The Democratic advocate., 1909-12-24
IMITATION OF INSECTS AERO
PLANES SECRET.
Not the Flight of Birds is the Model
Aviation, Says an Expert.

Not the Flight of Birds is the Model
Aviation, Says an Expert.
The earliest attempts at human
flight" said a man who is interested
In aviation, were by initiating the
action of bird in the air. In every
instance the result convinced the en-
thusiast and even the crank If he sur
vived that the strength of man in
proportion to his weight was INSULT
icent to lift, support and propel him
by his working of artificial wings.
After the experimenters had salts
fed themselves that 1t was beyond the
strength of a man to rise in fight on
wings moved by his strength attention
was turned to attempting longitudinal
flight from an elevation, and when this
failed attempts we're made to glide
down from elevations by the manipu-
lation OF artificial wings as a flying
squirrel descends from the top OF one
tree to the trunk of another at a dis
tance. This was intended TO be a step
beyond the almost perpendicular de-
scent from balloon by means Of
parachute.
The results we're not in any de-
gree encouraging, and for time moth
ing more was heard OF attempts at
human flight by the Tapping Of artin-
cial wings or of descent from eleya-
tons by the flexinR OF wingllke at
tachments. The long series of fail
ures. had ended the efforts OF man TO
fly as birds ny or to descend from an
elevation as a flying squirrel de-
scends.
The nearest approaches TO initat-
ing the flight of birds were aA old as
the navigation OF the waters. A sail
craft close hauled on the wind suE-
gested the soaring OF a bird. A n
hawk shoots up into the sky with n
fexing o; his wings, so did sail craft
cut swiftly almost into the teeth of
the wind. Later there came n better
example In the iceboat, which when
close hauled outran the speed Of the
wind and came so near TO initiating
flight that II could skim acroas fimy
Ice that would not have supported its
weight standing still. Yet in the boat
on the water and the boat on Ice there
was no imitation OF the flight Of birds.
though II was in a considerable de-
htNt vi AANlA
The early would-be flyers were not
alone in their efforts TO copy Nature.
A great many attempts have been made
To propel boats by initiating the move
ments OF FISH In swimming. But with
one exception all OF them were fail
ures. The exception was the first at
tempt made. and II is what IL known
as sculling. An oar or a sweep is
put in a chock or rowlock at the stern
OF boat and by series OF movements
having some semblance TO those Of
fishs tail In swimming the craft Is sent
along This method OF propulsion IL
not good in rough water or for cover
ing long distances and II would be
impracticable by power machinery in
stead OF n twist OF the wrist
The practicable methods OF marine
propulsion by power are as different
from the method Of the fish aH that Of
the aeroplane Is different from the
Tapping OF a birds wings In flight
After Ericsson began TO make pracu-
cal use OF the screw propeller very lit
tie was heard Of fshlike propulsion
OF boats
When BlerIot few from France 10
England the appearance OF his aero
plane In the air above the English
Channel was likened 10 that OF huge
dragonty. That description tells the
secret OF whatever success has been
attained In mechanical flight Man
has done what he has done In this
direction by initiating. not the fight
OF birds but, most likely unconscious
ly that OF insects
l..
machines are necessary. but without
the whirling propeller that makes the
aeroplane more like an insect than n
bird there would have been no mo
chanical flight up 20 this day The
June bug. with his immortal song .--
I'm June bug and I'm "a beetle.
J can buzz and buck my head agin
a wall,
is one Of the heaviest heayier-than-ai
Insects He Is the insect prototype
of a clumsy aroplane. yet he gets
there, all the same
The limit OF mechanical flight by
initiating the insects Is the limit OF
efficiency OF the motor Uutll tur-
bine or other rotary explosive motor
has been invented that does away with
the necessity OF compressing the va
por before exploding H.
Every compression engine Is work
ing itself A considerable part Of it's
power goes toward compressiug the
yapor In the cylinders I'm process Of
charging while the force Of the explo-
sions in the other cylinders Is being
expended. Gasoline vapor cannot be
used efficiently except under strong
compression. and this compression
must be accomplished at a great loss
Of the power which. but for the neces-
sity for compression the motor would
develop For this reason II seems
that the limit of the gasoline explo-
sive motor will have been reached
when the number OF cylinders shall
have been increased to the limit of
regular and efficient compression and
ignition.
Looking further ahead there Ia the
hope OF the discovery of an explosive
vapor so dynamic that II will not re-
quire compression but will exert as
much power as or more than the gas
oline motor gives with compression
II such vapor could be produced
compression could be done away with,
reciprocating engines would not have
to work against themselves, the rotary
explosives motor would be an easy
problem, the proportion OF power to
weight In aerial motors would vastly
Increase, and the efforts OF man to
initiate the flight of insects would
bring astonishing results.
The demand of mechanical flights
is an explosive vapor that will be effi-
cient without compression"