Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-01-13
How a Chicago Man Intends to
Make the Journey to the
National Capital
WORKS LIKE A BIRD
F. M. Mahan Says He Will Attempt
the Flight on His Eightieth Birthday
and Declares His Machine Will
Prove Success - Message to the
President.

~ expect to fly from Chicago to
Washington on April % next, the
eightieth anniversary Of my birth.
shall start at q O'clock in the morning
and will deliver into the hands of Pres
ident Roosevelt before dark of the
same day a message from Mayor Ed
ward +. Dunno"
This is the programme which Is. NJ.
Mahan, well known inventor and me-
chanical engineer of Chicago. has map
bed out for himself That he will be
able to carry il through he has not the
slightest doubt says n Chicago spe-
cial dispatch TO the New York Herald.
Mr.. Mahan sat in his Office in Chicago
the other afternoon and detailed with
serene confidence just how he intends
to navigate the dir distance OF oOu
miles in twelve hours or less.
II have gone to the creatures of the
air--to the brds-to learn The secret OF
flying" he said. The man who does
not stick close to the lessons of nature
In aerial navigation is bound to fan.
And what do find when look at the
birds? First of all, and believe the
greatest requisite to successful flying,
is uncrrng equilibrium. Add to this
the necessary ascenSional and propul.
sive power, dirigibility and precautions
against accident, and the thing Is
solved. l am absolutely certain that
the navigator in which purpose going
to Washington fulfills all the necessary
conditions.
"In my navigator equilibrium is OBJ
tanned by the peculiar shape Of the gas
holder. all the gravity pull leading to
central point of the machine and d.
rectly under the propeller wings. This
essential assured, can give my whole
attention to the matter Of buoyancy,
propulsion and direction.
Naturally those who undertake to
fly through the air wish to be fortified
against accident that would send them
crashing to the earth. My plan Is to
have gas holder of sufficient buoy
ancy to overcome 80 per cent of the
earths gravity on the machine and
whatever load it carries. The other 8
per cent, Of course, would be met by
the wings of the machine in motion.
In case any thing should happen to the
engine which operates the wings (these
wings being at once lifters and pro
pellers) the 05 per cent of resistance
inherent in the gas would allow the
machine to settle to the earth so gently
that no injury to the aeronaut could re-
suit. In such an emergency the wings
themselves would be used as para.
chutes, still further breaking the force
of the drop. II the machinery and the
gas holder should meet with accident
simultaneously there would be more
serious trouble, but such contingency
would be very remote
what is the general principle OF
buoyancy, propulsion and dirigibility IN
your machine!
aside from the gas used it is exact.
~ that Of the wild geese l used to see
flying over the prairles of Missouri
when l was boy and settling into the
grain fields For years l have made
study Of the fight Of birds. l have
watched the gulls on Lake Michigan
and the pigeons in the streets Of Chi
cago.
without intending slang, my navi'
gator will be bird. The gas holder or
body of the machine will be SO shaped
as to offer the least resistance to tho
air. The wings, which will be operated
by gasoline engine from the car by
means Of sprocket chains and wheels,
will be provided with numerous air
valves, which will open and close on the
same principle as the feathers of the
wild goose. For my flight to Washing
ton contemplate gas holder about
seventy feet long, eighteen feet wide
and twenty-five feet high and tapering
fore and aft to a diameter Of eighteen
inches. At the front end will be a
guide and at the rear rudder-the
head and tail of the bird. With this
double mechanism ut each end of the
machine shall be able to rise or de-
scend at will or go in any direction de-
sired. In air navigation this necessary
feature has never been attained by any
other system, and l do not believe
practical air navigator ever can be
built on any other principle.
1.-THE engine to be used in the flight
from Chicago to Washington will be six
horsepower and need not weigh over
thirty pounds. Yhe rest Of the machin-
cry will weigh similar amount. In
the car will be the engine, myself and
another man. have not built or test
ed model. l never made model of
anything in my life. l planned things
OH the basis Of known scientific princi-
pies, and they worked; that's all. My
flying machine will work the same way.
81 have promises of the money neces-
sary to build my navigator. 1t will
take something like $1,000, and I am
not at present able to furnish 1t. 1
hope to start the work Of construc-
ton before the end Of January and to
have the machine ready for fight on
April 23."
Chfldren's Bible.
A Bible intended specially for chill
dren is being prepared by Rev. Newton
M. Hail of Springfield, Mass, and Pro
80