Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-21

after considerable trouble Congress was
induced to appropriate $4,000 to build a
man-carrying machine The gasoline en-
CINE had been developed at this time to
the point where 1t promised better than
the steam engine. weight for weight, and
Prof. Langley made the rounds of the big
engineering firms in this country and in
Europe to try to induce some of them to
build him the sort of a gasoline engine he
wanted. The result was the same as with
the steam engine and he had to come
back to Washington and build 1t himself
First he built a Quarter-sized model OF the
n1an-carrying machine. and this worked
as had the previous ones. 1t Is an inter-
esting fact that the engine was the first
gasoline engine with revolving cylinders
ever built. and there has recently been
brought out in the west a similar engine
that. 1t Is claimed, is the ideal engine for
mechanical flight The exact weight of
the Langley fifty-horsepower engine Is not
available, but the similar engine now
manufactured weighs So pounds and de-
velopes rty-six-horsepower.
Launching the Stumbling Block.
When the man-carrying machine was
built it was done under the auspices OF
the board Of ordnance and fortiflcations
Much money and time had been expended
In the preliminary engine Investigations
and at the end the work on the flying
| machine had to be rushed. There were all
sorts OF obstacles in the way, and the
question of launching the machine was a
serious point between Prof. Langley and
the army officers engaged in the test
They wanted to try something like the
system that Farman and other European
experimenters have used. but Prof. Lang
ley was welded to the idea of launching
the machine at full speed over the water.
He finally prevailed. and that was his
undoing
The machine was tried about five
years ago at Broadwater. on the Poto-
mac, and through an oversight a little
steel bolt. no bigger than a lead pencil.
caught on the launching ways and
wrecked the machine before it ever got
into the air: The time in which the
drawing to a close. and a second at
tempt was made with almost the same
results. only this time 1t was a couple
of little pieces of triangular iron that
hung On the ways and upset the ma
chine.
Now. the reason that both flights were
heralded to the world as failures was
largely on account of the newspapers.
Prof. Langley had sworn that the tests
should be kept secret, and he carried out
his threat to the point of antagOnizing
the newspapers so that they were nat
urally prepared to forecast failure and
rejoice in it. Many correspondents, in
rowboats and steam launches, remained
for days about the flatboat. where the
tests were to be made. and finally saw
the machine crumple up and fall into the
river None of them knew or had been
allowed to know anything of the inner
history of the affair, and they were
prompt to characterize the whole thing
as failure.
Now at Smithsonian Institution.
The machine. after its second attempt.
was boxed up, and remained in the Gus
tody of the Smithsonian Institution.
where 1t now is. But now that interest
in mechanical flight has reached a fever
heat the War Department wants to give
the old machine fair trial. There was
talk about q year ago of c. NJ. Maniey.
the young engineer who helped Prof
Langley build the machine. taking 1t over
for . new trial. but nothing ever resulted
and. Mr.. Manley. who has been for over
two years engaged in editing Prof. Lang
yet put the manuscript into shape, and
the Smithsonian Institution Is beginning
to fear that by the time they are pub
lished they will be out OF date
The original Langley machine has some
points about Il that have never been ap-
preached in the later types. II evolved
the curve for the wing surfaces that later
experimentsrs have been forced to copy.
but the opposed propellers that tend to
give lateral stability haze never been
matched in any Of the later machines
The construction of the wing framework
IL also lighter for its effectiveness in the
Langley machine than In any of the
fact that the engine is now over Ave
years old it Is said to be the most. eco
nomicai and effective, weight for weight
that-haS ever .beeu-bpiltx a-.-.-,-----. =