Part 13
The connection between Dr. Langley’s work and present machines is now very easy to trace, though not obvious until 1911, when the Smithsonian Institution published memoirs written by Dr. Langley in 1897, and some memoirs of Mr. Octave Chanute, a French engineer who resided in Chicago, and who forms one of the main connecting links. The chain is practically completed by notes left by the late Lieut. Thomas Selfridge, U. S. A., America’s first martyr to aviation.
Dr. Langley’s knowledge is represented in modern aviation by three distinct lines. The central and most direct line is through Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, to the Aerial Experiment Association, and thence to Mr. Glenn H. Curtiss, and finds its expression in what is known as the Curtiss type of machines.
Another line is that carried by a Mr. A. M. Herring to Mr. Chanute and by him transmitted to Mr. Wilbur Wright, finding expression in the Wright type of biplane.
The third line is that leading to the modern monoplane school; M. Bleriot having first copied in toto the tandem monoplane form, generally known as the Langley type, and later, with the development of better gasoline engines, developing into the monoplane as known today.
With the exception of M. Bleriot it is doubtful if the others fully realized the source of their inspiration,--not to call it information.
Dr. Bell was interested in Dr. Langley’s work for more than ten years before Dr. Langley gave up. He observed many of the trials, and his reports of the first successful flights are incorporated in the official publications of the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Bell began some independent experiments, but following Dr. Langley’s death he formed the Aerial Experiment Association, to carry on the work left by Dr. Langley. The members of this organization were, Mr. Curtiss, at that time the most successful builder of light motors; Lieut. Thomas H. Selfridge, U. S. A.; Mr. J. A. D. McCurdy and Mr. F. W. Baldwin, two young Canadian engineers. Mrs. Bell financed the project, furnishing the sum of $35,000 for the experiments.
~WHAT TWO BROTHERS ACCOMPLISHED FOR FLYING~
The Wright Brothers, for Wilbur Wright was joined by his brother Orville in the experiments, were the first to reap success from the seeds of Dr. Langley’s sowing. Mr. Chanute had been experimenting with a biplane form of motorless glider with little success, because of lack of means for balancing the machines in the air, until he was joined by a former employe of Dr. Langley. He appears to have imparted to Mr. Chanute the secret of the stabilizing effect of the Penaud tail, or combination of vertical and horizontal rudders. Thereafter hundreds of successful gliding flights were made with the Chanute biplane, though Chanute seems not to have grasped the full significance of the rudders,--though it was well understood by Dr. Langley. To the Chanute machine, as described to him, Mr. Wright added first the idea of flexing or warping the wings, after the fashion set by the Lilienthals. He found, however, as Dr. Langley had found years before, that in attempting to correct lateral balance in this way caused the aeroplane to swerve to such an extent that the fixed vertical rudder, as originally employed, did not correct the upsetting tendency that was developed. Mr. Wright then arranged his rudder in such a way that when the wing was warped the rudder turned in a way to offset the swerve. This combination was patented all over the world and has resulted in much complicated litigation.
To this machine the Wright Brothers added a gasoline motor in December, 1903, and with it made numerous flights during 1904-5. Their claims were not generally credited however until a later date for their experiments had been conducted with considerable secrecy, and during 1906, 1907 and until late in 1908 they did no more flying.
In the meantime M. Bleriot had made a copy of one of the early Langley tandem monoplane models and made some fairly successful flights with it in Europe. Later, as gasoline motors developed in power for weight, he reduced the rear surface until the modern monoplane evolved.
While Bleriot was working in Europe, Dr. Bell’s Aerial Experiment Association in America was evolving still another type of machine, and the members of the association made the first successful public flights in America. Mr. Curtiss won the Scientific American Trophy for the first time on July 4th, 1908, by a straightaway flight of more than a kilometer. The balancing system employed by the A. E. A. differed from that employed by the Wrights and by Bleriot in that small auxiliary planes took the place of warping planes for righting the machine. This they claimed to be a superior method, first, because it eliminated the use of the rudder as being absolutely essential to the balance of the machine; second, because it enabled them to make the main planes rigid throughout, and consequently stronger than the flexible planes.
