships
which have ever been invented is the
production OF w. &. Kruger of st.
Louis, and was patented January 3lst,
1889. rms invention consists of attach
ing carrier to frame to which are Sc.
cured movable, horizontal planes of
strong, flexible material and fitted with
propellors. Inclined arched planes over
the centre of the vessel are made SO thew
IN lV N faug Nc i
ing as q parachute and easing the de
scent OF the vessel, thus preventing dan
ger to passengers and injury to BAGGAGE
The vessel is provided with light Wheels
upon which it is run on the ground a
short distance until the propellors have
acquired sufficient velocity to raise and
move the vessel through the air. The
vertical planes atthe stern and the prov
of the vessel can be operated so rs u
change its course, also serving to steady
1t while in the air.
In the same year Charles 2, Fest Of
Philadelphia invented shin in which
the lifting power was obtained bv heat
ing the air i'll the body of the Shin an
the plan devised by Montgoltier, and
Keeping the ship ailoat by its own buoy
ancy. The air was heated by burning
combustible material from endless Wicks,
10 give the ship the forward motion
suitable propellers were arranged on
both sides of the car Tubes al the
front and rear ends of the body per
mitted the escape of the heated air and
also served for steering the vessel, NJ.
T. Appling also utilized balloon in
connection with his invention patented
November 23d, 1886. This was 10 be
inflated just enough to overcome the
weight OF the car and contents, and the
wings, which were attached to the sides
We're supposed to enable the operator
to raise or lower the apparatus. Sails
were attached to the balloon to propel
the vessel, and the direction was to be
controlled by a rudder.
Identical in many respects with the
invention of Mr. Appling was that of
Nicholas IL. Borgfedt of BROOKLYN, N.
y, patented two years later. In this
Instance the balloon was oblong and the
wings extended the entire length on
either side. These were operated by men
who sat in the middle There was no
method by which it could he propelled
and very little could be done in the way
Of steering the apparatus.
a most unique combination of two
preceding patents was that of Reuben
]. Spalding. 1t consisted Of a balloon
to raise the aeronaut, who carried him
Ieif in any direction by means of wings
worked by the legs and arms. The III
ventor very confidently saws: "When
me aeronaut Is flying the wings operate
with practically the same effect us the
wings OF an eagle, and the operator may
f.NN .l.tl