The Washington herald., 1910-06-05
How the Bird-men OPP
crate the Mechan-
ism that Makes Pos
Sible Long Trips
Through the Air.

IN taking OF thS present and future
OF the aeroplane the other day, Glenn II.
Curtiss, then preparing TO start on his
now famous flight down the Hudson
River, ventured the opinion that the sue
cess of power-iight lay entirely in the
perfection of the controlling gear. He
meant particularly the gear that controls
the direction and the stability Of the
flyer. Whoever desires 10 understand
the aeroplane and its method of flight
may as we'll take that significant remark
10 heart before he starts in.
When men started TO Try to fly they did
not know what they were about They
thought that it would be sufficient to pro
vide the power to drive their machines
and the kitelike surfaces to raise them.
It did not occur to them that kite. even
with a long tail and no weight to carry,
plunges and tumbles in all sorts of dizzy
ways SO when men invented an engine
sufficiently light and powerful, and fixed
10 il the slanting planes TO take 1t aloft,
they were very much puzzled at first to
find that their machines invariably
crashed down 10 earth after rising a few
yards. says the New York sun.
They had started ont with a rudder,
something like a ships rudder, 10 turn
their aeroplanes 10 right or left. That
was not enough. They next added a
second rudder TO turn upward and down.
ward with. That was not enough either.
SO then came along the Wright brothers
with their one all-important contribution
to the construction Of the aeroplane.
They produced a device that would keep
the flyer ''On an even keel" as we say
OF a ship; that is something that would
save Ii from overturning sideways.
Finally. then, the flying men have made
among them all the aeroplane Of to-day.
Their product is a machine that wifi go
rapidly and straight through the air
and viii keep steady and level in fairly
CSliet breezes. The machine is not auto
matte. That Improvement is yet to come.
As yet. every swerve lurCh, and dip Of
the aeroplane has to be counteracted by a
conscious and skillful use Of one OF the
Controls"
With the accompanying diagrams and
the explanation here given any one may
understand how the aeropiane is made
TO go. Various makes Of aeroplane differ
IN minor points, Of course. Almost all
however. have these points in common:
up-and-down or altitude" rudder in
front, lateral rudder behind and "stabiIiz-
ing rudGers at the extreme wing tips Of
the aeroplane
The aeroplane Of Glenn H Curtfss, in
which he made his Albany-New York
fight. is the one from which the accom-
panying diagrams are drawn. The Cur
~ II -
by the recent flight. the most advanced
type OF aeTOplane yet devised in America,
possibly IN the world It has possibly a
little less stability and endurance than
the Farman biplane used by Paulhan,
but it excels the Farman biplane in speed.
In design, the two models closely resem-
bic each other.
The Curtiss aeroplane is shown In
ground plan in figure 1. The aeroplane
flies in the direction indicated by the ar
rows. A is the altitude rudder, peTched
out at the end of a bamboo framework.
in front Of the driver. b B. are the two
stabiliZing rudders, out at the ends of the
planes, is the rudder for lateral steer
ing, perched out behind, as A is before.
p P is the upper sustaining plane. four
feet under which lies the lower sustaining
plane, parallel and of the same shape and
size. In front OF the planes is the steer
ing wheel, w Just back of W Is the
aeroplanist's seat. S. Back OF S. and be-
tween the big planes, is placed the en-
CINE. Back of the engine and behind the
big planes is the propeller. Y.
In the type of aeroplane now most de-
velOped the propeller Y, placed behind
the engine E, and the driver, at s, forces
the machine forward in a horizontal
h. II Z u
on their under surfaces, slightly inclined
and conceived for that purpose. The
pressure lifts the machine IN the air or
sustains IL there al a desired level.
Tie engine that supplies the power Is a
gasolene explosion motor closely similar
TO that used in automobiles ONLY slight
differences are necessitated by the adapt
ing of the engine TO the seroplane. The
radiator and cylinders are built and
grouped so as TO save as much weight as
possible. The controls for the magnetic
and gasoline supply are placed forward
OF the engine, at the drivers seat. S,
for he is under the disadvantage of sit
ting in front OF the motor The engine
cranks up directly by turn Of the pro-
peller and the shaft drives the propeller
directly without the Intervention Of cogs
or sprockets. With these exceptions the
flying engine is in all respects like the
automobile engine and does not require
any explanation Of its own.
1t is now 10 be seen how the propeller,
X, driven by the engine, E, sends for
ward the machine, which is sustained by
the gliding on the air Of the plane. P Z,
and the similar plane under 1t. There re-
mains to be seen the more delicate and
difficult part of flying, namely the work
OF keeping the flyer straight and level
Each Of the rudders, A. B B and c. does
its own particular share of this work It
is threefold work, and far more comph
Gated than the control OF automobile,
ship or bicycle. All these travel on a
horizontal surface and are guided only
10 right and to left. Only the submarine