The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-04-21

washington, ~. O-y April IL
After successful flights across the
Atlantic-one OF them in a single
leap-and the exploits of aircraft
during the late war, it might be
supposed that the conquest OF the
air has been accomplished, and
that ayiators are "birdmen" in fact.
But the thing toward which stu
dents OF flying are turning their
attention now is the possibility OF
sustained fight without power-the
kind of fight possible for an alba
tross, an eagle, or sea gull. These
birds and many others are capable
of keeping themselves in the lair,
and OF actually climbing higher
and higher, withoutaany apparent
effort other than holding their
wings extended.
The pursuit of this development
Is arousing more interest abroad
than it Is in America, the German
flyers being particularly active in
working toward accomplishing this
end. 1t is now little more than
10 years since the first controlled
flight in a power-prcpelled airplane
was successful, the machine being
piieted by the American pioneer
flyer, Wilbur Wright, at Kitty
Hawk, \. C. In the years between,
heavier than air machines have
been perfected in many details, and
huge planes able to carry bombs
weighing thousands of pounds and
capable of carrying many persons
have been constructed and their
worthiness proved. But develop
ment of the so-called glider" has
Jagged in America in comparison
with our late enemy, Germany.
Study of big soaring birds, no.
tably the albatross, has led to the
accomplishment of remarkable re-
suits. although it cannot be said
that the powerless airplane is per-
tected as yet by any means. 1t is
a fact that certain of the birds can
remain for hours in the air with
out an apparent expenditure of en-
ergy in the way of Tapping their
wings. Gulls following a ship seem
to hang stationary behind it, trav
cling forward at the limited speed
of the vessel. The larger seabirds,
it is claimed, have been observed
for as long as daylight lasts, keep
ing up in the air and cruising here
and there without once moving the
wings in the motion commonly
known as tapping.
Soaring Birds as Models.
In the studies of the birds as
model for "gliders", it was noted
that the birds best capable of this
sustained fight without effort have
wings extending a considerable dis
lance out from the sides of the
bird, and tending to be narrow
rather than broad wings. This idea
has been followed in making
gliders.
By glider is not meant a machine
that will merely coast down the
wind, gathering speed from loss of
altitude. Such a machine would be
useful only if started from the top
of hill, with a landing place
somewhere on the plain below.
This sort of thing would be and
is relatively easy of accomplish
ment. The ambitious goal of the
experimenters in this line is a ma
chine without power. which will
rise of it's own voIition, utilizing
air currents for the purpose, and
fly about here and there without
artificial means of propulsion, such
as the propeller used by all air
planes.
The best record thus far obtained
in this respect is credited to a Ger
man experimenter, a man named
Harth. This man, according to ac-
credited records, made his machine
rise from a standstill without as
sistance, and eventually gained an
altitude of about two hundred feet
above the starting point, keeping
his machine in the air for 211a
minutes. When he did land, it was
at point only So or 40 feet below
his starting point, and that after
being in the air for more than a
third of an hour.
Too much should not be expect
ed from the perfection of the ''glid-
er" in the way of actual long
fights without any power whatso-
ever. Harth required a wind of
about twenty miles an hour to
make his remarkable record. OBJ
viously it is impossible to get any,
thing like lift" from the air when
there is a dead calm.
The big development which would
seem to be possible in the near flu
ture. judging from the German ex-
periments, is the aerial "fivYer"-