The broad ax., 1907-03-09
AERIAL NAVIGATION.
GHeavier Than Air" Flying Machines
Now the Goal of Inventors.

Prizes aggregatlng many thousands
NJ dollars for the roluctlon Of nylng
1,ocbine Of the heavier than air. va
riety. offered by English ana French
enthusiasts. have caused great acuVl'y
among would he inventors, anu some
Of the most prominent aeronautic eA-
perts predict that the year just begun
will be marked by remarkable ad-
vances I'm the science and practice OF
aerial flight. To the gasoline engine
and 10 the extraordinary mechanical
progress made in automObiliSm IS que
the hope that something Definite ana
worthy may b. achieved by those VINO
sock to solve the problem OF aerial trav-
cling.
THO ordinary balloon, 1t IS agreed,
has little practical value save as an ex-
citing form Of sport and for purposes
of observation in calm weather. IN
anything like Il stiff breeze it Is the
sport OF the winds and quite useless
from a practical point OF view. Better
thing, are said of the cigar shaped con-
trivanccs utilizing both the gas bag
and the gasoline engine. Six years ago
Santls-Drmont was able TO steer an
air.h.p Of this Kind around the EiGel
tower. running with and against the
wind. Since that time hundreds or
similar steerabla balloons have been
built I'm France until today they are
nearly ~ CO:HmOn ~; the spherical gas
bag. Nevertheless; 1t Is realized that
these are far from representing n solu-
ton Of TIE problem of practical naviGI-
ton of thS air. They have, in fact,
only stimulated the desire for sOnc-
thing that will represent radical in
prOvemcut. such as the 81, "CSSful
"hcayiyr than air. vessel would be.
The latter would mem, naturally. dir
isiblc vessel which could be driven III
any Kind Of weather AMI in any de
sired direction. \ fortune in priz'; al
ready await; tie inventor OF such Il
vcss,!, 70 say nothing Of the monetary
return u 4 business way. Two prizes
OF S-J.UGD each, on in England. the
other il France. await the inventor Of
the successful acrO.i&uc.
The mechanical difficulties in the
way Of producing Il perfectly diri-ijle
airship aTr immgu e because of the
number az contingencies that must DC
provided Tor in travelling through such
u muhiic and ir,achcruus element as
the air. Machinery that can DC De-
pended on Lot to fail and prccivitIte
the heavier than air" machine ID tie
earth il The most Necessary qCIliICa-
ton. but this can bc provided. it IS
known. If the method q! propulsion
can Ec Invented. The screw propeller
idea Is 10y no means ideal because Of
its great bulk. its poor lifting power
and lis enormous waste Of energy. y
Tapping propeller, moving from side To
side, seems tO give promise. but many
sound thinkers favor an approximation
TO the bird method Of flight, though
serious difficulties lie in the way Of
converting circular motion derived
from Il motor into the complicated and
various motions performed by the
wings of Il bird. Even if such motion
could lie elrproXimatcI by mechanical
means great skill would lie required in
directing the controlling mechanism,
IL ltlN tbll-liLl4l CLllu-luS sltilsl NOu-
dltions would have to he inStinctively
provided against.
Toy models working after the man
ner of birds wings have successfully
Travelled 4 few yards, but have failed
Of success when enlarged TO any cx-
tent. That the air IS n region in
which man can travel has been proved,
however. and that under conditions he
can sail or fly through it by the aid Of
mechanical power has also been DEM
Onstrated. but many years are likely
TO elapse before any practical method
of aerial navigation can be attained.
1t is q problem that will not be solved
hurriedly. but that a solution will come
eventually Is now almost a settled con-
victIOn with students of aeronautics,
and the incentives offered abroad with
In the past few months give the hope
that great progress, II not actual
achievement, will mark the current
year-New York Sun.