Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1919-01-02
THE AlRPLANE DEVELOPMENT IS
REALLY BEGUN IN 19O8SAYS THE
EDITOROF AEROPLANE WEEKLY

planes in n form or another ~justifies
cTle wonderful progress made in aero
planes in one form or another justifies
in the opinion of the Daily News, 9
veloprment of the ely machine" The
appended article is taken from the Aero
plane Weekly and The Worlds Air.
craft, edited by G. C. Gray.-Editor.
The first human flight on a power
driven airplane was made by Orville
Wright, December II, 1903, but it was
not until 1908 that the airplane really
came into being. Consequently that
year should be taken as the starting
point.
This article merely indicates the steps
by which the airplane of today has de.
yeloped from the machines Of 1908.
Each machine mentioned has initiated
a fresh step in development or has
been the f%orerunner Of a new type or
has been such an Improvement as to be
considered a long step forward. The
machines here mentioned will be found
in their respective years among the
illustrations.
First Engine Had Four Cylinders
The first Wright was driven by a
small four-cylindered, water-cooled en-
CINE, built by the Wright brothers. 1t
was a biplane, driven by two air
screws, actuated by chains, one chain
being crossed--lilie n crossed belt on
q lathe-so as to make it's screw re.
yolve in the direction opposite to the
other.
The pilot sat alongside the engine, and
there was n scat for a passenger in be-
tween, so that the balance should not
be altered by the added weight.
This machine had no horizontal tail
behind the main planes, and belonged
properly to what is konwn as the tail,
first, class, called by the French the
''Canard'' or duck" This class never
was successful, though tried in France
by the Voisin brothers and Bleriot, and
in England by H. G.. Barber on the Walk
yrie. Such machines could be flown,
but they never steered properly.
The Wright Machine
The Wright had vertical rudders aft,
and two large elevator planes forward
for UP and down steering. Its rolling
movements were controlled by warping
the wings, SO that while the angle of
the wings on side was increased
and gave more lift, the other side de-
creased and gave less lift, thus, enab,
ling the pilot to right himself. The ele-
yators We're worked by a lever on the
left side, and the warp with a lever on
the right, and by waggling the joint
top of the right hand lever the rud.
der was controlled.
In 1910 the Wrights fitted a horizon.
tai tail. and in 1911 they %droppedthe
front elevators altogether. but the
Wright then practically ceased to de-
velop.
The 1903 Wright was launched by
along a rail.At one r.ld was
q pylon with pulley at the top. Aline
led this pulley from a weight
down to the pylon end of the rail along
the rail to the outer end. over another
pulley and back along the rail- to a
carriage on which the machine was
mounted.
Carriage Left Behind
When the line was fixed to the car
the weight was hauled 10 the top
ot the pyIon. On releasing the car
rage b weight fell, hauled the car
and the airplane along with it
along the rail, and gave the necessary
to enable it to rise into the
air. The carriage was left behind as
The machine arose In the air.
Contemporary with the 1908 Wright
was the voisin biplane. The Voisin
brothers had been experimenting. to-
gctiier with M. Bleriot and M. Henri /
Esarrnan assisted financially by M. Arch
beacon and M. Henri Deutsch de la
Meurthe. On March "a, 1908, M. Far
flew IN miles at Issy. near Paris, J
d Vcisin. and made a turn, and on
May 80 the late Leon Deleagrange flew
light miles near Rome. On September
.l 1908 he flew Al miles at Issy-les.
Moullineaux without descending.
EEhe voisin was biplane with n8front
Elevator. Unlike the Wright, it had a
,oxkite tain on which were mounted
shes rndders. The wings had vertical
partitions, the theory Of the machine
1Olng based on that of the box kite
fT11af1Sn0 lateral cnnfrol az $40 x,ortfooal