The river press., 1910-08-24

connected with the planes by means Of
wires. The same motion that tits one
Of these planes downward tips the
other upward. Thus If the operator
feels the left end of his machine drop
ping he leans to the right. which Is
the natural movement for him to
make This motion carries with It the
back of his seat, which tips the left
hand equilibrium plane upward aud
the right hand one downward, thus re-
storing balance. For shutting off the
engine he presses foot pedal, which
short circuits 1t; otherwise the engine
Is controlled by levers at his hand.
We're Off
After starting the motor the opera
tor takes his seat, attendants in the
meantime hanging on to the machine
until given the word to let 60. Then
the aeroplane starts forward on its
three wheels until 1t gains sufficient
momentum to take the air. By pulling
the steering wheel toward him the
operator lifts the elevation planes, the
machine shoots upward, and the Jour-
ney is begun. After that It is a mat
ter Of guiding. finding the proper ele-
walton and keeping an even keel. When
ready to alight the operator chooses
his landing, which must be an open
level field. shuts OF his engine, turns
his elevation planes downward and
goes earthward with swiftness which
takes the breath Of the groundlings
below. At the proper distance from
terra firma he elevates his planes
sharply, which serves both to check
the motion and break the descent. The
result is that he glides forward and
lights as gently as bird.
At the Mineola field on Long Island
Charles X. Hamilton in Curtiss b.
plane recently did some surprising
stunts. Cutting figure eights in the
air were among his most commonplace
performances. One Of his most dare
devil feats was stopping his engine at
great height and dropping to the
earth. When it seemed that he would
be dashed to certain death he would
start his engine again, elevate his
planes and glide away. He would also
swoop down to within few feet
of the heads of spectators, causing
them to scatter in all directions, then
rise again and sweep away until he
was like bird on the distant horizon.
He habitually smokes cigarette on
his machine. Despite his pranks he
~
A Few Aeroplane Thrillers.
Since the first public exhibition by
the Wrights the aeroplane has made
marked advance and accomplished
many thrilling feats. In France Will
bur Wright had the kings and nota
bles Of the world his eager spectators
Afterward Orville Wright at Fort Myel
fulfilled all the government require
ments, making a straightaway flight
to Alexandria and return without
alighting, also breaking the record by
remaining in the air with a passenger
| for more than an hour. Later in Ger
| many Orville repeated the triumphs O.
| Wilbur in France, making at one time
| 1000 foot ascension, the highest vi
to that time. Another notable aero
plane feat by the Wright brothers wa:
Wilbur's circling Of the statue of Lib
erty and Grants tomb during the Hud
son-Fulton celebration in New York.
OF late the Wrights have settle;
down to manufacturing and trainin.
| operators They never did f1y in DriZ
contests. Their whole purpose now Il
to protect their patents and perfect tn
aeroplane as Il commercial proposition
Their dropping of the thrill making
line has not been followed by othe
aviators, however Count that montl
lost that does not break some aviation
record. Louis Bleriot's feat of cross
ing the English channel was afterwar,
beaten by another Frenchman, VIII
went over in shorter time, and this II
turn was cast in the shade by the Eng
lishman Rolls, who, in Wright bi
plane. crossed the channel and bacl
without alighting. Louis Paulhan ha
made some Of the most wonderful o
all the flights recorded, going fron
London to Manchester. u distance 0
1876 miles, covering 1T miles withou
aliShtng in 2 hours and so minutes
Paulhan also reached the highest alti
tude attained by an aeroplane, 4,16
feet, at Los Angeles. At Rheims
France, Henri Farman remained il