The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1928-12-14

IeTIldpo TIC uldlH punt L udf
> tried to enforce in this paper j
: this-the very common and OF
: timistic reply to objections, wv
, have seen many wonders, there
> fore nothing is impossible is no
l sound inference from experience
when applied to a wonder loni
sought and lever found"
While these articles were beinI
| written, Wilbur and Orville Wrigh
were trying to make a kite tina
would carry a man. From 1878
when their father, Bishop Milton
Wright of the Church of the Unit
ed Brethren in Christ, had brough
into their Dayton home a toy hell
copter, the Wright brothers haC
been interested in the possibility
Of flying. They made small hell
copters for themselves, and later
on flew a great many kites. By
and by they gave up kite-flying,
feeling that they had outgrown
this sport.
But in 1896 news of Otto Lilien-
that's death in a gliding expert
ment reached the United States.
The interest of the brothers was
again aroused. They re-read Pro-
fessor Marey's Animal Mechanism
and secured articles by Lilienthal
and extracts from Mouillard's EN-
pire of the Air (18S1), in pamph-
let's published by the Smithson-
ian Institution. They also read
Langley's Experiments in Aero
dynamics (1S91), and Story of Ex-
periments in Mechanical Flight
(189S), Chanute's Progress in Fly
ing Machines $3.50, and James
Means Aeronautical Annals for
1895, 1896, and 1897.
The Wrights came to the con-
clusion that lack of actual prac-
tice in the air was the main rea-
son for the failure of so many in
vestigators to obtain satisfactory
results. They found that Lilien-
thai, during five years of study,
had been able to spend only about
five hours in gliding through the
air. They made up their minds
that if some method could be de-
veloped to make possible longer
practice periods in the air there
would be much more hope of solv-
ing the problem of flight. Ac-
cordingly, they determined to con-
struct a machine which could be
sustained at a speed of Is miles
per hour, and then go to some To-
cality where winds of this velo-
city were usual. In effect, their
plan was to practice flying in a
large, stationary kite.
In October, 1900, the Wright
brothers began active experiment
tation at Kitty Hawk, North Caro-
lima. 1t was discovered that, in
spite of testimony of existing air
pressure tables to the contrary,
the design of their kite was faul-
ty. The kite would not lift a man.
Though disappointed, they rugged
the kite with ground cables to the
controls and operated it in this
manner. Little flying experience
was gained, but the opportunity
to study and correct the control
was very worthwhile.
Their system of balances proved
to be effective, and the brothers
away encouraged by the sea
work.
During the summer of 1901 the
.rights met Chanute. He spent
several weeks as their guest at
he camp near Kill Devil Hill in
he next two years, but saw only
1ne power flight, near Dayton, in
October, 1904.
The machine used in 1901 had
nearly twice the area of the prev
.ous one. 1t boosted 30S SO it.,
instead of 165 so. it. But even
With this increase in size the
plane proved inadequate to the
ask of lifting an operator. The
olan of securing practice time in
he air with a kite was abandoned,
md the brothers turned their at
ention 10 gliding.
About two minutes of gliding
lad been accomplished in 1900. At
he close of the season the glider
been given to Mr.. and Mrs.
Fate, at whose home the Wrights
lad stayed, and the fabric was al
'eady converted into dresses for
he children. A second glider was
'uilt, and on July q, 1901, it was
Town with a pilot at Kill Devil
Hill.
The 1901 season was a discour-
Iging one, in spite of the fact that
he brothers were able to glide
With fair success. Practically all t
AVAILABLE aeronautical data had
proved to be treacherous and I'M
certain. Several years later Will
,ur Wright declared, a" when
We left Kitty Hawk at the end of {
.901 we doubted we would ever
esume our experiments. -.
1t this time / made the prediction {
hat man would some time fly, I
tut that it would not be within
'ur lifetime" ]
The WrightS were at a critical {