Evening star., 1925-06-10
Wright Feat Not Questioned.

data to its original condition, and Is
constructed In the main of the origi-
nal parts
Wright Feat Not Questioned.
There is no question that the
Wrights were the first to actually ac-
complish sustained free fight Of
man with their heavier-than-air ma
chine, and the Smithsonian Institu-
ton recognized this achievement by
awarding the first Langley gold medal
to them in 1909" DIR. Walcott says in
a statement made public with the re-
port. 'On the other hand, 1t has
never been questioned that the Lang.
ley machine antedated the Wright
machine. The only question has been
| whether the full-size Langley flying
machine of 1908 was capable Of sus-
tained free fight The successful
flight of the exact quarter-siZe model
in 1903 and the first tests Of the full
size machine made at Hammondsport
In 1914, with its original power plant
and before extensive notifications
| were made to test other principles IN
| volved in the design of the Langley
machine, indicate, in the opinion or
DIR. Ames and Admiral Taylor, that
the fullsize Langley machine could
have flown in 1908. with man, had
| it been successfully launched.
Not Belittling Work.
This does not~detract from the
achievement of the Wright brothers
whose machine was the first to actual
| ly carry man in flight. 1t was in
recognition of this fact that in 1910
| and again in 1916 I made efforts to
secure for exhibition in the National
Museum the original Wright airplare
| of 1908, or a reproduction or model
L
| two years. respectively, before the
| Langley machine was placed on exhi-
bition in the museum, 1t having in
the meantime. except when being
tested at Hammondsport. been kept
| in the same workshop In the SMITH
sonian Institution where it was first
built by DR.. Langley"
Three Issues Involved.
| The report, in part, follows:
There are Just three questions In
volved, which must be answered be-
| fore it is possible to determine the
capability of fight Of the original
Langley machine. These questions are:
First, was the power plant adequate?
| Second, did the machine embody the
proper aerodynamic principles to en-
| able it to balance and maintain itself
In the air? Third, was it sufficiently
| strong structurally to carry It's weight
| and the stresses due to flying?
| As regards the power plant, there
seems no question that. in the Ham.
| mondsport trials, the original Manly
engine never developed the power of
pable In 1908.
Furthermore, during the Ham
engine, the weight lifted into the air.
including the pontoons, was 40 per
cent greater than that OF the machine
as Of 1903 with a pilot. Moreover,
the bracing and supports to the pom
! toons and the pontoons themselves
| must have added materially to the re-
sistance of the machine. If, under
| these circumstances, the Langley ma
chine was capable of arising from
the water which was demonstrated,
there is no question in our mind that
| the 1908 machine had an adequate
power plant.
/! Changes Not Material.
with reference to the second ques-
| ton, although there were some
changes in the supporting and guiding
surfaces in the Hammondsport ma
chine as compared with those of the
1905 machine, they were not in our
| Judgment, material, either as regards
the Hammondsport machine when fit-
| ted with the original Manly engine, or
| subsequently when modified by a
more powerful engine with a tractor
| screw.
| Moreover, the machine as 1t stood
| was virtually an exact copy of a quar-
| ter size model. which had shown itself
/ aerodynamically quite satisfactory
We conclude, accordingly that the
answer to the second of the funda.
mental questions above Is also In the
| affirmative. f
| When it comes to the question Of
strength the case Is not so clear.
There is no question that the changes
made in 1914 provided additional
strength. Additional strength was OBJ.
viously needed if 40 per cent addi-
tional weight was to be carried. How
| ever, the fact that additional strength
was provided renders it impossible to
| remove the third question from the
realm of controversy. This is a ques-
| ton for technical experts. A complete
wing, one-quarter of the sustaining