The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1953-12-11


of December Is, 1908. We arose
next morning to find that the
puddles of water left by the re-
cent rain were covered with ice,
and that the wind was still blow
ing at a velocity of around 25
miles an hour.
Hoping that it would die down,
we stayed indoors the early part
of the morning. The wind, now
ever, was as brisk as ever at
10 o'clock, and as it showed no
likelihood of abating we decided
to make our experiment anyway,
Since we could face the machine
into the strong wind, it should be
relatively simple business to
launch it from level ground.
The necessary track was laid,
though not without difficulty,
since the biting cold compelled
us frequently to retire to a shed
where a wood fire was burning
in an old carbide can.
Eventually all was ready
Seven of us were on hand-my
brother and I, J. T. Daniels, A
d. Etheridge, and w. S. Dough
members of the Kill Devil Life
Saving Station; w. c. Brinkley
Of Manteo; and a boy, Johnny
Moore, of Mays Head.
A hand thermometer showed
the velocity of the wind to be be-
tween "a and q miles an hour
which is not far off from what
Government Weather Bureau re-
cords indicated. I mention this
because today, with a generation
of aerial development and re-
search to profit by, nobody, not
myself at least, would dream of
going up in a strange machine
in 27-mile wind. even if he
knew that the machine had pre-
viously flown and was apparent,
ly sound.
NY brother had made an I'M
successful attempt to fly on De
cember IA. It was therefore my
turn to try. l ran the motor a
few minutes to heat it up, and
then released the wire that held
the machine to a wooden track
The machine started forward
Wilbur helping to balance it by
running alongside. With the wind
against it, the machine got under
way so slowly that Wilbur was
able to stay alongside until il
lifted from the track after a run
of 40 feet.
One of the men from the life
saving station clicked a camera
at that instant and caught a his
toric picture. The machine was
at the time about feet off the
ground.
The flight lasted II seconds. It:
| course was rather erratic, oWinE
in part to air conditions, in par
to the pilots ineXperience. The
front rudder was balanced too
near the center, so that it had {
tendency to turn by itself, witt
the result that at times the mach.
inc would rise to about 10 fee
and then as suddenly aim toward
the ground. One of these dart:
ended the flight 100 feet from the
point where the machine hac
first risen from the wooden track
1t may be interesting to nots
that while the machine was max.
ing only 10 feet a second against
wind that was blowing 35 feet
/ a second, the speed of the mach
Inc relative to the air was As fee
. a second, so that the length of the
flight was equivalent to $40 fee
in still air. This was the first time
in history that machine carry,
ing a man raised itself by its
own power into the air in full
flight, went ahead without re-
ducticn of speed, and landed al
point as high as that from
which If started.
Life at Kitty Hawk
There are many little interest.
ing stories told of the Wrights
during their many protractec
stays on the sand dunes of NORTH
Carolina. Their closest friend:
were Capt. and Mrs. w. J. Tate
Mrs. Tate at that time was post.
mistress at Kitty Hawk, and or
August II, 1900, she received E
letter from one Wilbur Wright
of Dayton, Ohio, who asked for {
description of the topography Of
the beach in that immediate sec.
ton. He stated that he and hi:
br O t n e r were contemplating
spending their summer vacation
there to carry on some expert.
ments in scientific kite flying.
Previous to that Captain Tate
had read an account of Professor
Lilienthal's experiments with
gliders, and had become greatly
interested in the subject. After
the Wrights came down, Captain
Tate was the one man in all thai