The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-05-18
CURRENTTOPICS And THEIR LITERATURE.
Man md the FIyina Machines.
Icopyriphi, 1902, By Frank w Futehins. ]


he had proved TO himself were but idl'
dreams.
Perhaps something of this sort explains
the situation in regard to aerial naviga
ton. Nothing could be more unanswer
able than the reasoning advanced to show
that the idea Of man-hight is absurd
Figures and diagrams as 70 bulk. weigh
and resistance loom up till it is as plaif
as pike.staff that aerial navigation car
never be. Yet. surely strange things are
happening overhead Perhaps none of tn,
aefonauts are 'Hp among the little stars
sailing round the mosn, but they seem to
be sailing, and rather successfully, all
things considered. Some OF them insist
that the navigation OF the air has already
progressed 50 far that We shall soon wit
meas the transportation Of freight and pas
sengers through the ETHEREAL blue
But, II going up high makes You dizzy,
you need not borrow trouble on this
score. There are plenty Of good writer's
TO give you the comforting assurance that
YOU will be dead, buried and forgotten
before practical aerial navigation gets
even a good start. Among other things
they call attention 70 the fact that an
aerial ship of the Usual form, in order 70
get the necessary buoyancy, would have
to be thousand rnrSs as large as an or
dinary railroad train carrying en- equal
weight
The usual niaks OF a;rship is still the
old balloon type though great changes
have been made in form and structure
While propelling and steering devices have
been added. The airsbips bnilt and used
b., the daring acronaut. ~ Santos Dumont,
nave been elongated balloons having the
cars swung from the under side without
the use OF nets
Some cxpcrincntcrs chiefly among the
Americans have discarded balloons and
are seeking to develop machines that viii
actually Is, much after the manner II
birds Sis Hiram Maxim who sounds
English but is American has what he
calls an oeroplanc which propels Itself
by series Of rp and down motions Mr.
Mazims theory is that bird-higbt is more
or less 80 waNc-liucs th. bird Sliding down
hill as it were Tor a little way, and then
using the momcat1m gained 10 help IL 10
soar upward again Ihe aeropiaue imi-
tatcs this up-ard-dowu motion but SO FAR
with provoking tendency 20 oyerdo the
down stroke Recent improvements. IL is
said somewhat correct this undesirable
trait
Prof. s T. langley. secretary Of the
Smithsonian institution has invented the
aerodromc another of the machines
without balloon attachment, Differing from
the aeroplane ii advances IN straight line.
depending upon the strong action Of rs
wings for both support end propulsion Il
tn n Lei, ia.
proportion 70 rs size and weight There
are several other more or less successful
machines for accomplishing man-hight
The writings listed below treat Of aerial
navigation In general. and record its latest
developments
L Combining the Airship and the Aero
plane, Scientific American 50 800 and 500
May 3, 1909
:. Future Aerial Trial Navigation. ".
Alberto Santos-pumoni. Independent
81 $50 April -, 1909
?. Circlins the EiHel Tower z. r..
Lyle Jr PearsonS t5.-t2 February. 1909.
Santos pumout and Hlis Airship. w.
L. NeAlpin Munsey 20 4e2. December
1907
S. is NanFHsht Possible Current Lit
eraiure $3.50 January, 1908
q he Problem of Aerial Navigation.
O. " Melville North American Review
l73 ssi. December SCOT
Aera av'eauoH Problems g. T.
Meyers Scientific American Supplement
So aeSp February ~. tro1
The Drusible Palloon OF 81 Santos
bunont Hal's Century o. 90 No
vember 1901
o. The Modern A.ronaut J. Bayer. |
Cosmopolitan 5sl5 November. 1901.
70 The Severe Airship. Scientific
American G6az. March 20. 1908.
H. Tho Willard Flying Machine Scien. .
tine american So. March &. 1909
he Numbers devoted TO popular treat
rlest CT the subject IA general are ?.
o, Z and Q None Of these is al al tecs.
real, though 0 and are more or
sc cnuhe discussions Numbers g. 10
- arc chiefly descriptions OF particular
machines, bul N connection with consid-
erabie information as 70 the state OF the
at References 3, ! and are among
me best accounts Of the recent accom-
phshments OF aerouauts including the sen /
sahonal trip OF Nj. Santos Dumont in cir
cling the Eidel Tower.
as 70 the possibility OF practical aerial
navigation read and il you wish as
s-fSnce OF its success In these articles
We are told, especially by Santos Dumont. I
that soon, possibly within ten years. air
SHIPS VIII be so perfected that people will
step into them and speed away as uneon- 4
eernediy as they now ride in automo- .
biles
But for the other side, read and .
IN which are arraSed the obstacles TO any
such accomplishment Mr.. Melville a 1
noted engineer, goes so far as TO pronounce |
the whole idea Of aerial travel simply Chi
merical
Numbers ), : and are devoted largely |
70 the perilous ascents made by Santos |
1umont to the construction OF his tyne
Of airshiP, and to summing up what he |
iAay be sid to have accomplished Most
q these articles are well illustrated. Upon
that point, il may be added that there 4 a |
igil page portrait OF this leading aeronaut
N Harpss's Weekly for April s. /, seems
that he is a. work now not so much 10 |
deYelop the aerial ship, as the aerial skin |
per .He thinks much more could be ac- /
complished with present craft II their users
would study and master them more fully. /
a rather general impression among aero /
nauts, though not fully shared by Santos
DnmoDt, is that the balloon type OF air
ship can NOT be developed much further
md thar