Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-09-05
CURTlSS HAS The
FASTEST MACHINE.
Are Smaller Than Those Used
by Wrights, But Are Claimed
More Practicable.
ARE NOT FOR PASSENGERS
Aviator Who Will Fly Ships Here
Holds That in Time the Aero
plane Will Garry the Mails.

While Curtis and the Wright broth,
ers, the American aeroplane inventors,
have always advocated the biplane,
leaving the monoplane development
to the French, the American machines
are not nearly as identical as might
be supposed from the photographs
of the two in flight. The pictures
show all of the similarities with few
of the differences.
To the aperage person, biplane
is an aeroplane with two wings super
imposed, and they are all alike ex-
cepting that the Wrights have skids
and have to start from a rail, while
Curtiss uses wheels and may start
from any ordinary smooth ground.
This difference is an important one,
as anyone who has seen both machines
fly may testify. The ease with which
Curtiss leaves the ground within
few moments of the time he takes
the machine from the shed is in sharp
contrast with the work of getting the
Wright machine started. 1t takes the
combined efforts of dozen men ID
haul the Wright flyers around on its
cumbersome, wide-tired wheels and
adjust it on the starting rail before it
is as nearly ready for flight as
is the Curtiss machine at all times.
Different Views of Builders.
The differences are the aims of their
builders. The machines are built with
distinct different ends in view.
While both builders aim for stability
and endurance the Wright machine is
designed more particularly for car
rying a passenger or passengers.
With little or no effort in this direc-
ton, Curtiss has sought speed in
machine which can go from one place
to another, and after a stop start back
at any time.
In his first machine, Curtiss de-
parted from the practice of other
builders by cutting down the carry
ing surfaces almost fifty per cent.
This. of course, made his machine
considerably lighter and by adopting
new ideas in construction, Curtiss
further reduced the weight.
When 1t came to power, however,
Curtiss moved the other way. His
winning machine at Rheims, while
smaller and more trim than most of
the machines there, was equipped with
an eight cylinder CurtiSs motor es-
peciaIly designed for it.
For One Nam.
Although he has, on few occasions,
carried a passenger, and can build
machines to carry more, Curtiss con-
fines himself to machines built for one
man.
THE future Of the aeroplane is not
a machine to carry passengers" he
has said. 81 would not go up with
someone else flying the machine.
want to control the levers myself, and
other people will feel the same way
about it The most popular machine
of the future will be for one man, and
it will travel fast It's value will lie
in its ability TO get from one place to
another quickly. Aeroplanes may be
used to carry important mails because
of the speed they will be able to at
tain. and they will also be useful in a
military sense"
Mr.. Curtis sees the possibilities Of
the aeroulane as an instrument of
warfare, as was evidenced by his sue
cessful experiments on Lake Keuka,
near his training grounds. He will
undoubtedly have a machine for this
line OF work when the time comes. but
it will be a speedy machine built by
him for any purpose.
The wrights are content, on the 9TH
er hand. with machine which