Pueblo chieftain., 1922-01-15
BY FREDERIC J. HAsKrN

New York City. Jan. l2.-That man
Will soon become a flying animal. able
to soar in tho air like an eagle with
out tho aid OF motor, is tho latest
dramatic forecast OF areonautical ex-
perts. Successful short flights in
motorless planes have recently been
made by German aviators, while
both European and American invent
ors are known to be at work on
models OF intricately-shaped wings
more nearly resembling those of tho
large. soaring birds.
This was tho dream of men CEN
turtles before the age of motors. and
most of the early experiments In fly
ing were but clumsy attempts to imi-
tste tho wing motion of birds. Leon
ardo da Vinci. for example. was con-
vinced that IL he could only produce
a man-size pair OF wings exactly like
tho eagles. he would be able TO fly
Just as cxpertly as that bird. He had
drawn many an eagle and he knew
the peculiar shape of their wings. so
eventually he produced a huge and
accurately shaped pair. But some
thing seemed to be lacking. The
young inventor tried them out again
and again. using his arms and legs
to motivate them. yet he did not rise
grandly into the air, as he had cN-
pected. and once he came down very
abruptly indeed from the top Of low
hill.
In very short time he tired of
these awkward experiments. and
turned TO the ,fashioning of hell
copter"-a great aerial screw, os feet
long. and then he built another flying
machine that was a framed sail. After
that he died. Now. modern aero
nautical experts tell us that II da
Ninci had only gone on studying the
wings and the flight of the engle. in
stead of wasting so much time on his
helicopter. no might have discovered
the secret that modern scientists are
beginning to know.
THE EXAMPLE OF BIRDS
Man IL essentially a land animal"
says ono aviation authority, "and II IA
quite possible that IL Nature had not
placed before him numerous, examples
OF birds and insects that arc able to
fly. he would never have thought Of
attempting II himself. But birds arc
very much in evidence. md mankind
has from tho earliest times felt in
spired to initiate them.
Mature has made a flying machine
In the bird. which is nearly thousand
times as heavy as the air its bulk dis
places.
"If you will observe tho flish. az
hawks or eagles. YOU will ssee that
they seem to glide thru the air with
hardly any movement of their wings.
Sometimes, however. they stop and
hold Themselves in a stationary posi-
tion directly over a certain spot, care
fully watching something in the earth
they often work their wings with
great rapidity. evidently cxpendlnG an
enormous amount of energy. When
they cease TO hover and commence
to move again thru tho air they ap-
pear TO keep themselves at the Same
height with an almost imperccptible
expenditure OF power"
In the nineteenth century tho secret
OF this eccentric mode OF flight was
discovered. It was. men realized. the
wind. Professor Langley was aware
Of the soaring theory as far back as
1891. as Is proved by his famous
memoir. entitled The Internal Work
os the Wind while in 1897 Mr.
Chanute shed oven further LIGHT on
variations OF the wind were the
greatest difficulties to be encountered
in flyins-n fact which is now fully
appreciated by aeronautica1 engineers
According TO the soaring theory,
there are three kinds of movements
IN Nne ara rlslNg current or air,
following the upward contour of the
ground; n rising current of air over
heated ground. hot air rising and coot
air rushing down TO take It's place.
and, lastly, the irregularities In the
speed OF horizontal winds, causing
crowdinE of air continuously-whlch
In turn. causes air puffs upward
A SUCCESSFUL SOARING FLIGHT
An illustration of this theory In
practice Is the recent flight of Herr
klemperer In Germany. which is ex-
planned In an article by Mr.. Augustus
Post
"klemperer left from wasserkuppc
hill 5000 feet high. and landed near
tho town of Gersfelt, six miles away.
which is 1900 feet high. Tho dura-
tion of the flight was more than IL
minutes. The beginning of the flight
was made into the wind. which was
from west st-northwest The hills run
ming nearly duo north aud south