Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-09-10
PROF. LANGLEY'S MODEL.
The Pteordactyl is the Flyer Copied by
the Machine

1t is not generally known that the mon
ster flying machine which Prof Langley.
secretary Of the Smithsonian Institute, is
endeavoring to test at Whitewater. Va. Is
patterned after the. 5pterodactyi. an i'm
mense flying creature believed BIZ scien-
lists to have BEEN the: largest flying ~ezaa-
ture that ever fiourished this planet.
The pterodactyfE ornithostroma. an enor-
| nous flying lizard, whose wings ,.had
spread Of twenty feet from tip to zip and
whose habitat,~ ages, upon ages ago, en-
braced the shores OF the great fnlariu seas.
that then extended from the Gulf of Mex
leo up through the Mississippi valley to the
plains of Kansas. So, -.g-,
Prof F. A. Lucas of the United States
National Museum describes this remark
able creature in a paper included in a re-
port Of the Smithsonian Institution He
compares the pterodactyl with the flying
power of our better-known modern birds.
and s. p. Langley. secretary Of the fnstf-
tuition compares 1t with the novel flying
machine by means Of which he hopes to be
able to prove mans ability to construct
mechanism that will carry about the same
weight the pterodactyl for flight OF
three-quarters Of a mile.
The pterodactyl. as the remains which
Prof. Lucas has examined prove. depended
almost altogether on his wings; his legs
were SO small that they hardly could have
been Of any service except in spreading
the wing membranes These wings. as has
been shown by the expression left by them
In the fine grained photographic stone Of
the period In which the owner lived, were
not feathered like. the wings of a. bird but
were great stretches OF membrane. some
thing like the bat. The body being that of
lizard. was without hair or feathers and
possibly was covered by small scales, The
bones. again. were preporIsnately smaller
and lighter than a birds. The strength of
the frame work being obtained by bracing
the shoulder blades against the backbone.
that the thirty-pound body of tina
pterodactyl literally slung a pivot
between its two far-reachtng pinions-
Its face was its main feature, for Its
head chiefly a dagger-ike beak. about four
feet long, SO disproportonately large
that the body Was only Just big enough to
balance it, This formidable beak was
probably covered with thin. hard skin.
like the epidermts of a crocodile, a suppo-
sition based on the fact that none of the
lizard family, to which this great flying
fisherman so evidently belongs. shows any
evidence of the horny bird-like bill that
might otherwise have been expected.
Naturally a comparative study of this
once living flying machine, and the birds
and other flying creatures with which we
are all more less familiar. brings up
good many interesting points not usually
touched upon In popular courses Of nature
study.
Among modern flying animals that sug
gest comparison with the pterodactyl the
largest are the albatross, with wings ten
feet and more in stretch; the condor. with
stretch of wings of about ten feet. and
the turkey buzzaFd. whose wings extend
about six feet. The albatross Is credited
with a greater stretch of wing than any
other creature now living ,; So
The largest modern flying proposition is
the one made to order by Mr. Langley him
self-the so-called aerodrone. which
weighs thirty pounds and develops horse
power of one and fiye-tenths, Other things
being equal. one might imagine that this
invention would fly further and better than
the pterodactyL But other things ara not
equal The steel aerodrome which 1t Ii
possible may be the beginning OF the much
sought flying machine" illustrates the In
ferfority OF man to nature In utilizing
power economically and efficiently.
Granting the same weight to be trans
ported through the air. the pterOdactyl
made its indefinitely longer Journeys on an
expenditure Of a far less degree of power
necessary to carry the flying machine from
one half to three-quarters OF a mile.
Finally" says Prof. Lucas. 1T Is an in
teresting question as to whether or not the
condor, the albatross and tho pterodactyt
mark the limit of size attainable by flying
creatures-are the mechanical difficulties In
the way OF using wings so great that evoiu-
ton stops at weight Of thirty pounds and
a spread Of wing of twenty festf Would,
animals above that size have trouble In
manipulating their wings and be unable to
compete with smaller and more active
forms, or Is It that the exigencies Of life
have never called for the Development r.
larger creattoHfe