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THEIR WORK INVESTIGATED ---------------------- Aeroplane Rises Easily and Makes a Flight of 24 miles in 38 Minutes. In all the history of invention there is probably no parallel to the unostentatious manner in which the Wright brothers, of Dayton, Ohio, ushered into the world their epoch-making invention of the first successful aeroplane flying machine. At a time when various experimentalists in the field of aeronautics were dumfounded by the failure of the deservedly-renowned Langley to hake make a practical flight with his government-backed $50,000 machine, it was suddenly announced that two young machinists had produced an aeroplane which had made a continuous flight, with one of the inventors on board, of over twenty miles at a high speed and under perfect control. One of the editors of the "Scientific American" was recently accorded the first interview given to any technical journal, in which the Messrs. Wright gave some hints as to what they had actually accomplished, and outlined the investigation which led up to their final success. Experiments. After becoming interested in the problem of serial navigation some ten years ago, the brothers experimented during several summers with a double-surface glider, with which they became so proficient that they could make long glides from the summits of the sand dunes and describe a letter S at the bottom. They improved their machine by the addition of a vertical and a horizontal rudder and a method of twisting the planes to preserve lateral equilibrium. After reaching sufficient proficiency in controlling the machine in gliding, the brothers undertook to transform it into a power driven machine. As no light-weight gasolene motors were to be had at that time, they were obliged to build their own motor. They decided upon a four-cylinder, water-cooled, horizontal engine, which, when completed, weighed 250 pounds and developed about sixteen horse power, although it would show twenty-four horse-power for the first fifteen seconds. As they were unable to find any authorities giving definite rules for designing air propellers, they were obliged to work out a theory of their own on this important subject. They designed propellers for their machine, and calculated the speed at which it should travel with the horse-power at their disposal. In the first trial with a motor (in December, 1903), the machine flew at practically the speed the brothers figured to attain; which speaks well for the truth of their theory of the action of screw propellers. In this first flight the machine went in a straight line a distance of 852 feet against a twenty-five mile wind. Having proved that the glider would fly with a motor, the brothers returned home, and during the spring of the following year resumed their experiments in a meadow some eight miles from Dayton, where they built a shed to house their machine. The greater part of the spring, summer and autumn of 1904 and 1905 was spent in experimental work with the new aeroplane. Difficulties Overcome. A number of obscure difficulties were encountered, and it was found that the machine acted quite differently from what it did when merely gliding without a motor. In fact, with the motor installed, the operator had to make some moves for control of equilibrium exactly opposite to those which were necessary when the machine was simply gliding. For starting the machine a light steel rail some seventy-five feet long was laid on the ground. A small carriage having two double-flanged wheels was placed on this rail and supported the aeroplane. The machine was steadied by one man standing at one side and holding it. It was hitched to a post and held while the motor and propellers were started. Then it was suddenly released and allowed to shoot forward, whereupon it would rise in the air before the end of the rail was reached. As the field was a comparatively small one, approximately rectangular in shape, it was necessary to make sharp turns to keep within its boundaries. In making these turns trouble was often experienced, and there were a number of narrow escapes from serious injury. It was not until October of last year that the brothers found out the cause of this instability, which was and to pay a deposit in case of [?] damage by throwing out boilast or from other causes. --------------------- Les Sports Paris 17 Jau 1907 L'AERONAUTIQUE A l'Aéro club d'Espagne Le Real Aéro Club de Espana a élu son comité de direction pour 1907. Il se compose de MM. le marquis de Viana, président: Alfredo Kindelan y Dunni, vice-président: D. Sanchez-Arias, trésorier; Juan Rugama y Hazas, secrétaire-général; Liniers, Gutierrez de Salamanca et de La Horga. Le Colonel Vives y Vich, du parc aérostaique de Guadalajara, accompagnera la délégation espagnole qui viendra á Bordeaux es 22-23 janvier proehain pour l'anniversaire le la traversée des Pyrénées par J.-F. Duro. -O- A la mémoire de Sévéro et de Bradsky M. Pannelier, conseiller municipal du juartier de Plaisance, vient d'obtenir que leux des rues nouvelles avoisinant l'avenue lu Main soient baptisées de noms des vicimes du ballon dirigeable Pax. Done, nous avons, à dater d'augourd'hui a rue Sévéro et la rue Georges Saché. On se rappelle que le Pax prit fue dans es aires, le 12 mai 1902, dès son départ de Vaugirard, que son pilote était le député présilien Sévéro et que son aide était le nécanicien Saché. Ajoutons qu'à Stains s'élévera au printemps prochain, le modeste monument eleve l'infortuné de Bradsky, par les soins de l'Aéro Club de France. -O- Les Fêtes de J.-F. Duro à Bordeaux L'Aéro Club du Sud-Ouest a définitivement arrêté le programme des fêtes qui auront lieu à Bordeaux les 22 et 23 janvier, pour l'anniversaire de la glorieuse traversée aérienne des Pyrénées par J.-F. Duro. Le Royal Aéro Club d'Espagne et l'Aéro Club de France y seront représentés par d'importantes délégations. Le mardi 22 janvier, à 7 heures et demie, an grand diner de gala sera offert dans le salon Louis XVI du Café de Bordeaux. Il sera suivi d'une soirée artistique avec le concours d'artistes et du corps de ballet du Grand-Théâtre. Le mercredi 23 janvier, à 2 heures, deux ballons partiront de l'usine à gaz de la Bastide et, en même temps, quatre ballons sur l'esplanade des Quinconces, parmi lesquels le Fernandez-Duro (1.200 mètres cuoes), dont ce sera l'inauguration, et qu'il s;agira de rallier aussi bien en ballon qu'en automobile. Les délégués de Madrid et de Paris auront des places réservées en nacelle et en automobile; il est à présumer que bon nom(??) resteront jusqu'au Concours (??) dimanche 27 janvier.
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2 lines segments on last 2 lines unable to transcribe due to missing clipping. French clipping is duplicated in part on previous page, where bottom is legible.
