The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-11-04
PROF. LANG[EYS FLYING MACHINE
&c. e e: q: AND REASONS FOR It's FAILURE.

than that Of Maxim, Lilienchat Chanute.
Darius, Green and others who have en-
deavored to achieve in that line an I'M
mortality of fame. In correspondence
with the war department the futility of
the Langley plan was clearly and con-
cisely set forth, but the prestige of the
great astronomer and the superfcially
seeming possibility of merely extending
the principle" had such weight that the
war department felt that Il was investing
In sure thing. Evidently, the astrono-
mer was on new ground. 1t is one thing
to deal with solar and planetary matters.
where eternal silence vouchsafes no re-
Spouse; but IT Is quite another to invade
the domain of practical mechanics. where
tangible construction has a voice and
talks. The sum of $4,000 was spent in
physical experimentation that led to
and produced the tAerodrome." To the
writer II seemed that the tyro should have
seen the underlying law. Yet. not until
full-sized and most grotesque monu-
ment OF folly had been crected-not until
the professor attempted to suspend the
quart of water from the glass. because a
drop would hang. could either the man or
the war department see that such a struc-
ture could not n.y. Not more dumb as to
speech Is the sphynx than was the Eek
tended" machine for flight. Now as to
description. tSee illustration.)
There is not a shadow of hull: only a
longitudinal rod of steel as foundation.
The large wind-iikc aprendages are not
wings. but are mmovab'e V-shaped de-
vices. fourteen feet from tip to tip. whose
Office was to break the too rapid descent
of the ship when the power had run out
and the vessel had to drop on the broad
bosom of the expansive Potomac.
Until this tardy explanation came, It
puzzled the writer to contrive why the
one and one-half horse of BOILER force
was exhausted in flight Of only 5000 feet.
However when the upward open para
chute features were brought to view, the
meager result for the prodigal consump-
ton of force was made clear. The feature
that retarded descent, still more impeded
ascent. It is true that a large sum of
money had been invested in the apparatus
and its inventor had planned as II he
thought that any damage that might be-
fall the physical structure. might be
equally detrimental to the mechanical law
OF which this combination of mechanism
could be expected to be only the tangible
illustration.
The little engine Is simply q marvel Of
fine construction and wonderful compact
ness. OF only 1ve and one-half pounds
OF weight. It's coiled pipe boiler had
storage of one and one-half horse power
of steam. but not drop of reserve water
and not an ounce of fuel to generate force
en- route. why
Manifestly for this reason:
The weight of this model, as II was.
was already so near the lifting limits Of
its boiler power that there was absolute
ly no reserve margin. hence, hull, water
and fuel all had to be eliminated The
propeller, as shown In the accompany
ing cut. revolved at the rate of !, 200 revo-
lutions per minute and this extraordinary
speed--twenty rotations per sscond-was
barely sufficient to gain an altitude higher
than the neighboring tree tops. A meaxcr
addition of weight would have prevented
the "Aerodrome" from rising at all!
Certainly, this flight under such condi-
lions, was thus entirely misleading and
undeniably unfair, but the one supreme
consideration was. that at all events. the
thing must rise. however illogically az to
maintaining flight and deceptively as an
aeronautics triumph.
To paraphrase from Tennyson. the pro-
fessor probably pought
"'Ts filter that II thus should ny,
Than fouly fall TO fly at ALL"
The rudder is an L-shaped angle plate
with the two planes for both vertical and
horizontal steering. and Is not devoid Of
practicability. The feature. somewhat in
the form OF a sewing machine shuttle. is
an Albright cylinder to act as buoy to pre-
vent the flying machine from sinking on
striking the water.
Such. then, are the salient features OF
the air eleaver as presented by the as
Economical head OF the renowned Smith
sonian Institution. Endorsed by Prof. Alex