The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-05-14
WITHOUT A HITCH
Wright Brothers Make Two
Successful Flights
With Their AerOplane at Man.
teo, North Carolina.

Manteo, May 14.-Over the narrow
and forsaken stretch of country that
Juts out in sand dunes into the Allan
tic ocean, the aeroplane invented by
the Wright brothers of Dayton, Ohio,
made two flights with apparently theI
most successful results. The aeroplane
worked perfectly and the ship sailed
gracefully into the air, executed var
ious maneuvers at the will of the in
ventors and then dropped back to earth
without a hitch. The tests that have
been made convince many scientists
that the problem Of sustained fight by
heavier than air machines has been
solved.
Correspondents from all sections OF
the country, including the London
newspapers are arriving here, and
there is a probability that the presence
OF the newspaper men may bring all
| operations to a sudden close. The
| Wrights absolutely refuse to make
flight or even to open the doors of their
aerodrorne so long as they suspect
| newspaper correspondent or even a
stranger is within sight of the ground.
Only the life saving men at Kill Devli
Hill are permitted to be present.
L
working is one of the most isolated
spots in the United States, being nifty
miles from the nearest settlement, the
hamlet of Manteo. on Roanoke Island
across Roanoke Sound The Wrights
have announced that If outsiders per-
sist in visiting their testing grounds
they will stop short and seek some
other place for their experiments. They
| saw that. possibly within ten days OF
two weeks, when they are ready tc
make a long flight, they VIII nave nc
objections to full publicity oelns given
| to their achievements.
Two trials were made, the first be-
ginning at S:35 o'clock. when the ma
| chine ran with one turn ABOUT tnree'
| quarters of a mile in a minute and
quarter before it was brought te
mechanism Neither run was made
| seaward, but the second was an ex
hibition of speed in the air. In br1e
talk Orville Wright said:
1--WE don't care to discuss the test
| made We are not ready to give ou
any statements or make any claims
n 1 can say generally that we are salts
\ fed with the progress that we ar
:. making but have not fully mastere'
n control Of the new rudder to our ma
: chine and we are having considerabl
n difficulty with the engine. These
e however are only matters of detail.
r The machines appearance re
: tsembles the skeleton of boxcar. Thi
: paralIelogram is divided into two sec
n tions transversely. in the lower sec
= ton of which is the lever for raisin
s and depressing the machine. At tn
II rear is the direction or steering rud
: der, and on either side of this are tn
propellers Beneath the navigator
u a four-cylinder engine of thirty hors
u power and a gasoline tank with
present capacity of four and ha
le gallons, complete the equipment.
l. The aeroplane rose to a height {
ls twenty five feet, and taking soutf
u west course. headed over the beach
81 house inland in the direction of XII
~ devil hill One hundred yards ava
however the navigator threw his rut
~ der over and, responding to it wit
al the promptness of racing yacht, tt
airship rounded gracefully and col
!, tinued its flight to the northeast. Dill
= ping occasionally and then glidir
mi smoothly, the machines speed graz
of ually increased until it was cuttir
re through the air at the rate of fif
III miles an hour.