The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-03
FRIDAYS ACCIDENT TO THE
AEROPLANE.

While it was something less than 100
feet from the ground in its fight of
Friday, the Wright aeroplane's motor
got into trouble and stopped working
The result was that the machine came
down to earth, and there was some
triiing injury to it, due to the fact
that, in landing, one of its wings be-
came entangled with a small tree
a proper view of this accident justi-
fed the observation that it is in truth
a demonstration of the efficiency of
the Wright machine. 1t is in many re-
spects a better showing of the good
qualities of the bi-planed craft than
would be a hundred circuits of the
parade ground at forty miles an hour
For it shows thtt the Wrights have
in truth solved the problem of flying
in its largest sense. 1t can glide. 1t
is not utterly helpless when its power
is shut off in the air. The reason it
can do this is because of its unique
system of eurving and bending and
adjusting the wing tips, enabling it TO
catch the air at the viii of the oper
ator and to glide slowly, easily, safely
downward. 1t shows that when the
gasolene motor is not at work the
power of gravity may be substituted
effectively, and the machine kept I'M
der control as it sails easily and
IsnLkIr 4oxra II sha oa~fb
The Wrights have claimed this for
their machine, and under the pressure
of necessity they have given the proof.
This means that the aeroplane is not
half so dangerous a craft as many
people have assumed. No human care
or ingenuity can guard against POS
sibility of such mishaps as that which
suddenly stopped the fight OF Friday.
The perfection of materials and mech
anism has not been attained, and viii
never be attained, which viii eliminate
possibility of such accidents But the
danger of serious results is minimized
when it is understood that the man
in charge of the craft can sail" his
machine easily and safely to the earth,
literally sliding downward through the
air instead of falling.
This is the very essence of flying.
The knowledge Of how to do it came to
the Wrights from studying the gliding
of great birds. To know the theory of
the thing, however, is a vastly different
thing from making a machine which
can do it; and making the machine is
still a long way from training the
operator so that he may instinctively
manipulate his levers and adjustments
70 produce the right effects. The man
Sho flies in an aeroplane must have
habituated himself to the feel" of the
thing. He must know his machine, and
the air which is its element; and he
must know them so perfectly that he
does instinetively the thing which
needs to be done, as a bird does it, or
as man walks erect, maintaining his
equilibrium by the wonderfully delicate
balance and adjustment of muscular
strains, without thought or even with
out realization that he is doing such
a thing. That is what flying means. II
is what the Wrights are in the way OF
accomplishing; it is what their ma
chine has made possible; and it is the
thing which marks their machine a.
the great achievement in aeroplane in
vention and management.
Properly analysed, the accident Of
Friday, proving the unreliability o.
materials, is the best possible proof Of
what is more important by far, tn,
principle on which this machine Is
built