The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-11-22
Setting Up Machines For
Flight Interesting Pro-
cess to Uninitiatcd
BIG BIRDS ARE SHIPPED
IN BOXES BY EXPRESS
Ely Had Several Things Happen to
Fret Him Yesterday-Ward Is
the Youngest Man at the
| Business -

FROM the deck OF the cruiser BlflnlnB-
ham to the heart of the magic city of
Birmingham, the big biplane of Eugene
Ely has completed long journey
Yesterday It's ma ay hundred parts were
knitted and taclaJd together by skilled
mechanicians, and this afternoon, 1t will
spread its sweeping wings to the breeze
and dart through the air as gracefully
as ship upon the ocean.
The dismantling and rebuilding of an
airship, those who witnessed the latter
process yesterday are aware. is a task
as intricate and difficult as searching
for and finding the needle in the hay
stack. To prepare to fly requires more
on the power In the practical build
ing of an airship from the ground up,
the knitting together of all the various
threads, the lacking in place of the
Thousand delicate beams of framework,
the bending and binding and weaving of
minute particles of metal and bits of
machinery. and finally. the lifting into
place the gigantic motor, are necessary
The remaining of the Curtiss 60-horse-
power biplane which is at the fair
grounds today calls into play the skill of
five mechanics trained for this particu-
lar work, for period of three hours. In
the process, no arduous labor is required
no more than in knitting sock or whip
ping into place the million particles of a
crazy-quilt.
From Cruiser to Birmingham
Just before beginning its journey to Biz
mingham, the biplane, which will fly
today; created a stir nationwide near
Hampton Roads.
At the noon hour it was lifted by pull
leys from raft onto the deck of the
Birmingham-a deck about SO feet in
length and "a feet in width. At O'Clock
the motor was put into operation and be-
hind the craft of the air the gigantic pro-
peller whirled with a sound which buzzed
to the shore. Eugene Ely, considered the
most daring of the five Curtiss aviators
seated himself at the steering wheel, and
--rr~-ra and--aa..Ar ,--~--5, constructed
Tor the purpose, the biplane ran on 1t.
three wheels, and attaining a speed OF
about DO miles per hour as the waters
edge was reached, it lifted itself into the
air, delicately and gracefully and then
with that whorr-r which causes the blood
Iof the sportsman to leap through his
veins, pushed its nose shoreWard On
ward, onward it sped, gaining speed with
every revolution of its propeller AND
finally 1t lighted, after trip of five
miles, on solid ground again
Immediately afterwards it was rushed
to the hangar, which in our own Ian
guage is called the shed, and there litter
ally torn to pieces, thread by thread and
beam by beam, and carefully packed
away in boxes, resembling huge oof-
fins. The butterflys wings had been torn
apart and absolutely nothing remained.
How ne Is 9 rried
The Curtiss bip, is much smaller
than the Wright aeroplane. From tip
to tip each plane measures 26 feet as
compared to the 40-foot planes of Wright
1t covers an area of 280 square feet
whereas the area covered by the Wright
machine Is about APO. The Curtiss biplane
cannot make the speed against the wind
that the Wright machine can, nor can
it attain the altitude But 1t is lighter
more graceful and can. it is claimed, en-
terrain an audience with more thrilling
darts and nerve-racking maneuvers in the
air.
In the sense that he carries it with him
wherever he goes, the aircraft is to the
CONTINUED ON PAGE AZ