New-York tribune., 1909-07-02
WRIGHT IN 3 FLIGHTS
,nrrD BELIEVED SLoW.
sa - Hare Been Not Mach ouer
Thrty-f0e Miles.
-.7 The Tribune Bureau

1-0rTille wright came At-lo
egs+n at Fort Myer tnls 49,. 80 S- -
his own est. had proved refractory Tor sew
ssropisne nc 80 last brought TO terms and three
erzl days I.+s we're made. the first OF hVe min
srccesslui ]or5 - of fraction over nine minutes
- .bs last Of I've lnlnu'e0 80. -.,,o, 49,. 1as.
and r'e Lt,e was behaving better when the last
Ine na n.- than when It began, but II did not
fight Was o'S- e.. wilbur Wright said after the
seem - che engine was keyed up 70 only about
higno .. ne -o1,er and II impossible TO time
thress NJ all accurately, as the nights were IN
me sp~-,,or circle and the distance coulo not De
an Hiee-b ,-,tb accuracy. The consensus OF opinion
5uosso .tose who saw the flights last year was
3, +be speed was certainly not nlnch over 'nirN
thst - @ e. hour. even II it were that
" -as = comparatively small crowd present
p-.efsent Sherman and Senator Eikins were
80 the few officials who took chance ana
-. ~ see If there would be a flight
o1 ELL. c,,,ni7s Uas stu and close. There had been
lne go ssction added to the starting rail. it
-. noticed that the machine dragged the
--o,d for q few feet before taking the air on the
- ,-isI The weights used were the same but
- engine was keyed I'D more than 1t h=S been
AIRING the present series Of trlais-
AERoPLANE FLIES LOW
-,s 1rst flight was made at 500 o'clock The
-,.hine ran down the rail al rapid speed and went
- the air without hitch The wisdom OF add
NJ 80 length 10 the starting rail was shown,
- ,be seroplane did not leave the rail- TIL the eN-
-. end had been reached. once in the air the
..-o,lsne few low. and there was a question IN
a. minds of the watchers whether the turn at the
- - - the fed could be made. II was made with
,he nschine tiltng at steep angle. while on the
g., beol- M the field il undulated as though IL
- feeling its way. At the head Of the field Il
ssas the starting derrick not more than fifteen or
-zentv feet in the air.
The new eeroplane instead of seeming faster than
-. ol5 one looked decidedly slower. II did not
--,l of machine.
.h,reb :, few there was a certain drag and hest
+s,cv in its movements that was not marked IN
last years flights
After three o. four rounds Of the field. the alarm
,r inclination which the machine took on the
curves seemed 70 decrease. and there was less Of
-be undulation apparent. Il was really as though
, man VINO had been away from q bicycle for
wear or two went back TO riding and began to get
the instructive balance and confidence Of the wheel
sfrer going a mile or
The last round OF the field on this initial fight
was made At such low elevation that the aviator
looked every minute as though he were going 10
touch the earth. Finally he came down with
little slide and cloud Of dust in 2 fairly salts
factory landing. he cut out tne motor soon as
he touched the earth.
MACHINE KEEPS OK EVEN KEEL.
Tie next fight. which was the longest Of tho
three was started a. SIS o'clock Nr. Wright
seemed 70 be more confident than the first
fights. and kept on comparatively even keel
around the turns lie made his circles shorter and
shorter at the request Of one Of the scientific oh
servers and a. the smallest was scarcely going
outside Of what would have been q quarter-mile
track He then mounted higher. and few more
like the record-making aviator he had first seemed
at Fort Myer. Taking into account the low points
in fhe field there were times when he was one
hundred feet fn the air. Still the machine did not
get up much speed. and at the rate It going
when il passed nearest rhe starting derrick the
wonder seemed that # stayed in the air al all.
Tie last fight was 4 few seconds under five
minutes and the final circle Of the field seemed 10
be made at scarcely more than five or six feet
from the ground. The previous landing had
scarcely caused ripple OF dust, but Orvie Wright
this last figl' seemed TO be trying what he
could 10 with the machine. He Strengthened out
going down the field and went close enough TO the
ground 10 blow 10 cloud Of dust with his pro-
pellers and then dropped til the skids actually
dragged the ground. Then he bounded into the
air to height or about ten feet and cutting of
his engine 'coasted- down to 2 gentle landing
level piece cf grass
SENATOR ELkINS INTERESTED
Senator Elkins vas greatly interested and asked
whether the WriErts had worked out the mathe-
mates n their aeroplsne curves and the dynamic
effect OF air currents. He was told that they had.
and said h. would like TO their figures he
may see them in the course o. the next decade, as
the brothers say the- viii publish their results
when the business is no longer new.
Bishop Wright and Reuschin Wright. the third
brother. watched the flights from the head Of the
heso- The bishop was the recipient Of numerous
congratulations when the first successful flight
ended. He smiled and shook his head He said
ne knew about what the boys" could do and felt
no worry over them because Of the failures in the
first trials
Wilbur Wright when the machine vas being
housed FOR the night. made a Characteristic re-
mark
Pretty good afternoons work. wasn't it,
called passe- Ig
Yes, said Wilbur. with his slow grin. 1T
YOU'D be pretty good II couldn't any better
Charlie Taft. son Of the President, who has been
eI5nos' daily visitor, violated nearly all Of the
raes set down by the Wrights for the restriction of
pnotogTapheTs- He Was greatly excited over the
q, sS,sIvllane : performances and kept close tab
ne time Of each flight His enthusiasm was shared
~ tie onlcers OF the signal corps. VINO have based
iex. nopes on the expected success Of the Wrights
IN IolnAng the conditions Of the PoVernment