Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1912-11-08
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moving horizontally or upward in opposition to
the surface of the planes, should be falling, tnen
the support of the flying machine is sudoeniy
diminished to that extent and the aeropiano
drops Again, IL the aviator is travelling against
a stratum of wind of definite speed and then
purposely descends, reaching an air belt OF lower
speed or altered direction these changes may re-
duce the force of the air striking the surfaces
of his planes, and this drop in pressure may
cause his machine to fall speedily earlnwaiu =.
This is another proof of course of the imaginary
vacant places in the air.
We must bear in mind that the problem OIL
the flying machine is quite distinct from tnat Vi
the balloon. The balloon floats because II 10 10
either lighter than the air it displaces-Wnen IL
rises-or remains at fixed altitude because tnere
is perfect balance between its weight ana lhat
of the air which it thrusts aside; IL remains
aloft whether drifting with the wind or Delns
driven by motor. The heavier-than-air hylng
machine on the other hand, is sustained in flight
only so long as its movement forward arouses
sufficient opposition the part or the air 70 hIe
or to sustain 1t. When the propellers cease 70
revolye the aeroplane starts earthward, and DIS
aster can be avoided only by voplaning or per-
forming sweeping spiral descent. maneuver
of this sort is nothing more nor less than q
modified drop The safety of the aeroplane,
therefore. when in midar, depends upon the nice
balancing of the machine and the proper eQuaiiz-
ing OF pressure upon ire planes. Eddies IN the
air or any other disturbance which Will bring
the aeroplane into conflicting atmospheric belts
or zones will imperfl the stability OF the ma
chine and the life OF the aviator unless he De
ever watchful and there some OF these con-
dtions against which he cannot sufficiently
guard.
The flying machine In going ahead. hits the
air succession of rapid blows ana by TINS
causes an area of compression which is equal In
the force of it's reaction to the weight of the
flying machine The fact OF 1t Is. this compress
sion actually affects a volume or air equal In
weight to the air craft 1t sustains, and as cubic
foot of atmospheric air weighs only OS OF a
pound at the freezing point. little figuring will
show how wide is the area upon which the AVA
tor must draw for his support 80
What happens then when the flying machine
has moved onward and the atmosphere tries to
resume its normal state? The reaction Is like
the release of spring. and the air acquires
vibratory motion greatest in vertical direction
akin to the prolonged holdings OF partly
water-soaked log after being hit blow. But this
is not all
We are living at the bottom of an ocean of
air. and we are living Ia that region of the at
mosphere where it is densest The natural ten
dency for the atmosphere Is to fall when not
made lighter by heat and caused to rise. An
aeroplane shooting through this lower belt is
substantially knocking out the foundations from
beneath the atmospheric columns reaching many
thousands OF feet heavenward. and we have In
the air virtual duplication OF our bobbfng log
many. many times repeated at every stage of
the onward movement OF the flying machine and
the successive reactions Of the compressed air
which has momentarily sustained that mechan
zeal flight. Isn't it clear, then that an aviator
when passing above or below another aviator
is either stumbling into air holes thus created
or producing a similar condition to menace his
nearby fellow? The airman advancing at the
greater speed win produce the wider area OF dis
turbance and, within any prescribed limit, the
more dangerous reaction.
The flying machine when aloft Is IN state OF
decidedly delicate equilibrium, otherwise the
mere licking of wing tips would be incapable OF
correcting it's horizontal position. Any change
of pressure at the extremity OF its wings is equiva
lent to adding or reducing the weight at the one
or the other tip, and an upsetting movement 10
started It is quite probable that even though
one aeroplane may be 3 full hundred feet above
or below another. still the greater speed of the
overtaking machine may cause sumcisnt down
ward movement on the part OF the air to over
weight suddenly one wing Of the other machine.
This is certainly what happened In the case OF
Lieutenant Briez, Nile Dutrieu and number OF
others.
The task set the investigators Is that OF find
ing how wide Is the region OF agitation created
by a dying machine in fight. and, with this
knowledge, to prescribe the proper distances
which ayiators must observe when approaching
one another
Fortunately the flying machine Is now studied
in the laboratory and recent progress In expert
mental aerodynamics Is doing much toward
clearing the way for safe advance In the near
future. but the public mnst be patient and II
must realize that flying II full Of hazards at
upon the Threshold Of this wonderful science.