The Washington herald., 1909-01-10
FLYING AS A SPORT
SOME OF THE OBSTACLES THAT MUST BE OVER
COME BEFORE The AIR CAN BE CONQUERED

After Wilbur wrighfs extraordinary
performances at the Anvours camp avia-
ton is emerging from the realm Of theory
and Is on the point OF taking its place IN
the realm Of sport So II behooves Us 70
ask how much fun can be derived from
The flyers We now possess Sport is but
another name for amusement. and huge
amusement is undoubtedly provided by
the aeTODIane. says Pierre PiObb in Ia
Revue. The few passengers who have
gone aloft with Wright are loud in their
praise Of his new mode Of loccmotion.
NM Painleve. Henry Deutsch. and Bern
helm and Mines. Weller and O-Berg. are
unanimous. Delicious is the sensation Of
soaring upon air Lovely is the feeling OF
absolute security. Even the most skep-
teal 40 wild with enthusiasm
What matters the rest2 Expense Is no
obstacle 10 spOrtsmen. They are gen
orally men Of wealth who gladly devote
/ their revenues 70 the satisfaction OF their
/ desires. Besides, a flyer costs no more
| than racing automobile The Voisin
Brothers now build aeroplanes at S5ea0
apiece They are. in fact. nothing but
frames Of iron piping with oak Stats and
/ covered with canvas. The coach maker
has no hand IN their construction.
/ Hitherto aeroplanists have been content
/ with essentials. The only expensive thing
I is the motor. The Antoinette establish
/ ment viii sell you 40-hOrsepower engine
FOR $3.50.
Difficult TO House Machine.
The real difficulty is that OF housing the
machine. Flyers are bulky. A Farman
bi-plane measures thirty-eight feet by
ifty-tvO. A tri-plane IS smaller, with
span Of only twenty-five feet. There is
now a plan 20 introduce nuIt-planes.
whose wings will be but six OF seven feet
across.
Yet even when the aeroplane's bulk has
been reduced It VIII still have 20 ascend
hite-fashion. It will always require
vast open space. level and denuded Of
trees. IN order 20 set its start easily. You
can't begin a flight upon any road YOU
Ike. or IN park. or In d wood. or in a
mountain gorge. You recall that exue-4-
menters at s-AIoulineaux-8IAf Fer
Der. BieriOt Gastambide. Esnault-Pelle-
terie. and the rest-were unable 20 con-
tinue their work after the police forbade
them the use OF the grounds.
To ny-lterally- mean-y0u must have
a heiicopter. and while aeroplaueS are
now capable OF employment By sports
men helicOpters are still in the labora-
tory stage Of their evolution. When
BreSuet, CornU, and their feIlow-inno- (
VatoTs have won a success analogous 10
that 81 Wright, Farman. and Della
grange. no doubt sportsmen viii take 10
The helicOpter in preference 10 any other
system.
The helicopter is intended 10 rise By al /
most a sheer perpendicular. and can
therefore be launched anywhere In a
few seconds Il VIII get clear Of all OBJ
structio1s. You can start from vour gar
den Or even from the street ANY. open
space VIII do But helicopter for
spOrtsmen has not yet been discovered.
But when il does appear Z viii main
tain itself IN the air very easily. Vet viii
not 50 easily move horizontally. The
future machine for sportsnen IS surely
"hesico-planeur" an apparatus that
viii combine the merits OF the helicopteA
with those Of the aeropIane. rising by
means Of its Up-and-down propeIlers and
then sailing about at viii For Il has
been tTUthfully said that the triumph OF /
The "heavier-rhan-air viii be assured /
whenever a vehicle contriveS 20 ascend /
from any starting point and 10 soar with /
motor checked.
Unable to Soar
This last point NJ Quinton has stated I
clearly. II anybody succeeus in winning /
the prize he has founded and in Initiating I
the fight OF great birds. there VIII be an 4
end OF the terror as 70 what Is going 10 !
happen II the motor baIks. Besides. the
machines stability VIII be a certainty. /
An engine that can stay in the air with /
out rising or falling without using its !
Up-and-down pTopeliers or its horizontal I
propeIlers. viii be even more stable than 1
a balloon Already We seem on the way 4
toward this important discovery. On Oc- 1
tober - Wilbur Wright tried 10 remain /
fixed in the air, motor checked For a 1
moment ne seemed 70 realize our hope. |
but the moment was very brief On Oc- /
tober q FarmaR tried. and scared sew
eral seconds. He made another attempt I
Z
Ions 10 Rein two days later He failed 4
10 win the Quinton prize but he proved /
once more thar an aviator could drop
10 earth without danger
Moreover. without in the least dis
counting the work Of Wilbur Wright we
must remember that his extreme pru-
dence makes him operate only under IA
vorable conditions He chooses HIS tine.
waits for propitiOus wind and a clement
sky That IS both wise and laudable in /
an experimental. But X isn't sport. A
Sp0TtSman's glory is his endurance and
his ability 10 conquer obstacles
Thus far rain Is WTight's enemy II
vets ire canvas. despite the waterproof
ing Il slightly slows up the engine The
driver is no longer in perfect control Of
IT, We shall overcome these difficulties.
and the enthusiasm Of sportsmen who
burn TO soar in all weatheTs. viii help Us
10 DO 50.
AviHtOrs Must Dress Warmly.
Already We hear complaints by certain
profane jeerers who have flown with
Wright that they suffered from cold.
And when going against the wind. the
current was disagreeable. drying I'D the
preparation too swiftly Why not dress
the part? Automobiles wear furs. but
aviatOrs must dispense with all unneces-
sary weight; az the same time they must
avoid adding 10 their resistance TO the air.
Still. no one can doubt that they will al
low a man 20 wear an overccat. II ne
likes. or leave Il behind II Wilbur Wright
can carry passengers. this side Of the I
question seems likely soon TO be an
swered.
But suppose the air Is warm az the ]
start. and suddenly turns cold W above.
how are you TO crawl into your overcoat2l ;
In an automobile the thing Is easy. The
mOtOrist lets his companion take the
wheel. II he Is alone he waits Til he