St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-01-13
LANGLEY'S FLYING MACHINE.

fact that its cylinder is two inches IN
diometer. with a stroke of two inches.
The feed pump is less than an men IN
diameter, and the piston valves are
one-tbird of an inch IN diameter. Inc
wings are fourteen inches from the full
crHtn to the inner edge OF the paper
surface. Its speed is tremendous. since
II has at times made III double Vlbra-
tions a minute. AS compared with his
No. II compressed air machine 1t has
double the weight but fourfold its pow
er. 1t moves by means OF beating
wings. and in this respect differs Tadl.
cally from Langley's machine. Har-
grave had, however, i'll previous ma
chine. used the rigid aeroplane wings
for the main body. with two beating
wings in front.
The Kite Record.
With kite aeroplanes, virtually rigid
without motive power. much longer
distances than in the above list OF motor
flights have been covered. The records
are: Barnett, 80 feet, in 1877; Julien, 40
feet, in 1855; latin, so feet, In 1879;
Penaud, 13l feet, in 1871; Herring, 1877
feet. In 1894; Lie Bris. 600 feet, in 1866;
Lilienthal, as before noticed, several
hundred meters POSSIBLY 1900 feeU, i'll
1893. Maxim claimed in the Boston
Transcript this year that Lllienthal's
achievement is only parachute light.
This is, of course, not so great an
achievement as Langley'S wonderful
motor flight.
On Feb. %, 1894, the writer dismissed
from a height of 1000 feet on the kite
string about twenty bird>shaped aero.
planes a few inches in diameter. They
were dropped out of portfolio by
means of burning slow match. and
flew eastward like flock Of small
birds before the wind. Many boys at
Bergen Point, n. D.. where the aero
planes we're released, ran i'll the direc-
ton of Centerville, but could recover
none Of them. During the week was
informed that some Of my aeroplanes
were picked up at Centervllle, about
mile 10 the eastward, but | never saw
them. | was informed that, like
flock of birds, they were last seen NOV
Ing above the coal docks at Port john
ston. Another lot, dismissed near the
ground, sailed about ten times their
estimate height above the earth.
Experiments with ordinary pieces of
paper demonstrated that while upward
currents would carry tissue paper, at
times, out of sight, yet usually the steep
ascent would be offset by steep de-
scent. A weighted aeroplane, travel
ing with the wind at a great height,
will make long distance, going with a
gradual downward slant. This seems
to give some clue to the motion OF pro-
PEELED aeroplane flying with the wind.
other Difficulties.
While balloons have been guided in
mid winds to certain extent by me-
chanical power, and by taking advan-
tage of the flow of air currents along
waterways, as Shown by Carlotta, the
aeronaut, and Prof. Carl E. Myers, of
the balloon farm, Frankfort, n. Y, in
hundreds of ascensions, it is yet obvious
that the coming flying machine must
have weight that will enable it to pillow
| its way through surface gusts in land
; ing against the wind.
Lillenthal'5 experience in sailing with
rigid wing aeroplanes has demonstrated
that the first or crude types of flying
machines must make landing against
the wind, With the operators face in
the direction from which the wind is
coming, otherwise the machine may he
overthrowh. The evolution of mechan
zeal flight, SO far, points to the construc-
, tion'of an apparatus that shall not be
supported by bulky, unmanageable
| balloon globe of gas, but by the rapid
| motion of its motors.
The chief source of delay at the pres