El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-10-13

taken a flight in one Of the two
seated bipIane scouts designed for
spying upon the enemy and for max
Ing photographic maps Of their
trenches for the use Of our army
But before I describe my experience
OF today 7 want TO say a word about
ny first sight Of an engine flying
about through the sky 1t was just
p years ago, on an island in the Po-
fou7sr river not far from Washing
ton. I had gone there at the invita-
tion Of DR.. Samuel Langley who mad
Just completed his invention OF the
first machine that actually new Ru-
mors Of the discovery had already
been published, but he had selected
me 70 give the first description Of
the flight TO the newSnaners- We went
alone and waited for three days at
the clubhouse on the island down the
Potomac, in order to get the best air
conditions to make the test.
The machine, which was made
chiefly Of steel and weighed only
about as much as a four year old
boy. was moved by a little steam en-
zine. II was launched from a start
ing stage. and IL flew from the Islano
for = distance almost as great as the
length o. Pennsylvania avenue be-
tween the treasury and the capitol It
rose into the air and flew straight
across the Potomac toward the woods
and then turned and went up the
river for short distance Then. all
the water in the boiler having been
converted 3ntO steam, its motive
power was gone and it dropped gently
down upon the earth.
Father OF AviHtiOn Industry.
That machine was the father Of
the great aviation industry of to-
day. II proved the success Of the
principles Of artificial flight. andy
from il was developed the man carry
ing machine which, aided by congress,
DR.. Langley completed in 1903 Every
one knows the tragic story OF that
machine. The aviator who attempted
70 fly il was c n. Manley, who is
now one Of the engineers OF the Cur
tiss airplane staff, and IL was due
only 20 bad weather conditions and
a defect in the launching that the
machine did not leave the starting
stage The story went out that 1t was
failure. The newspapers ridIculed
Langley and the blow to his sensitive
nature was such that Il caused his
death. The machine had been injured
in the starting and It was not rebuilt
and tested until he had passed away
Indeed. it was not until 1914 that the
identical machine was taken to Ham
mondsport and successfully flown by
Glenn Fl. Curtiss- In the meantime
other inventors had been working
along the lines of the discoveries
made by Dr. Langley. and the future
success Of aviation had been proved
a fixed fact.
The machine I saw on the Potomac
compares to those which are now
fighting over the battIefields Of Eu-
rope as 2 fly 70 an eagle. It weighed
less than so pounds and II flew three
quarters Of a mile in one and three
fOurths minutes The machine In
which I rode through the skies to-
day weighs almost a ton and II flies
through the air at 20 miles an hour
AS II rested upon the ground II
looked like some gigantic live thing
from another planet Using a CULVER
comparison IL made me think Of q
BrobdiEuaEian bug ready 10 attack
ny Lilliputian self, and when in ac-
tion this impression became more
As it rested upon the ground It
made me think Of a fish with wings,
and when half a mile in the air. with
like a dragon 1ly which turneG TO
silver as the rays flashed upon its
surface. despair Of making you see
the aerial monster and Of giving you
q live conception Of how one feels
while Il carries you about through the
clouds with the earth spread out Ike
q map Tar below
Like Great Flying Fish.
The best idea Of It perha ls, was
2 gigantic flying fish. The fish upon
the ground rests upon two wheels
with cushioned rubber tires They are
not as large as the front wheels OF
the smaller OF our automobiles and
they raise the body and the head Of
the fish so that It seems 10 be sup
ported upon them and on the tail The
head Of the fish contains the engine
hidden inside the shell and in front
OF this. attached to the nose, as II
were. IS the propeller This is a long
blade that extends out like two horns,
which when the machine is in action,
fly around at the rate Of 400 times a
minute OF % times a second They
raanm kHHH nHH - al
the locusts o. Egypt Joined into one
and they turn the air IN front OF
them into q whirlwind which flies
back in a great current toward the
The seats Of the airplane are in
two great holes cut out Of the back
Of the fish You sit down. as il were.
in its belly, not like Jonah inside the
whale, for he had no view. but so low
that your head only extends above
the TOP. Right in front OF YOU IS the
guide wheel. much like that Of an
automobile, and the rest Of the steer
ing gear By which the plane is con
troIled- This control includes the
tail and aillerons, or fins Of the fish.
The tail is so made that Il can be
twisted this way or that much like
the tail Of a fish or a bird. It steers
the machine Sust as the rudder steers
the ship
7 put on leather coat and a he'll
met which covered my ears and was
AlNEU INalE OF EEEdN -OAEAE1 10
protect my eyes then climbed into
the hole nearest the engine, AND
sank down with my head just above
the body Of the fish. Behind me. in
the second hole. sat pilot Instructor
Soratts an aviator Of the flying corps
or the British arm-. a man who has
seen service in the war in Europe,
and has brought a number Of Ger
man planes to the ground. At one
time he had a sky battle with Immel-
mann. the famous German aeronaut.
IN which both sent many shots at
each other. The battle was not decis-
i've. although the British machine was
severely damaged in the action
Cranked Like an Automobile.
Our machine was started by men
Gran king Il on much the same prin-
cipIe as an automobile. They did
this by giving the propeller a whirl
The engine began to work The noise
grew louder and louder a great wind
arose and we Elided over the ground,
the tail dragging in the dust which
rolled upward like a cloud into the
air In the meantime the whirlwind
increased The engine went faster and
had the feeling Of climbing NJ a hill
In an automobile This increased a
moment later when the vsachine left
the ground and glided Up an inclined
plane into the skies. The ascent was
gradual and we seemed 70 be forging
ahead still unon our two wheels
As We rose higher and higher there
was no feeling of the great void be-
meath us The way into the sky ap-
pesrsd to be as solid as the ground we
had left and we were forcing our