There are several other names that must be mentioned in connection with the early history of successful flight; these are the Frenchmen, Messrs. Henri Farman, Maurice Farman, the brothers Voisin, and Santos Dumont. These produced some of the first notably successful aeroplanes in Europe but seem to have discovered nothing which has had any marked effect upon the later development of flying machines. M. Farman adopted the auxiliary planes used by the A. E. A. and modified them to suit his ideas.
~WONDERFUL RECORDS OF AEROPLANES~
Volumes could be, in fact, have been written about the exploits of the first demonstrators of the practical heavier-than-air flying machines,--of the crossing of the English Channel by Bleriot, of the flights by Wilbur Wright at Rheims, France; of Mr. Curtiss’ winning of the first Gordon Bennet International speed trophy and his flight down the Hudson from Albany to New York; of Orville Wright’s flight at Fort Meyer, and the death of Lieut. Selfridge who was flying with him. The barest record of these interesting accomplishments would fill volumes. Of the aeroplane proper it is enough to say here that since 1908 its development has been too rapid for accurate recording. In strength, in speed, in reliability, in size and carrying capacity, it has developed at a remarkable rate. At this writing the speed record is about 130 miles per hour; the duration record is more than 24 hours, non-stop; the distance record is some 1,300 miles in one day; the altitude record some 26,000 feet. New records succeed the old ones with such rapidity that probably before this can be printed all these present records will have been greatly eclipsed.
Meantime the aeroplane has developed greatly in other directions. In flying over land with the early types of machines many fatal accidents occurred, particularly to the fliers who gave exhibitions everywhere during 1909, 1910 and 1911. A majority of these accidents were indirectly due to the fact that a very smooth surface is required for landing a fragile machine running at high speed. The obvious expedient was to develop machines capable of rising from and alighting upon the water.
~THE WONDERFUL FLYING BOAT~
During the winter of 1910 and 1911 Mr. Curtiss, who had continued independent experiments upon the disbandment of the Aerial Experiment Association, succeeded in producing the first machine to safely leave and return to the water. For the development and demonstration of this type of flying machine he was awarded the Aero Club of America Trophy, and when during 1912 he produced still another type of water flying machine, the Curtiss Flying Boat, he was again awarded the Aero Club Trophy and also voted a Langley Medal by the directors of the Smithsonian Institution.
Not until the development of the flying boat did the general public begin to take a participative interest in aviation, but as soon as the comparative safety of this type of machine became apparent the new sport began to be taken up rapidly both in this country and in Europe. The experiences of naval fliers and amateurs alike went to show that water flying offered not only the fastest and most comfortable mode of rapid travel, but also the safest, for during 1913 several hundred thousand miles were flown by navy aviators and amateur enthusiasts in Curtiss water flying machines without a single serious accident.
What aviation will mean to future generations,--even to this generation in the course of a few years,--it would be foolhardy to try to guess. Mr. Rodman Wanamaker already has agreed to furnish the financial support for Mr. Curtiss’ attempt to build a machine to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, from America to Europe. If the venture is successful it is expected the crossing will be made in a fraction of the time taken by the fastest Transatlantic liners. The discovery of new metals and new manufacturing methods will certainly result in the development of light motors that may be relied upon to run for days without stopping, and automatically stable aeroplanes seem to be not far away. This will result in overland flight as safe and sure as we now enjoy over water.
~GREATEST PRESENT VALUE OF AEROPLANE~
At present the greatest value of the aeroplane seems to be for military reconnaissance and all the great powers are striving their utmost to secure supremacy in the air. France, Germany, Russia and England have to date spent millions in developing aeroplane fleets. Only the government of the United States has failed as yet to appreciate the military significance of the flying machine. If the relative aeronautical strength of the world’s nations were represented alphabetically the U. S. would naturally scarce have to change its initial, U being slightly in advance of Z which would stand for Zululand. But even with its modest equipment the navy fliers of the United States proved the great worth of the aeroplane and the flying boat, when during the recent trouble in Mexico the air scouts gathered in a few minutes information that could only have been secured by days of cavalry scouting before the advent of the flying machine. Indeed, the name of Lieut. P. N. L. Bellinger, the most able of the naval fliers at Vera Cruz, has figured more prominently in the despatches from the front than that of any other officer connected with the expedition.
