Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1921-10-27

Washington, D. c., Oct. 23-One Of
the first devices by which a man evel
tried to fly has recently been placed
in the Smithsonian Institution in the
form of a model made by Paul CARRIER.
CARRIER, who is but % years old,
has set himself the task of making
visible the whole history Of mans
effort to master the air. Smithsonian
possesses the models made by the in
ventors of many of the early airships,
and CARRIER proposes to complete this
collection by making models OF the
| others from drawings and descrip-
| tons.
The model he has just completed is
! that OF the device by which Leonardo
da Vinci hoped to fly like a bird by
the use of his own unaided strength.
| descriptions which Leonardo left. It
appears not to be known whether the
famous italian ever actually made his
flying machine, but it may be stated
with the utmost certainty that he never
flew in it. 1t couldn't be done.
Leonardo da Vinci was, according to
all authorities, one OF the greatest
geniuses that ever lived, and he died
u little more than 400 years ago. When
you look at his flying machine it is
well to bear both of these facts in
mind. Only a genius could have con-
ceived such an ingenious cOntraption,
and only man living in an early stage
of the development Of mechanics could
have imagined that it would work.
Did Leonardo Have the Big Head7
Even allowing for the fact that
Leonardo lived a long time ago, one
wonders whether he did not have his
tongue in his cheek when he designed
this flying machine. Or if it was not
partly joke, then maybe the famous
Florentine had touch Of the big head,
to which even geniuses are liable. He
has been proclaimed universal genius
and the great man of his times. He
and great engineer. He was the
best anatomist Of his day. He had
made scientific discoveries of the
greatest Importance. Princes We'd
for his services. He was man of
the highest gifts placed in rich and
highly civilized enyironment-that of
Renaissance Italy-which knew how
to use them to the full. Probably
modern life is incapable of producing
such an example of intellect complete
ly developed and completely trium-
plant. That was the golden age of
the genius as this is the golden age
Of the boob.
Possibly Leonardo, riding high on the
tide of his success, little intoxicated
by it, decided that he could do any
thing. He had already done almost
everything. What was there yet to
try. He would fly. He was a close
student of nature and especially of the
anatomy of animals. He now made a
special study of the anatomy of birds
He ascertained the exact design Of
their wings, and also the exact ratio
of the wing spread to the weight of
the bird.
Leonardo was a great athlete. tuilt
somewhat on the lines of Babe Ruth
He weighed about 200 pounds with
out being fat, and was tremendously
powerful He probably figured that
he could fly if anybody could.
Accordingly he constructed pair of
wings, which had just the same spread
in proportion to the weight of 200
pound man that birds wings have
in proportion to it's weight. He
mounted them on each side of beam
about like a two-by four-on which
he proposed to lie, belly down, while
flying.
Leonardo's device for propelling
himself showed both his intellect and