Omaha daily bee., 1895-12-15

rapidly it moves through the air, in ont
sense, the less power it takes to move 1t
and that solid models can be thus made tc
skim, as 10 were, along the viewless air, as
a skater skins along the surface Of thin ice
the faster you go in either case the less
danger there being of falling down. AS fai
as | could judge from my talk with him his
experiments show that the soaring birds have
an %intuitive knowledge of certain properties
of the air, which have been only recently de-
veloped through these experiments, and that
by these they navigate the air almost without
effort in a way which there is no reason tc
think that it is impossible we can do, II not
by our unaided strength, at any rate by
means OF such engines as are recently being
built. With regard to this he spoke of the
fact that such birds even about Washington
may be seen rising and falling, soaring w
and sailing down, and moving in circles with
out any tapping of their wings.
Said he: Ibid you ever think what a phys
ical miracle it is for such a bird as one of
our common turkey buZzards to fly in the
way it does? You may see them any day
along the Potomac, floating in the air, with
hardly the movement of a feather. These
birds weigh from five to ten pounds; they
are far heavier than the air which they dis
place; they are absolutely heavier than so
many f%atirons. | suppose II men saw cannon
balls floating through the air like soap bub-
bles they would look on 1t as surprising, If
not as a miracle. The only reason that we
are not surprised at the soaring bird is that
we have seen it from our childhood. Perhaps
II w had seen cannon balls floating In the
air from our childhood We should not stop
to inquire how they did 1t any more than we
do how the buzZards do 1t. / am speaking
now, of course, not of birds which fly ty
tapping their wings, but Of those which fly
without tapping their wings, or very rarely,
and with almost no visible expenditure Of
force.
HE TELLS OF HIS DISCOVERIES.
There is a good deal of misrepresentation
about my own investigations IN this re-
apect," Secretary Langley went on, but
what | have at least demonstrated is that
heavy machines, not balloons, can be made
which will produce enough mechanical power
to support themselves in the air, and to fly,
though this is not saying that we have YET
got the skill to manage this power so as to
rise, advance and descend safely. What is
actually demonstrated rests on actual expert
ments, repeated hundreds Of times in the
laboratory, but under conditions not so easily
repeated in the open air.
'These experiments are in the nature of an
engineers measurements, giving things in
pounds, feet and horse power, and by them
| have shown that an expenditure OF one horse
power df we can only regulate II so as to
make the flight horizontaD will support
abou. 200 pounds, and at the sans time carry
It at the rate Of fifty miles an hour through
the air.
Now, there have recently been built
steam engines which. with fuel and water
for a short flight, will give a good deal more
than a horse power and weigh a good deal
less than twenty pounds, so that we have a
very large margin.
"Wha | am trying to do Is to establish by
direct experiment the underlying principles
OF this future art or science, and, having
found the exact amount of force required, IL
possible, to learn next how IL is to be ex-
erted, directed and controlled.
Il know it is dangerous for any one TO
., lie ~ q M ont .aSnEnt In nnuftf,ta Ennt,
and figures about such matters. The people
have. ever since the days Of Darius Green
and his flying machine, until very lately,
put such a one down as a visionary, without
Investigation Of what he has to offer. As
for me, ! have never said that man could
fly by his own strength, nor have | ever pub
lished the details Of any flying machine,
but what have not only dis
but demonstrated by actual
experiment, is that there Is no doubt that
machines can be made powerful enough to
support bodies in the air which are thous-
ands OF times heavier than the air itself.
People who ask. IL this Is so, why such ma
chimes are not made at once to actually fly
with the human freight, since we have
now got mechanical power, may be re-
minded that though they themselves have
got plenty of strength to ride a bicycle or
to skate. this, though essential. Is not
enough til they have added the special
skill and experience to use 1t, just as every
mans legs are strong enough to ride a BIZ
cycle. while yet most of us cannot do so
without much painful experience In learn
ing how TO use and manipulate our strength.