Flying seems certain in the very near future to take its place as the fastest, safest and most comfortable mode of conveyance. The flying boat will render quickly accessible the vast country lying along the great rivers of South America, Africa, and Australia; it will bridge the great lakes and the oceans; bring near together the islands of the Pacific and Indian oceans. It will make imperative, because of the speed with which distances will be traversed, of a language common to all peoples; and treble man’s life without extending his years by making it possible to see and do three times as much in the same length of time.
~TEN YEARS OF FLYING~
Ten years ago on that day, December 17, 1913, Wilbur and Orville Wright made four flights on the coast of North Carolina near Roanoke Island, a spot historic in America’s history as the site of the first English settlement in the Western Hemisphere.
The first flight started from level ground against a 27-mile wind. After a run of 40 feet on a monorail track, the machine lifted and covered a distance of 120 feet over the ground in 12 seconds. It had a speed through the air of a little over 45 feet per second, and the flight, if made in calm air, would have covered a distance of over 540 feet.
Altogether four flights were made on the 17th. The first and third by Orville Wright, the second and fourth by Wilbur Wright. The last flight was the longest, covering a distance of 852 feet over the ground in 59 seconds. After the fourth flight, a gust of wind struck the machine standing on the ground and rolled it over, injuring it to an extent that made further flights with it impossible for that year.
The gliding experiments of Lilienthal in 1896 led the Wright Brothers to become interested in flight. The next four years were spent in reading and theorizing. In the Fall of 1900 practical experiments were begun with a man-carrying glider. These experiments were carried on from the sand hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The first glider was without a tail, the lateral equilibrium and the right and left steering were obtained by warping of the main surfaces. A flexible forward elevator was used. This machine was flown as a kite with and without operator, and several glides were made with it.
A second machine was designed of larger size, and many glides were made with it in 1901. This machine was similar to the one of 1900 but had slightly deeper curved surfaces. Experiments with this machine demonstrated the inaccuracy of all the recognized tables of air pressures, upon which its design had been based.
In 1902 a third glider was constructed, based upon tables of air pressures made by the Wright Brothers themselves. The lateral control was maintained by warping surfaces, and a vertical rear rudder operated in conjunction with the surfaces. Nearly a thousand gliding flights were made with this machine.
In 1903, the Wright Brothers designed a machine to be driven with a motor. They also designed and built their own motor. This had four horizontal cylinders, 4 in. by 4 in., and developed 12 h.p. Two propellers, turning in opposite directions, were driven by chains from the engine. After many delays the machine was finally ready and was flown on the 17th of December, 1903, as related above.
In the Spring of 1904, power flights were continued near Dayton with a machine similar to the one flown in 1903, but slightly heavier.
The first complete circle was accomplished on the 20th of September, 1904, in a flight covering a distance of about one mile. Altogether 105 flights were attempted during the year, the longest of which were two of five minutes each, covering a distance of about three miles. All of the flights were started from a monorail.
After September a derrick and a falling weight were used to assist in launching the machine.
~INTERESTING GOVERNMENTS IN FLYING MACHINES~
It was not till 1908 that the Wright Brothers found purchasers for their invention. In that year they made a contract to furnish one machine to the Signal Corps of the United States Army and to sell the rights to their invention in France to a French company. In both cases they agreed to carry a passenger in addition to the operator, fuel sufficient for a flight of 100 miles, and to make a speed of 40 miles an hour.
After making some preliminary practice flights at their old experiment grounds near Kitty Hawk in May, 1908, Wilbur Wright went to France to give demonstrations before the French Syndicate and Orville Wright to Washington to deliver the machine to the United States Signal Corps. The machines used by Wilbur Wright had been standing in bond in the warehouse at Havre since August of the year before. Owing to damage done to the machine in shipment, it was not ready for the official demonstrations until late in the year.
Meanwhile Orville Wright in September, 1908, started demonstrations of the machine contracted for by the United States Government. On the 9th he made two flights, one of 57 minutes, and the other one hour and 2 minutes, world’s records. On the 10th and 11th, these records were increased and on the 12th a flight of 1 hour and 15 minutes was made. On the 17th, the tests were terminated by an accident in which Lieutenant Selfridge met his death and Mr. Wright was severely injured, so that he was not able to complete the tests until the following year.
Four days after the accident, on the 21st of September, Wilbur Wright made a flight of 1 hour and 31 minutes at Le Mans, France, which record he improved several times during the following months, and on the 31st of December, won the Michelin Trophy by a flight, in which he remained in the air 2 hours and 24 minutes.
