Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

Lord Bacon Also had a scheme for a
similar balloon made of very thin copper
globes with the air exhausted. But moth
ing ever came of the plan. 1t is rather
curious that comparatively few years
ago there came near going through Con-
gress q bill for constructing a much
larger balloon on the same general sys-
tenn. An inventor, DR.. de Bossee. had
the plan all worked out, and had the
appropriation been made 1t is possible
that the United States, instead of Gep-
many, would have had the first rigid
dirigible.
There was a sort of gliding flight made
in France by locksmith named Besnier
in 1742. He did not know what gliding
was as we know 1t now. and had set
of wings made that he worked with his
hands and feet. There had not much
been developed from study about the
area of birds wings. and Besnier I'M
dertqok to fly or glide with an area
OF about twenty-four ~&auare feet. when
he should have had sixty at least. He
started from a chair and gradually in
creased the height of his jumps. finally
succeeding. according to pretty we'll au-
thenticated records. in flying from
the roof Of his own house over low
quite expert, and sold his wings" to
mountebank, who gave exhibitions
with them at country fairs.
Attempts Flight Across Seine.
The experiment Of the Marquis de
Bacqueville was made in the same year.
He undertook to fly across the Seine.
and managed. with violent exertions, to
glide about 120 feet. when he fen on
laundry barge. breaking his leg.
Bourcart in 1866 and Dandrieux in 1879
wings that could be worked by man
power. Both failed. and the first sue
cessful glide was made by Charles Spen-
Ger at the Crystal Palace exhibition. in
1865. when with pair of Tapping wings
and an aeroplane he covered 100 feet.
Degan, clockmaker of Vienna, in 1872.
tried a pair of umbrella-like wings, and
with the aid of small balloon to bear
a part of the weight managed to ascend
to height Of fifty-four feet He after
public exhibitions. On one occasion he
was blown away. and finally he was
nearly lynched as an impostor. He gave
up flying and went back to watchmak-
ing
There was A fatal accident connected
with the art in 1852, when an Austrian
cobbler named De Groof tried a sort of
combination of wings and parachute AZ
considerable height and his wings COL
lapsing he fell and was killed.
Abandoned in 1870.
The attempts to use man power and
Tapping wings seem. according to the
sketches. to have been abandoned about
1870. but there were mechanical toys,
driven by twisted rubber bands, flown by
Penaud. Jobert and Villeneuve about the
same time Some of these were presented
before the French Academy of Science
and highly commended.
There was mechanical bird built by
Trouve in 1870. that flew short distance
by the explosion of twelve cartridges,
whose impulses produced wing strokes
The first heliocopter Of which there
was a record was presented to the
French Academy of Sciences in 1884 by
naturalist, and Bienvenue,
1t was built with two screw
propellers made of four feathers each
and actuated by bamboo bow about a
foot long that unbent and uncoiled a |
string around the main shaft. This was |
no more than toy, but was considered |
an interesting step forward.
Utilization of Motors.
About this time attempts were made to |
utilize motors and there were all sorts |
IF steam engines built. one of the earliest !
being by Phillips of fire annihiiatdr |