Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-30
MAY FLY TOMORROW
Wright's Mechanical Bird
Ready to Leave Ground,
There NAY BE A HITCH
For You Never Can Tell About Fly
ing Machines.
BIG BALLOON IS Debated
To Be Shipped to st. Joseph, Mo-,
for Carnival-"How to Fly
by Wright.

With the motor of the Wright flying
machine practically in shape. there is
only the question OF whether the balloon
| tent will he ready for the machine Mon
day standing between the aviator and a
flight on that day. OF course some small
thing may come up in the way of mechan-
may not be favorable. and so the first
flight may be delayed, but the outlook
is now good for a trial.
All yesterday was spent in tuning up
the motor. Everything except one bearing
was in good shape by evening and that
probably will wear smooth after a little
running. 1t is possible that the method Of
shutting off the engine may be changed.
but that is technical detail.
The engine differs in several technical
details from an ordinary gasoline engine
1t has no carburetters. the mixture being
constant and being pumped directly into
the cylinders The shutting off, which is
done with the spark in most engines
Is accomplished In this motor by cutting
off the gasoline and letting the motor
die down." The location of this cutoff
valve may be changed to make it more
convenient to the operator.
The ither conditions will be allowed
to play considerable part in the first few
trials of the machine. MIR. Wright wants
to have the best conditions possible and
while the machine can fly easily in
much higher wind than dirigible balloon,
1T Is not intended to run any risks with
1t in the early stages.
The big dirigible was given its last trial
yesterday afternoon. Lieuts. Lahm, Fou
lois and Selfridge were on hand and made
some longer flights than they have at
tempted heretofore. The balloon was sent
over the Arlington cemetery and was kept
much longer time than usual in the air.
The official navigators have become quite
used to the new craft and there is no
doubt that they will soon be able to
handle it under any ordinary conditions.
Balloon to Be Debated.
The bag is to be Debated at once and
packed for shipment to st. Joseph. where
1t will be feature of the military carni-
val. A detail of the Signal Corps men
has been told off to go with it,
There is some fun and excitement ahead
for the army officers who will fearn to
handle the Wright machine. They will
have the distinction of being the first men
who hav eever driven the machine except
the inventors. The Wright brothers took
a man south with them this spring, In
tending to teach him to handle the ma
chine, but there was delay in getting
some of the material that was ordered
for the work. and they were obliged to
put III al tlcil tiLlc cApci tHCiI-
selves. and the teaching part of it had to
be cut out.
Thus they are still the only people IN
the world who have ever learned to drive
that machine. They have had the ad-
vantage of about ten years practice and
preliminary trials so that they worked
up to pOwer-driven flight by easy stages.
Only One Mistake!
Mr.. Wright. speaking of learning to fly.
said 1t was an easily acquired art treat
ing the accomplishment really in a
cavalier and disdainful fashion. He did
admit that a man could not make mis-
takes high above the ground and init
mated that one was about all a man would
ever make. Still he said that aside from
the high speed at which one Travelled and
the necessity for quick action there was
nothing occult about the art.
Flying seems to be something on a par
with trying to ride a bicycle. 1t is a
knack that has to be mastered and then
the motions are more or less intuttive.
There Is this difference. however that
the novice cannot stick out his foot and
catch himself if the machine starts to
new machine and new aviator.
SO the army officers have the prospect
of lively time ahead. and after all. as
some have grimly suggested. it may have
been wise provision of the War Depart
ment which located the testing ground so
near to Arlington.