Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-12-27
AERIAL INVESTIGATORS.
The Tascinntion of tho Art OUT
weighs the Danger.

0bra7olrbia Evening Teleerlrh)
win tie death of IW.ntlal taa uan-
r. Of foremost aerorautic eypsrmenter
fails almost without dissent on PROBE SOP
Samuel j.. langley. secretary o. the
smithsonian Institution, who is so re-
reut in regard TO his achievements in
bis line that the general public knows lit
le of them. IL is over ten years ago that
Professor Langley first interested him-
self I'm perfecting a machine by which
man could navigate the air. His WORK
DO his flying machine. or "u.rl.' rs the
officials &C the Smithsonian Institution
eauft. has been but an off boot from his
customary scientific experiments. IL has
been his hobby. but so much secrecy has
attended the flights Of This machine that
1ut four or five scientists and several
w0rkmen arc the only persons who have
been allowed 10 soe the strange object.
Professor Langley studied with great
care the movements OF turkey buzzarIs
and sea eulls. From boyhood he had no.
-fce4 turkey buzzards high I'm the air.
aoating with outspread wings, Of which
not n feather moved, going neither up
nor down. upheld as If by some invisible
force And so when II came 20 deVisins
n practical machine. HIS ruling principle
borrowed
IL was however impossible 20 Initiate
mechanically the construction Of the
wings IF a bird: it was only the principle
of the bird-s0aring which was adopted.
Tie has industriousiy studied the pro-
b'am until now he. has constructed an
qar0drome which, without the use of any
gas has made several flights over max
"a mile Longer flights would have been
made except for the motive power, which
qt present i5 steam and has n limited
water supply. Professor Langley thinks,
however. that this is an obstacle which
win bo speedily overcome, and 10 this ena
has been experimenting with gas, sa7o-
line. and other motors for the purpose OF
Getting ON engine light enough and at the
anne time strong enough 90 do the work
required of it. If necessary during "a long
l.ri0i of time. Professor Langley's
! machine weighs complete about twenty
four pounds and measures from the t1
Of one plane 20 the other fourteen feet
10 is very simple I'm construction, there
being no complicated machinery or any
thing ike balloon or parachute attach
ments. Professor Langley's machine is
only built for experimental purposes, and
is not largo enough 20 carry any weight
beyond that of frs motive power.
Professor Hiram Maxim Is another
A
ly into the question OF upper-air naVi-
cation. His experiments are being cone
Quoted I'm England. and he has succeed
al iu demOustr0 ting on several occasions
that his machine will rise and fly. lie
has suent a small fortune on his prepare
lions for his experiments, which Inc
clude am enormous house on his grounds
for housing his machine, and railroad
track for speeding il IN its start for an
mn. rrs..ffr 3 Of Nf
machine Is about 1000 pounds. and he
calculates that he can drive IL through
the air at a speed of thirty-five miles an
hour. Some time ago Mr. Maxim finished
"a machine. I'm which he took a start OF
zoo or COO feet along his railroad track,
nut his propeller into operation. and sue
ceeded I'm getting well up OF the ground,
when one Of the steel bars forming
the construction broke, and dashed ma
chine and hopes 10 the ground. Undis-
roaved he Immediately commenced an
other machine. constructed OF stronger
material. and he confidently expects, in
his next attempt 10 see a successful
flight by O. machine which viii carry a
man.
fhe last Congress, introduced bill au-
tborizlng the Secretary OF the Treasury
~ nav 10000 10 anybody who, az any
time prior TO 1901. should construct an
onnaratus within or near the city or
Washington which wosld demonstrate
70 a committee appointed by the Score
tarv of War. the practicabllity OF safely
navigating the air az q speed OF not less
man thirty miles an hour, and capable OF
carrying passengers and freight weigh
inc 100 pounds. The bill IS sull In COM
mittee. and whether or not 1t will be
withdrawn from that oblivion IS mat
Ter OF conjecture. It IS not enough 10