The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-10-26

Washington, D. c., Oct. 24.-One
of the first devices by which a man
ever tried to fly has recently been
placed in the Smithsonian institu-
ton in the form Of q 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 Smithson-
ian possesses the models made by
the inventors of many of the early
airships, and CARRIER proposes to
complete this collection by making
models of the others from draw
ings and descriptions.
The model he has just completed
is that of the device by which
Leonardo da Vinci hoped to fly like
bird by the use of his own IN
aided strength. The model is made
from drawings and descriptions
not to be known whether the fam
Gus Italian ever actually made his
flying machine, but it may be stated
with the utmost certainty that he
never few in it. 1t couldn't be
done.
Leonardo da Vinci was, accord
ing to all authorities, one Of the
greatest geniuses that ever lived,
and he died a little over 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 conceived such an in
genious contraption, and only a
man living in an early stage of the
development of mechanics could
have imagined that it would work
About LeonardO's Head.
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 had been
proclaimed a universal genius and
the great man of his times. He was
great painter, a great sculptor,
and a great engineer. He was the
best anatomist OF, his day. He had
greatest importance. Princes Wed
hid services. He was a man of the
highest gifts placed in a rich and
highly civilized environment-that
of Renaissance ItaIy-Which knew
how to use them TO the full. Prob
ably modern life is incapable of pro-
ducing such an example of intellect
completely developed and complete
ly triumphant. That was the golden
age of the genius as this is the gol-
den age of the boob.
Possibly Leonardo, riding high on
the tide of his success, a little in
toxicated by it, decided that he
could do anything. 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 ami
mails. He now made a special study
of the anatomy OF birds. He ascer-
tanned the exact design of their
wings, and also the exact ratio OF
the wing spread to the weight of the
bird.
Leonardo was great athlete
built somewhat on the lines of Babe
Ruth. He weighed about 200
pounds without being fat, and was
tremendously powerful. He prob
ably figured that he could fly if any
body could.
Accordingly he constructed a pair
of wings. which had just the same
spread in proportion to the weight
of a 200 pound man that a birds
wings have in proportion to its
weight. He mounted them on each
side Of beam-about like a two-by-
tour-on which he proposed to lie,
belly down, while flying.
Leonardo's device for propelling
him. self Showed both his intellect