Putnam patriot., 1918-06-21
THE AEROPLANE AND ITS SUC.
 CESS IN THE WAR
 (William Reginald Chandler1

At New Haven stands statue ded- icated to the memory of Nathan Hale an American spy sent by General Washington to learn of the move ments of the British army on Long Island In the Westminster Abbey. a place dedicated to the great men of England, is bust of Major Andre, a British spy sent to aid Benedict Ar mold to betray his country Each was ennobled in the eyes of his country men, but degraded in the eyes of his enemies. But these two are excep- tions, and in countless unknown graves lie the bodies of other equally patriotic but less fortunate men who dared the same fate and died an igno- minious death.
 Spying with the implication of dis honesty, treachery, and dishonor was an essential part of the war, for by no other means could the necessary information be obtained.
 The advent of the aeroplane has raised this degraded calling to a noble calling, and the modern spy is no 1 longer a skullling wretch who is hang ed or shot down, but a hero, whose deeds are given to an admiring world.
 The history of the aeroplane is short and interesting. The first at tempt at navigating the air was by a balloon, but the inability to control it caused men to look for some other device.
 Professor Langley of the Smithson- Ian Institute saw that through the use of a box kite an object could be made to stay in the air without a balloon, if the object were kept in motion. The first plane was made in the shape of a bird, having a central frame cores bonding to the body of bird and out stretched wings made by stretching silk over frames of wire These wings had a moderate upward slant being higher at the forward end. These wings were movable, a man in the central part of the body moved them up and down like the action of a bird when flying. This gave the plane the motion which kept it in the air, but it did not work to the satisfaction of the inventor. The next plane was a sim liar device in construction, but having stationary wings.
 The motion of the machine was from a motor and propellor as on a steamship. There was also a rudder for steering. The plane was mounted on platform some feet from the ground, and when moved forward the reaction of the wings against the air tended to give it an upward direction. By the use of a sliding weight on a rod extending lengthwise, the head of the machine could be given an upward or downward tilt. so that it could ascend or descend at the will of the operator
 This machine, though successful in flying, was not large enough to sup port the desired load.
 Another plane, which immediately followed, was one constructed on the same principle but with a set of wings directly in back of the first two. This was not much of a success.
 As the planes developed, ma chine, having a single plane extend ing on both sides of the body, came into prominence This sort of ma chine is now used in the army and is called monoplane. A little later the blplane with two planes extending di- rectly across the body, one above the other, came into existence. This plane IS used m patrol and scouting work in our army and navy at the present time.
 The difficulty of few years ago is of no importance now Men used to puzzle over the way the wings and body were arranged, but now the great difficulty is the motor. Planes have been constructed with two mo- tors and two propellors, but it has been discovered that the fastest and the best planes are driven with one motor and one propeller. The first aeroplane motor was of the four cyl inder type and the latest one is of twelve. In the first planes power and speed were not looked for; but in the modern plane, climbing power and speed are the only factors. If plane cannot climb at nearly a forty i've de- gree angle and go one hundred miles an hour. it is considered useless as a battleplane.