The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1908-08-30
Inventor Wright May Nego-
tiate Test During Latter
Part of Week.
RESEMBLES BIRD
WHEN IN AIR
Claim Twenty-six Miles an Hour
Can Be Made-Description
of Big Machine.

plane could make its first ascent tOmOr-
row, the completion of some small de-
tails in the sitting together OF the ma
chine has made il almost imperative
that Mr. Wright wait several days
longer before ne scars over the Fort
Mycr parade ground.
II do not think that / can go up
Monday" said MI Wright. There are
many little things cropping up just now
that must be attended TO, and 1 do not
care to try a flight until every detail
has been thoroughly looked after.
do not know just when / shall go up
possibly late in the week"
Interest in the great machine of the
Wright brothers has grown steadily in
Washington since its arrival last week,
not only among scientific men and
aerOnautss but among people who read
about the aerOplane or about the per
fOrmances Of Wilbur Wright in France.
The machine sits out IN the balloon
house now looking for all the world to
the unmechaDical eye or the eye un-
trained to aCrouaUtiCaI subjects, to be
ready for instant use. Yesterday the
spectators thronged the big barn-Iike
building all afternoon looking over the
aeroplane with eyes that probably saw
nothing, certainly for the most part
with eyes that We're unbelieving
Big Crowd on Hand
But in spite Of the unbelief that might
be hidden in the minds of the men and
women who througed the building. there
was a sort Of awe among them that
nothing seemed 10 dispeL The crowd
was silent, as are those who enter the
reading room of great library Here
and there little seeing the aeroplane"
parties We're organized by officers who
know something about aeroplanes or by
other persons who think they know
something about such machines. These
parties listened with open mouths TO
descriptions OF things most of them
didn't understand, and. after looking
with interest at the quiet blue-eyed lit
tie man who is responsible for all this
fiutter and hustle. departed satisfied.
The aeroplane stands now ike fl viii
stand SO far as the ordinary vision is
concerned ON the day il enters the race
for the Governments SOS, coo. The little
details which Mr. Wright mentioned
can not be seen. They must be felt
out by the experienced hand and eve Of
the mechanic.
The aeroplane is hard to describe. Just
as all things which are very new are
hard TO describe. for the reason that
most descriptions of objects an, based
upon comparisons. Wright's machine
can not be compared To anything with
which many persons are familiar.
But if you imagine for an instant a
long white empty dry-goods box forty
feet from end TO end, out OF which the
sides have been knocked. leaving the TOD
and the bottom only, YOU will have
some idea Of the main planes of the
machine. or course these planes are
braced and cOunteTbraced and Joined To
each other by wires so that they are
strongly eemented. They lie parallel to
one another, and are six feet apart.
The back corners of the planes or the
dry-goods box, if it is easier TO remem-
Der the figure. are rounded slightly. !
while all along the back edges there
are scallops OF foot or more in length. !
Motor in Middle.
In the middle of this plane, resting
OF course upon the bottom part, is the /
motor which drives the whole machine. 1
il is a big affair, much bigger than
that in the dirigible recently sold to |!
the Government by Capt Thomas S /
Baldwin. 1t is colored like all the resi-
of the -aeroplane. "A duh gray white.
The motor is placed exactly 2alf way /
between the two ends and balanced nice /
". so that the weight of the operators /
who sit a little to the left facing out /
ward in the dry goods box. will make /
the machine keep its poise in the air
In front of the cushioned, narrow /
seats, which are placed directly upon I.
the bottom plane of the machine, are
the three levers which control the fly |
ing motions. These levers. mere sticks 4
OF wood painted gray. although they
look like aluminium, can all be reached /
in d seconds notice and can all be
operated by one man with ease. One
lever thHows down one corner of the |
main plane while the other end rises:
another controls the rudder and the
third guides the little planes in front
which elevate or lower the ship.
Sticking out through the back Of the
dry goods box, also nicely adjusted 70
preserve the balance. are the two six
foot propeIlers that make rre speed that
holds the aeroplane up and pushes il |
through the air. These propeIIers are
both connected with one shaft so that
the revolutions will be exactly the same
and there Will be no interference With
the machines direction owing to the
fact that one propeller is working hard
er than its brother.
Back behind the prOpellers is the rud-
der This is a small affair. not one
quarter so large as that ON the Baldwin /
dirigible- II is twelve feet away from
the main planes. is six feet high. about
two feet wide. and consists of what
might be termed Two blades set two
feet apart. The rudder resembles an
other dry goods box treated as was the
first, but set on end and movable to the
right or left
viii Dive at Sharp Angle
In front of the main planes are the
two smaller planes which depress or
elevate the ship. These planes are not
arge. but can be thrown at such an
angle that the aeroplane viii dive or
soar al a sharp angle.
Possibly the most wonderful thing
about the whole machine outside of the Il
act that it win hy-and there are prob
ably few people. except experts who
always have faith, who have seen it.
Who believe that it can ever fulfill the
Var Department requirements-is the