The San Francisco call., 1904-04-22
- corre.nonsenoe.

GARDEN. LONDON. April lo.-Sir
Hiram Maxim's latest invention,
piQuant mystery for many months
ROW proves 20 be a huge toy-a series
Of captive flying machines in which
passengers may enjoy the delights Of
an aerial voyage in perfect safety
with the addition OF q variety of thrill
ing sensations that win afford excite
rnent even TO those whose jaded nerves
are no longer stimulated by shooting
the chute or looping the loop.
Sir Maxim saws however, that this
most recent production Of his inven-
tive skill is designed solely TO make
money and enable him 70 accumulate
funds enough 10 perfect an airship
that viii really Go business.
The invention itself may be briefly
described as "A mammoth merry-go-
round. with dying machines attached,
that circle through the air at express
speed in lieu Of the tame. rainbow
colored wooden steeds that TO the ac-
companiment Of nerve-racking music
now jog sedately round and round al
country fairs and festivals. In ap-
pearance il resembles a huge inverted
skeleton umbrella with ten ribs. AT
the end Of each rib, attached to il by
long wire ropes. which allow ii TO
swing free, is whale-shaped car
eighteen feet long. and surmOUnted by
an aeroplane. The revolving motion
is derived from the revolutions Of
central shaft operated by a powerful
motor. The venturesome passengers
enter the car through a slit in one
side. on the opposite side are arranged
z series OF loopholes. through which,
while whirling around at forty or fifty
miles an hour, they may gaze upon the
neeting terra frma-if not otherwise
engaged in wrestling with a new kind
OF seasickness.
A man who took a trial flight in one
Of these revolving whales at a forty
five miles an hour gait said that at
that rate the car swings outward at
such an angle that the side at which
the passengers enter became virtually
the bottom and, pinned to their seats
by centrifugal forces to the bewildered
observers things terrestrial seem to be
all upside down.
My command OF language is not
adequate TO describe what my other
sensations We're" he said, but there
were lots OF them and they were all
thrilling
Two OF these flying machine merry
go-rounds" now are in process of cree
ton i'm this country, one at Earls'
Court and the other at the Crystal
Palace. which viii enter upon their
GiZzy whirls next summer. and il would
seem as II the St Louis Worlds Fair
people couldn't do better than build
one. too.
The captive flying machines. Sir
free flying machines.
i shall commence on small scale"
he explained and as in earlier ex-
periments. I shall attach my machine
10 long arm. which. while preventing
IL from escaping. viii allow it TO move
upward or downward in the air. When
i have succeeded in perfecting my
motors. my aerOplanes and my screw /
propellers so as 10 make the machine |
fly above the point at which it is at
tached to the rotating arm. shall |
know that its lifting effect is greater |
than it's weight.
MY next step viii be to make a still |
larger machine and run it around |
circular track about 500 feet in /
diameter. the machine being kept in /
place by being attached to the rotating 4
neither retard its action nor assist in /
propelling it,
When the machine is able to fly /
around the track with a single oper-
ator three or four feet from the
ground a number Of times. I shall al /
low it TO go higher, and when the
operator has il under perfect control I
shall allow il to be run over a straight
road. still very near the ground. I
shall not allow il TO be navigated I
more than ten feet above the ground
for some time. In this way the de-
Nelopment OF the machine and the art
Of steering viii go on together"
Sir Hiram holds firmly TO the opin-
ion that il aerial navigation ever be-
comes practicable il will be by means
Of flying machines pure and simple
and not by balloons aided by motors.
Balloons. he maintains. are so large
and bulky for their weight that il will |.
never be possible TO maneuver them
with certainty in any kind Of weather
except a dead calm.
Any one who has studied the fight
OF birds" ne adds cannot fail TO have
noticed that many Of them do not an
pear TO exert as much energy in flying
as a small animal does in running.
The motor car and the locomotive are
able TO run three miles while any land
animal is able TO run only one. Why
then should we not be able to make a
flying machine that viii outfy the /
swiftest bird?
Sir Hiram believes that il can be
done and that he is the man who can
do il. All that is needed, he argues, is
a motor that shall combine the requi-
site power and lightness. In respect
Of these all essential qualifications the
development OF the motor car has
wrought wondrous improvements and
paved the way for the flying machine
man TO step in and by still further in
creasing the power and reducing the
weight Of these motor engines obtain
a machine that attached 10 aeroplanes
VIII solve the problem of aerial navi-
cation.
4 feel certain" concludes Sir i