Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-09
WAY OF THE WR|GHTS REPUBLIC 100 YEARS.
Take the Shortest Cut to Argentina to Celebrate Her
Whatever They Want. Centennial Anniversary.
IPREFER SIMPLE METHODS GIANT STRIDES AS NATION
Why Ruddr Progress and Development Second
Of Their Aeroplane. Only to the United States
SHOWS THE COURSE OF FLIGHT GREAT EXPOSITI0NS
Pendulum-Story Aires Will Welcome All Men to
Mathematical Calculation and Liberty.
Take the Shortest Cut to
Whatever They Want.
prefer SIMPLE METHODS
Why a Rag Hangs on Front Rudder
Of Their Aeroplane.
SHOWS THE COURSE OF FLIGHT
Regarded as More Reliable Than a
Pendulum-Story Told of
Mathematical Calculation.

This is the story Of rag. There is no
bone and hank of hair connected with
it. but 1t is regarded as interesting. none
the less, as throwing side light on the
Wrights and their way of doing business.
Every one who has closely examined the
aeroplane that is now at College Park
probably has noticed rag that hangs
from the front rudder. 1t is hardly more
than a strip OF tape, fraction of an
inch wide, and might have been torn off
the edge of a good-sized handkerchief.
One of the visitors who was looking at
the machine the other day asked what
the rag was for, and the correspondent
who was asked replied: Don't know
But. knowing Wilbur as we'll as l do, 1
guess it has some reason"
That is perfectly true. and the rag plays
quite an important part in managing the
machine. Ii Is nothing more nor less
than an indicator as to whether the ma
chine is going up or down. or whether
she is keeping an even keel sidewise Al
most any one would think that with
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. machine there
would be some reasonably expensive del
icate instrument for keeping track OF the
balance. But there is not, and as the rag
serves the purpose well enough they let
it stay.
Wilbur has been asked several times
whether some apparatus, in the way of
pendulum or a spirit level or something
of the sort would not be useful on the
machine. or whether something of that
sort had not been tried. He replied in
differently mot so far as he knew and
at the same time the rag was hanging on
the front rudder and was being used
every day. That is about as far as Will
bur goes in disbursing information.
Orville's Explanation.
When Orville was over at Fort Myer
the same inquiry was made of him, and
he replied at greater length, but not
more enlighteningly. saying that pen
dulum was more misleading than il was
reliable, because after il had started
swinging 1t kept on swinging and did not
indicate the true direction of the aero
plane at all.
The rag however. answers the purpose.
If 1t points up the operator knows that
the machine Is going down, and If Ii
points down he knows that he is going
up. If IL fiutters out straight behind the
operator knows that all Is going well and
that she Is keeping an even keel. but IL
ii points to the side he knows that he is
skidding. and the machine must be
brought back to balance by the use of
the wing tips. In fact, the soaked and
grfmy piece of rag is as effective a tell
tale as the most expensive instrument
that could be designed
There may be other features about the
Wright machine quite as simple and eff
fectfve as the rag on the rudder, but If
there are they will never get out to the
public through the Wrights' loquacity.
But ii shows how the Wright mind
works and how the remarkable brothers
take the shortest and simplest cut to
whatever they are after.
~ Orville's Quick Calculation.
The rag indicator is something in the
same line as the story they tell about
OrviIle and the expansion of the brass
ring. There was a manufacturing con-
Germ in Dayton that wanted to know
how much a brass ring they were max
ing for some steam pipes would expand
under the heat of the steam. They had
a high-grade mathematician figuring on
the problem for two days. and after he
had obtained the answer Orville made
the calculation in five minutes, using
merely the circumference of the pipe and
the coeff1cient of expansion of brass both
of which were perfectly we'll known. He
told the story himself to explain how
there was a short way and an involved
way of making nearly all calculations.