The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1909-05-27
automatic
Hirship
A Novel Plan for the Construction
of an Automatic Flying
Machine.

Paper Read Before the Chauta,tQua Circle.
Man is by nature progressive being.
From the earliest dawn of human his
tory to the present time, man has
striven to grasp that which always
seems beyond his reach, and in his en-
-deavors to do so, has gone onward and |
upward, to higher and nobler ideals of
life. Science aud philosophy have
glided down through the pages of his
tory hand in hand, and mankind has
learned to conquer the great forces in
nature through hardships and even the
loss of life. Every great discovery has
had its hardships; inventions their dis
asters.
Since Watt, in 1884, discovered the
power of steam, and utilized its force
for machinery, mankind seems to have
awakened from its dormant state of
slow pace, and great strides IN the
world of inventions were taken, which
revolutionized the worlds commerce
into It's present state.
In the past century scientists have
turned their attention to the mastery
of the air. 1t has been mans ambition
for centuries to vie. with the birds Of
the atmosphere. No great progress
was attained in this new achievement
until Langley, in 1896 launched the first
steam-engine flying machine with sue
cess, which proved to the thinking
world the practicability of mechanical
flight. Prior to 1896 the conquest of
the air was sought through the agencv
of the balloon; as an experiment Santos
Dumont changed the original spherical
form of the balloon to the modern
dlrigible balloon, better adapted to the
purpose of propulsion. Velocity of
propulsion is the research of aerial To-
comotion at the present time, and ow-
ing to its bulk, in proportion to its frail
structure no sufficient velocity can en-
able the dirigible balloon to make head
way only in the mildest winds. Owing
to this drawback in the old theory of
aerial locOmotiOn new school Of
thinkers have turned their attention to
the study of natures model, the bird.
The scientists first recognized the fact
that birds are specifically heavier than
the air in which they fly. Studying
along these lines plain surface by
way of support, representing wings,
was adopted and Silerntal, Chanute,
Herring, and the Wright brothers of
Dayton, Ohio, made remarkable glides
through the air from elevated heights
with gliding machines which brought
!, into view the prominent scientific basis
of the modern aerodrome. On the 9th
of May, 1896, Professor Langley found
man brave enough to risk his life in
an attempt to fly. The aercdrome in
some way was obstructed when launch.
ed in the air, losing its center of grav-
{ ity. Without proper knowledge OF
the conditions that govern the air, the
aviator and the machine did not fly
TIE ridicule of a laughing world broke
Langley's heart, but the theory advo-
Gated by him was all right. Langley's
machine today properly launched would
fly. Borrowing from his ideas others
) have followed in his footsteps, and the
world is realizing that new possibility
: has come to it.
The Wright brothers have given their
attention exclusively to the air. First
they realized that air in many respects
is very much like water. It has its as
cending and descending columns giving
, the air wavy aspect. These air waves
however act IN the atmosphere without
law or regulation; the temperature oi
. the atmosphere is, as rule, very IN
even, and when currents OF air from
opposite directions meet they are il
many cases Of uneven temperature
Coming in contact or the blending oil
f two or more such waves creates a dis
turbance at various points, giving ven'
to its outbursting propensities, whirl