New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-09-09
(,llr'tiss (glides
IL Seconds and
Breaks Record
Cuts IowIine at Fifiy-Fooi
Height and Makes Perfect
Landing; TO Use I,000-Ft.
Wire i'm the Next Flight
Plans Several Changes
Expects To BE Able TO
Take OF at 800 Feet Up
and Do Real Soaring

Glenn II. Cuitiss made q new record
for sailplaning over water yesterday
when ne glided through the air above
Manhasset Bay for seventeen seconds.
He came within one second of doubling
the time of his longest fight on
Thursday, nine seconds. The record
was made on his second adventure
into the air of the afternoon, after
casting off a 50o-foot towline, at
tached to skimming mahogany speed
boat that only needed wings itself to
fly.
Mr.. Curtiss cut loose from the tow
line at height of fifty feet, the great
est altitude he has yet reached, and
his motorless, 14o~pound miniature BIZ
plane with undcrslung BATH tub at
tachment, followed straight ahead in
the wake of the speedster for several
seconds before t3 nose slanted down
ward. The glider made a perfect
landing.
After he had been towed back to the
hangar at Port Washington Mr.. Cnrtiss
announced he would install wind
gauge in his glider, attach scale to
feet to 1000 and use a 1882 of an inch
solid steel wire towline instead of rope
or wire cable.
Friction Breaks Ropes
In the experiments Thursday and
yesterday Mr.. Curtiss said that both
the rope and wire cable used ham
pered by their tendency to snarl and
break because Of friction. He broke
one line yesterday.
Larger floats will be put on the
wings, as the present floats do not
touch the water when the glider is
floating and the little craft rocks from
side to side when under way, interior
ing with the take-off. The wind gauge
is to assist in studying air currents,
and the scale will indicate just how
much pull is required to send the glider
into the air. With q thousand feet of
towline Mr.. Curtiss estimates that he
will be able to rise high enough in the
air-2oo or 500 feet-to do some real
soaring. AT present a downward slant
is necessary when the line is cut, to
prevent "stalling" in the air, and per-
haps doing a failing leaf" with a
cold bath at the end.
The first flight lasted only ten sec
onds and was made to oblige squad
of motion picture men aboard two
motorboats. At it's conclusion MIR. Cur
tiss changed his towboat from Che Cur
lSS-englne0 BOAT ne used thursday TO
David McCullough's big hydroplane. He
reached the highest point of the flight
just off the nose of Plum Point, One
more glide would have been made, but
the towline broke. At the end of an
other line Mr.. Curtiss went kiting to
the hangers, making the two miles
from Plum Point in sos.
To Study Air Currents
Ashore tho aviator said that consider
able experimenting and study of the
wind currents must be done before the
more practical features of gliding be-
came apparent. He has yet to find
out just how little pulling power is
required to make the glider sail and
is also contemplating having an en-
gined airplane do the towing, later
putting little engine, about six
horsepower, in the glider itself.
The albatross, whose forebears took
such a terrible revenge on the An
cient Mariner, has furnished interest
ing study to the air navigators of to-
day, Mr.. Curtiss said, and especially
to experimenters in gliding. The bird
can hop into the air and with no ap-
parent motion of it's wings soar for
considerable distances.
"It probably takes advantage of puffs
of wind" he said, Towering it's wings
slightly to renew it's forward motion"
During the winter Mr.. Curtiss said
he would probably continue his expert
ments at Pensacola, Fla. He expects
to go up again on Monday.