New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-10-26

some record Of its existence. 1t
seems, however, to have attracted
no attention and but for the for
tunate accident that uncovered it
from the secondhand bookstall
Walkers place in the history Of
aeronautics would never have been
known.
Rather than the art of flying
should be delayed by his own re-
strictions he placed his views before
the world as guidance for all, and,
by strange freak of fortune, they
have lain dormant until the art he
so earnestly desired has succeeded
far beyond his widest dreams.
In an appendix to his work he
says:
II will here take the liberty of
communicating a few hints, which
conceive to be Of Importance to
the aerostatic science. Now that
we know the true cause of the pro-
jectile motion of birds, and having
suggested a plan for producing the
same effect by artificial means, we
may be able to accomplish what
Messrs. Roberts, Blanchard and
others attempted to do, but in vain,
entirely from their not possessing a
knowledge Of this mystery Of ma
ture.
~ am abiding to the steerage of
balloons, which they endeavored,
with great labor, to attain by strik-
ing a number Of oars horizontally
against the air; and if we do but
take into consideration that the
balloon was constantly flying from
the air against which they were
striking, it does not seem probable
that they could, by such means, pro-
duce the effect they aimed at.
"But if we make a car from the
plan which l have laid down in this
treatise and upon a scale large
enough to admit Of one of Messrs
Mead & Co.'s new invented revolv.
ing steam engines to move the lever
with, we can then work, in verti.
cal direction, pair of very large
wings, which would produce a pro.
jectile force sufficient to impel the
balloon forward in any point of the
compass to which we might incline
it; and by having a large tail fixed
to the car, in universal joint, We
should be able to give it any in,
clination whatever"
) (By substituting the present-daS
5 aero engine with it's propeller sfo1
: Walkers steam engine and wing,
and an elevator for his tail, thu
above description would fit q mod
crn dirigible.)
) "When we have thus effected
perfect steerage to balloons W,
shall be able to convey q number O.
passengers to any place of destina
ton with accuracy and safety. Blu
7 for this kind Of navigation the bal
' loon must be much smaller thai
= usual; the aeronauts could thel
8 keep the machine at a moderat
r height-from SO to 100 feet woul,
be high enough for ordinary sailing
"One of Mr.. Meads patent steam
engines can be made with on
horsepower, or equal to the strength
of eight or ten men, that will no
weigh more than eight stone an
will stand in the small space of fou
feet by two, with the boiler and al
4 the apparatus belonging to it,"
g Mechanical Po,uer
e There you have the very first sus
u gcstion for the use of mechanical
r power to drive aircraft. To driv
a balloon with a one-horsepower en-
& CINE looks ridiculous when compare
d with the modern Liberty motor o
r 400 horsepower, or the Fiat aero en-
G CINE Of $50 horsepower. 1t appear
G still cruder when weights are com
d par d 49, Mcad's one-horsepowe
: weighing 1l2 pounds. and the Lib
a |