The Washington herald., 1908-09-05

Aviator OrviIe Wright made a perfect
a ght Of four and one-half minutes dU-
ration at Fort Myer yesterday evening.
ths record fight OF his aerOpIane IN the
United States. The distance covered IS
estimated at two and One-haIf miles or
more The aviator made five circles over
the parade grounds, and landed grace
fully and easily
1Ir- Wright is now planning two ascen-
sious for to-day. The first IS 10 be made
4 between and 9 o'clock this morning and
the second after 5 O'Clock in the evening.
1Ir. Wright showed absolute control
over his machine yesterday Its-fighesL
speed was trife over thirty-eisht niles
an hour This does not argue as 70 the.
ability Of the aeropIane TO meet the speed
( requirements Of the War Department.
Specifications, because no attempt at
/ speed was made. The engine was not set
/ at fun speed, says Mr. Wright. and prob
ably VIII not be until the speed tests tbs
/ latter part Of this month
Flight Was Spectacular
/ Yesterdays flight was one OF the most
/ beautiful sights ever seen at Fort Mye-,
/ and another large crowd went wild yvich
enthusiasm Mr. Wright was besieged
/ by Iersons who desired 10 Congra-ulare
him
Z This was the best fight ever made
/ in the United States By the Wrights- Mr..
I Wright's control was far better than On
/ Thursday, when he few n this aeropla-s
/ for the first time
{ The machine IS absolutely new" said
Nfr Wright. and was never OF ths
/ ground until Thursday I an greatly
pleased with its performance and b.
{ I.eve with q few more days of p-act.cs
I VIII be able 10 san anywhsrs I wish,
/ and take another nan with ne This
! aeroplane IS. Of course. a counterpart
OF the one my brother has a. Le Mans.
France
Z made several sharp turns this even
/ t-E. and spent some time experimenting
I with the levers. 7 wanted 20 test ths
machine as much as possible and for
I that reason I manipulated the levers fa-
more than was necessary
There was no particular reason for
7 coming down at the time cd, except
that I felt that the machine was n per
/ feet working order. and that 7 had learned
I enough about It for one day The landing
7 was as good as we have ever made, the
/ aer0pIa1e coming down gradually. and
I landing as light as q feather
EO Interference from Wind
The wind iarerfered but little, but its
effect was felt when made several
I abrupt turns. Thursday Travelled a. q
rate Of about forty miles an hour. Ar
. times I Travelled az that rate today. but
the intervals were not many. and Ils
general average was thIrty-eisht miles
an hour. I viii work the motor a. its
/ highest speed when havD gotten ths
! control want Every part OF the aero
plane worked faultlessly. The planes re-
sponded 70 the slightest touch on tie
lever and the rudder and motor vera
perfect
Mechanics Taylor and FUrness cane to
I Washington yesterday morning and pur-
I chased a dozen strips OF West Virginia
I spruce and ash, with which 70 replace
the runner underneath the aerOplane,
which was smashed in the sudden descent
Thursday evening They removed the
broken pieces Of the runner yesterday
morning and put on the new ons about
noon
Flight Came Late.
At $50 O'Clock 1Ir. Wright ascerteined
I three miles an hour and decided 10 make
a fight Mounted guards from the Thir-
teenth Cavalry cleared the parade
/ grounds. The badges issued BY Cen Allen
! TO admit correspondents and Photograph
ers inside the lines were not honored-
I The engine was tested about ten min
utes and found 10 be in perfect order.
/ After a moment or two, Nj Wright in
weight The engine was started working
J again. and. after about 100 revolutions o.
I the propellers. the l400-pound weight sud
. denly. dropped TO the ground from the top
Of the tower, a distance OF twenty-five
feet.
Down the rail the aeroplane darted.
I shaking from side to side as It went At
/ she end Of the track the weight-ropa
4 dropped OF and the aeroplane was free
/ planes upward and scared to o height Of
about fifteen feet.
Machine in Perfect Control.
/ Sailing halfway down the parade
I grounds. he made a quick turn 10 the left
and travelled toward Arlington Cemetery.
! Near the trolley station he made another
turn and started back TO the weight
tower. When he passed the tower he was
twenty feet in the air and had the inven-
ton obeyinS his every whim-
| The FIVE trips around the drill field were
| almost identical except that on one OF
two OF the first excursions the aeroplane
{ leaned and fell precipitateIy.
II was observed that the aerOpla1s fol-
lowed the hills and hollows on the parade
grounds. and il was believed by many
/ that the leaping and bounding was inten-
tionaL Mr.. Wright said after the flight,
however. that this wavering was due 10
his fnexperience with. the machine.
The pitching. similar to that OF a bird
aving al q high speed. was not so notice.
Continued on Page 2, Column !.