Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-09
)ANy Qyg1oNT

stuffed birds attached to arms of a whirl-
ing mast revolved by powerful steam en-
CINE. The aeroplanes travelled at the rate
of nearly 100 miles an hour about circle
sixty feet in diameter.
He moved this apparatus to the Smith
sonian, after taking charge of that In
stitution in 1887, and In 1891 he gave to the
world the facts on which all later expert
ments in mechanical flight have been based.
At the time these experiments began the
only existing mechanism which could sus-
tain itself in the air for even few seconds
was a toy-like model made by Penaud,
Frenchman, the motion power being twist
ed rubber bands. In May. 1896, Langley's
steam aerodrome flew 5000 feet over the
Potomac In one minute and a half. The
following November it flew three-quarters
of a mile.
In 1898 the army board of ordnance and
Notifications allotted to Prof Langley 500
600 for the construction of a larger aero
drome, capable of carrying a man, and
Prof Langley offered his services to the
board without compensation; He secured
both continents for a suitable gasoline en-
CINE and finally had to build his own, which
| weighed two and one-fifth pounds per
horsepower, or one-half the weight of the
| lightest engine thought possible by the
! best engine builders of the world. He
completed the new machine. and in August,
| 1903, it's quarter-siZe model, launched Oh
| dectly on the face of the wind new ahead
| on an even keel, with perfect balance.
Later while the full-sized machine was
speeding along the launching track with the
| engineer in his seat the front caught on the
defective launching apparatus and the
| aerodrome was precipitated into the Po-
tomac. the machine never having chance
| to fly. Prof. Langley shortly afterward
| fell into il-health and died He took with
him to the grave the assurance that the
| machine when repaired and given a per-
| feet launching gear would fly. But While
he had been experimenting other geniuses
had been at Work.
| The nearest approach to human flight Of
| modern times had been made in 1891 by
| Otto Lilienthal of Berlin. who initiated the
| which he was able to slide" down hill,
| with his feet above ground fifty yards
| or so at a time But in 1896 he met his
| death while thus experimenting. Mean
| while A. y. Herring of Chicago had taken
| up the soaring experiments in this coun-
| try, and in 1896 he was engaged by octave
| Chanute to improve upon Lilienthals aero
| planes Experiments with varied apparatus
| were made near Chicago in the summer
and autumn of that year. One OF these ma
| chimes had movable wings, used in sus-
| tanning equilibrium. but not for propulsion.
Since that time Messrs. Wilbur and Or
| Vile Wright of Dayton, Ohio, with I'M
| proyed machines, have dared to perform
| feats which neither Liienthal nor Chanute
| attempted But all of these contriyances
| were soaring rather than flying machines.
| Although areoplanes not buoyed up by gas,
| they-with the exception of the wright
| machine-have had no artificial motors, and
| their problem was not as complicated as
| that of the aerodroqneS OF Langley ana
/ Santos Duroont.
| JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS.