Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-27
AER0PLAhE IN JAPAN
Government Develops One
Capable of Great Speed.
SECRET IS WELL GUARDED
Carries Two Men at Rate of Sixty
Eight Miles an Hour.
TRIALS MADE ON AN ISLAND
Machine a Monoplane, In Form Of
Bird-Carries Three Pounds
to Square Foot.
SECRET IS WELL GUARDED
TRIALS MADE ON AN ISLAND

| ing ideas on mechanical flight, Japan has
| been silent but busy and has developed
| an aeroplane which, according to &C
| counts received, makes a speed OF sixty
eight miles an hour, with two men on
board, and has flown In winds upward of
| thirty-fl miles an hour. 1t was reported
some time ago by a steamer arriving at
Seattle that the Japanese government
had established an experimental station
at Hakodote, the northernmost island of
| the Japanese group. and had there per-
fected an aeroplane, which was in con-
slant use for practice by the army ofic-
ers and which could easily be used for
scouting in case Of hostilities.
Little attention was paid to this report
at the time, although 1t is generally
known that Japan is very secretive about
her military arrangements. 1t had been
considered rather remarkable by those
interested in aviation that she had paid
so little attention to the advances that
had been made in France and the United
States in artificial flight. In this connec-
ton IL may be said that during the clos
ing days of the Russian-Japanese war
there were practically completed in the
japanese shipyards two submarines
Por: Arthur and in the battle against
Rojestventsky's fleet. These submarines
were not completed in time, but are now
a part Of the regular Japanese navy, al
though nothing has been printed about
them either in Japanese papers or in
the rest of the world
Can Give No Details.
Mr.. Hanihara, the first secretary Of the
Japanese embassy, said:
IT am sorry that cannot give you any
details of the experiments that have
been made by our government. I only
know that a commission was appointed
some time ago to study the subject, and
as 1t was a new art l was under the i'm
preston that the experiments had not
produced much yet. But 1t is matter
that is outside of my line, and 1 think
You could probably learn more from
Commander Hiraga, our naval attache,
but he Is now at the Hudson-Fulton cele-
bration in New York and will not return
till that Is over"
The report of the Japanese aeroplane
was brought to this country by j. H.
Siblee Of Cincinnati, who has been spend
ing the summer In China. On returning
to this country he made a considerable
northern Hakodote ran across the story
Of the aeroplane, afterward seeing the
machine In flight The experiment sta
ton established in Hakodote is at the
northern tip Of the island just south of
Cape Soya- Here Is a long stretch of
beach and a valley running back into
the hills giving an unrestricted flight of
fifteen miles straightaway without rising
high of the ground. This station has
been carefully guarded by the Japanese
government and block houses on the
crest of the surrounding hills make ap-
proach very difficult. 1t was some time
after Mr.. Siblee heard of the aeroplane
before he was able to see it, and the
acquired he picked up piecemeal from
those who were familiar with the work
1t close range.
/ Monoplane In Bird Form.
The machine as he had it described to
him is q monoplane and shaped more
or less like a gigantic bird. 1t has a
spread of main surface which carries
about three pounds weight to the square
foot. and while this makes the whole
machine comparatively small for it's
weight. 1t is said to be very powerful
One Of the Workmen who had been
engaged on the construction said the
engineer officers had developed what the
rest OF the civilized world has been ex-
pectlng Tor long time-namely, rotary
gasoline engine.
Just how the compression is obtained in
rotary engine was not explained, but it
Is declared that the engine weighs only
two pounds and quarter to the horse
power. and develops eighty horsepower
at full speed. This Is more than half as
light again as the famous Langley en-
CINE In the National Museum. which
weighs five pounds to the horsepower, all
on, and has been considered up to date
the Ightest gasoline engine of its power
ever constructed. The planes Of the big
machine are built Of aluminium plate,
strengthened by angles of the same ma
terial. but scarcely thicker than paper
over the main surface.
About a fifth Of the way from the tip
these wings are jointed and will raise or
lower, according to the air pressure that
strikes them from the side, making
practically an automatic balance These
tips are kept in tension by thin steel
the body of the machine, and make the
aeroplane more less susceptible to
gusts Of wind at the will OF the operator
1t is stated that the entering edge OF the
main plane is of knife blade thinness,
and that every part of the machine has
been constructed with a view to lessen
ing the head resistance.
The main wings can be slightly raised
or lowered by lever, operated from the
body of the machine. and this, together
with the automatically flexible tips, en-
ables the aeroplane to ride steadily in
gusts that are entirely beyond the range
of any other known machine to en-
counter.
Propellers With Multiple Blades.
The propellers are built with multiple
blades. and run at a very high speed,
something like 1900 revolutions FER min
ute, as near as could be ascertained
from the description given by the work.
men. They are. roughly speaking, ten
feet in diameter and revolves in opposite
directions, making the machine steady
| In spite of the great power that is ap-
piled to them. The aeroplane is controil-
ed by fiat tail that can be distorted in
come in conflict both with the Wright
patents and with that taken out by
Dickinson in England, but as the ma
chine Is for purely military use and is
not likely to be displayed to the world,
except in action. the matter of patent
rights is of small concern to the govern
ment.
The only time that Mr.. Siblee was able
to see the machine in the air was while
cruising in a power boat off the coast
Of the island. With powerful glasses it
was possible to see that the aeroplane
rose readily from the ground, and was
apparently both fast and steady. 1t was
said it had made a speed of sixty-eight
miles an hour over measured course of
sixteen miles, including the turn at one
| end Of the course. The body of the ma
chine is said to be hollow, and contains
both the operator and the engine, thus
reducing the air resistance materially.
Vanderbilt Horses In Fast Races.
PARIS, September CIV. K. Wander
hiIt's Cav,lpa ran in the Prfx Chantenjes