Where Is the Wind When It Is Not Blowing?
The answer is, of course, that there isn’t any wind then. To understand this perfectly we must study a little and find out what wind is. In plain words it is nothing more than moving air.
If you make a hole in the bottom of a pail of water the water will run out slowly. If you knock the whole bottom out of the pail filled with water, the water will rush out before you know it.
That is about what happens to make the wind. The air is constantly full of air currents, like the currents you can see in a river. Down the middle of the river you may notice a softly-flowing current going straight. Along the shores there will be little side currents going in all directions, and you may find some little whirlpools. That is exactly what we should see in the air if we could see air currents.
Where Does the Wind Begin?
The movement of these currents of air leaves many pockets of space where there is no air, and when one of these is uncovered the air rushes in and creates a wind in doing so. These air currents are continually pressing against each other to get some place else. They change their direction according to the pressure that is being applied to them. Sometimes the pressure will be very light in one part of the air, many miles away perhaps, and then the air in another part, which is under great pressure, will rush with great force into the part where the pressure is light, and thus form a big wind. When the pressure stops the wind stops.
We have probably felt the wind which comes out of the valve of the automobile tire when the cap is taken off to pump up the tire. It is a real wind that comes out. The reason is that the air in the tube of the tire is under great pressure, and when the opportunity is given to get where the pressure is light it starts for that place with a rush and comes out of the valve a real wind.
What Causes the Wind’s Whistle?
The whistle of the wind is caused very much like the whistle you make with your mouth or the noise made by the steam escaping through the spout of the kettle. You do not hear the wind whistle when you are out in it. You can hear it when you are in the house and the wind is blowing hard. When the wind blows against the house it tries to get in through all the crevices, under the cracks of the doors, down the chimneys, wherever it finds an opening. And whenever it starts through an opening that is too small for it, it makes a noise like the steam coming out of the spout of the kettle, provided the opening is of a certain shape.
Not all the noises made by the wind, however, are made in this way. The wind in blowing against things makes them vibrate like the strings of a piano or violin, and when things vibrate, as we have already seen, they produce sound waves, which, when they strike our ears, produce sounds of various kinds. The wind even on ordinary days makes the telegraph and telephone wires hum, as you can prove to yourself by placing your ear against a telegraph or telephone pole, and whenever the wind makes anything vibrate, a great many queer sounds are produced, which often frighten us more than they should.
Why Does the Air Never Get Used Up?
Simply because it is constantly being replenished. The three gases, oxygen, nitrogen and carbonic acid gas, which are found in the air about us, are constantly being used up. All living animal creatures are at all times taking oxygen out of the air to live on. Certain microbes are using up quantities of the nitrogen all the time, and the plants live on the carbonic acid gas. But while these different kinds of life between them use up the air, they give back something also. The plants give off oxygen. The bodies of the animals and plants when they die decompose, and as they are full of nitrogen, that is given back to the air in that way, and then all living creatures are always throwing off carbonic acid gas through their lungs, and thus everything that is taken out of the air is put back again. The plants live on carbonic acid gas, and give us back oxygen. The living creatures live on oxygen and give off carbonic acid gas, and when they die their bodies put back in the air the nitrogen which the microbes take out, and so, consumption and production are about equal all the time.
Why Can’t We See Air?
We cannot see air because it has no color and is perfectly transparent. If at times it appears that there is color in the air it is not the air you see, but some little particles of various substances in it. Sometimes you think when you look off toward a range of mountains or hills, for instance, that the air is blue. You know the grass and trees on the mountains are green, so it cannot be they that have turned blue, and so you think the air is blue. But it is only the sunlight reflected to your eyes from the little particles of dirt and other substances which fill the air at all times which makes the blue that you see, and not the air.
Pure air is a mixture of gases without any color and is perfectly transparent. Air is nearly entirely composed of a gas called nitrogen--the remainder being oxygen with a little water and carbonic acid gas, which latter is thrown off in breathing. This is, however, but a very small percentage.
Air has been and still can be reduced to a liquid state, and with the use of it in this form many seemingly wonderful things can be done, which are interesting to look at, but have not as yet become commercially practical.
Why Does Thunder Always Come After the Lightning?