Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-16

the aeropane back in the shed and every
body went to breakfast well satisfied with
the mornings work.
1t has not yet been determined whether
the changes made yesterday in the ar
rangement of the rudder pIanes will he
allowed to stand. The following plane,
which was installed before the fight yes
terday afternoon, answers the purpose en-
celiently in keeping the machine steady,
but IL seems to detract materially from
its speed as well as it's lifting power. IL
may be, therefore, that Wright will install
some o,her system for aiding the fore and
aft balance.
Changes in Rudder Planes.
Wilbur Wright yesterday afternoon
made the essential changes in the aero
plane rudder. and thereafter a series Of
nights that continued long after dark. 1t
was in many ways the most interesting
series he has attempted since the gov
eminent accepted the acroplane. The
trouble has been with TINS PARTICULAR
plane ali along that it was not par
rlcularly steady in the air fore and aft.
Mr.. Wright remarked on this several
tunes, ano said recently that It was be-
cause the plane was If anything over
engIned and that he could take the same
power plant and build plane for IT that
would make between sixty and seventy
miles an hour. 1t was noticed in the
flights made toy Orville Wright at Fort
Myer and subsequent flights made by
Wilbur Wright at College Park that the
machine had tendency to bob up and
down in the air.
After two flights had been made yes
terday Mr.. Wright dismantled the hori-
zontal rudder. which is in the front OF
the machine and put one of these planes
at the rear, just IN front OF the vertical
rudder. This front horizontal rudder Is u
biplane, more or less like the main
planes of the machine. The upper one
of these was taken off and installed in
the rear of the machine as fixed hori-
zontal rudder. This left the two semi
circular turning planes in the front of
the machine without any support at their
upper end. and made the whole contriv-
ance look as though it had met with an
accident. The fixed rear plane was Set
about eight inches above the axis of the
propellers and did not turn with the rear
rudders, but simply preserved the fore
and aft stability of the craft.
Under Perfect Control.
On the first flight, which was made at
5:14 pm, Mr.. Wright went alone. 1t
was then nearing shutdown and was
cloudy, so that the field was dusky at
the best. The machine did not leave the
rail any sooner than 1t usually does. but
seemed to obey the single plane on the
front rudder quite as well as 1t has usual
ly obeyed the double planes. AS soon as
the turn was made at the upper end of
the field it was seen that the machine
was flying very steadily, and MIR. Wrighe
kept within a few feet of the ground
without apparent variation AT the souti
end of the field while making the turn
he began to climb, and was soon at an
altitude of about fifty feet. The plane
seemed steady In high air as II had
been cioSe to the ground, and the av1atOi
made three circuits of the field, remaining
in the air altogether little short of sew
Ell minutes
On the last turn of the field. he took
his hand off the steering leever and waved
to the group of spectators around the
starting derrick showing that the ma
chine was evidently under exceptionally
good control. This was the first time
that Mr.. Wright has ever been seen t"
take his hands of the steering levers
during flight.
When he came down he made one OF
his characteristic easy landings. but re-
fused to say anything about the change
in the machine except that lit seemed
decidedly dusky, but he told Lieut.. Lahm
that he would take him up tor fi;gA.
and that officer discarded his campaign
hat in favor of cap and climbed INTO
the seat of the machine. Then began the
longest flight that the aeroplane has yet
made at College Park.
Lieut.. Lahm was handling the extra
steering lever. which controls the YER
teal motion of the aeroplane and on
several of the turns ii was seen ina.
Mr. Wright was sitting with one hand
on his knee. leaving the elevation OF the
machine entirely under the control OF M.
pupil. When the rounds OF the neio nau
gone up to eight it was getting very dark.
and it was thought that soon as the
two ayiators came down the machine GER
tainly would be put into the shed, but TINS
was not the case. MIR. Wright called FOR
Lieut. Humphreys, vino had tlineo Tue
previous fight at fourteen minutes. ana
took him into the passengers seat OF the
aeropiane II was then SO dark that II
vas impossible to distinguish the ma
chine the length of the field away. but
the sound of the engine could be heard as
tho turns were reeled off, and now and
again the big plane would flash by
hooking like a great white ghost in the
gathering gloom The. fog crept out OF
the woods and added to the dimness OF
the scene and the whistle of a train from
Baltimore was heard In the distance and
the hope was expressed that 1t would
come into the station in time TO have "A
brush in speed with the aeroplane. This
was not to be. however, and Mr.. Wright
brought the machine to the ground after
q six-minute fight, and it was at once
rolled into the shed.
When the flights were over Mr.. Wright
was asked If the following plane had ever
been used before on any of the Wright
machines. He replied that 1t had not. but
that it had been used by other aviators
This is the fact to the extent of Prof.
Montgomery Of California having patents
on the following plane. while Bieriot. one
of the Frenchmen who is being sued by
the LaZare-Weyler syndicate. uses q small
secondary plane back of his main plane
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