3 1822025098609
f LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA
SAN DIEGO
770
C(*
XX
3 1822025098609
THE BOYS' BOOK OF
MODEL AEROPLANES
Launching the Airship.
THE BOYS' BOOK OF
MODEL AEROPLANES
HOW TO BUILD AND FLY
THEM : WITH THE STORY OF
THE EVOLUTION OF THE
FLYING MACHINE
BY
FRANCIS A. COLLINS
ILLUSTRATED WITH MANY
PHOTOGRAPHS AND DIAGRAMS'
BY THE AUTHOR
NEW YORK
THE CENTURY
1910
CO.
Copyright, 1910, by
The Century Co.
Published October, ZQIO
Electrotyped and Printed by
C. H. Simonds & Co., Boston
TO
ARNOLD MILLER COLLINS
(Aged Ten)
THAN WHOM NO COLLABORATOR COULD
HAVE BEEN MORE ENTHUSIASTIC
CONTENTS
PART I
MODELS: HOW TO BUILD AND FLY THEM
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE NEW SPORT FOR BOYS .... 3
II. WHY THE AEROPLANE FLIES 18
III. How To BUILD A "GLIDER" .... 30
IV. BUILDING THE MOTOR . .... 50
V. FINE POINTS OF CONSTRUCTION ... 68
VI. SIMPLE MONOPLANE MODELS .... 84
VII. ELABORATING THE MONOPLANE . . 102
VIII. BUILDING A BIPLANE 121
IX. COMBINING MONOPLANE AND BIPLANE FORMS 137
X. FAULTS AND How TO MEND THEM . . 143
PART II
THE HISTORY AND SCIENCE OF AVIATION
I. THE FIRST FLYING MACHINES . . .163
II. DEVELOPING THE AEROPLANE .... 175
III. THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' OWN STORY . . 193
IV. ABOARD THE WRIGHTS' AIRSHIP . . . 224
V. OTHER AEROPLANES APPEAR .... 238
VI. SUCCESSFUL MONOPLANES .... 254
VII. AERIAL WARFARE 272
VIII. SPORTS OF THE AIR, AEROPLANES . . .293
vii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Launching the Airship .... Frontispiece
A Junior Aeroclub with its Instructor in One of the
New York Public Schools 7
A Young Inventor in His Workshop ... 14
Boys Comparing Models 14
The First Glider Weighted at the Front ... 28
Dowel Strips of Different Sizes .... 33
Plate A — Diagrams of Plan of Aeroplane on Page 58 38
A Coil of Cane or Reed 42
Splitting a Bamboo Fish-Pole 47
Plate B — The Propeller before Cutting Down . . 51
Model Constructed from Diagram, Plate A . .58
Splitting the Segar Box Cover to Build the Propeller 63
Plate C — The Diagram of a Monoplane ... 65
A Model Aeroplane Built from the Drawing
(Plate C) 71
Detail of Rudder and Propeller of Model Built from
Drawing (Plate C) 78
Plate I — A Clever Folding Model. The Wings Are
Broader than Need Be 88
Plate II — A Model Aeroplane Worth Imitating . 93
Plate III — An Ingenious French Model Made of
Umbrella Wire . . . 100
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PACK
Plate IV — One of the Simplest of Aeroplanes to
Construct IOS
Plate V — Too Large for Beginners but Will Make
Long Flights "2
Model Shown in Plate V Ready for a Flight . .11?
Plate VI — A Model with Both Good and Bad
Features . . . . - . . c 124
Plate VII — A Good Example of Careful Designing
and Workmanship 129
Plate VIII — An Effective Model with Wooden
Wings 136
Plate IX — An Interesting Experiment Along New
Lines 139
Plate X — An Excellent Monoplane Capable of Long
Flights 150
Detail of Model Shown in Plate X . . . .153
Plate XI — A Well Thought Out Monoplane . . 158
Plate XII — A Good Example of Tilted Planes . 165
Plate XIII — A Serviceable Form Made of Wire . 172
Plate XIV — The Under Body of the Monoplane
Shown in Plate XIII 179
Plate XV — A Simple Model which Proves Steady in
Flight 184
Plate XVI — The Propeller and Shaft of the Model
Shown in Plate XV 189
Plate XVII— An Ingenious Model which Fails to Fly 196
Plate XVIII — A Good Model Excepting That Its
Vertical Rudders Are Too Large . . .201
Plate XIX — A Simple Cellular Form ... 208
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Plate XX — A Cellular Type with Rudder and Ele-
vating Plane 213
Plate XXI — A Complicated Model Capable of Long
Flights 220
Plate XXII — An Interesting Form which Flies
Backward or Forward 225
Plate XXIII — A Well Built Model Badly Propor-
tioned 230
Plate XXIV — A Wright Model Ready for Flight . 235
Plate XXV — Another View of the Wright Model . 246
Plate XXVI — An Ingenious Model which Rises
Quickly 251
Plate XXVII — An Aeroplane with Paper Wings . 255
A Very Simple Monoplane for Beginners . . 262
Otto Lilienthal about to Take Flight . . .267
A Machine for Testing the Lifting Power of Aero-
planes 274
Maxim's First Aeroplane 280
The Machine on the Rails, as it Appeared in 1893 . 280
First Flight of the Wright Brothers' First Motor
Machine 285
Three-quarter View of a Flight at Simms Station,
November 16, 1904 292
Front View of the Flight of the Wright Aeroplane,
October 4, 1905 297
PART I
MODELS: HOW TO BUILD
AND FLY THEM
THE BOYS' BOOK OF
MODEL AEROPLANES
CHAPTER I
THE NEW SPORT FOR BOYS
IN the boy's calendar nowadays the
aeroplane season comes in with sled-
ding and runs all through skating, marble,
top, kite-flying, and bicycle time. The
delights of all the old games seem to be
found in this marvelous new toy. The fun
in throwing a top cannot compare with
that of launching an aeroplane, while kite-
flying is a very poor substitute for the
actual conquest of the air. To watch one
of these fascinating little ships of the air,
which you have fashioned and built with
your own hands, actually rise from the
earth and soar aloft with a swallow's
3
MODEL AEROPLANES
swiftness, is perhaps the greatest boy's
sport in the world. Certainly no new
game or toy has ever taken such hold of
the boy's imagination, and in so short a
time enrolled such an army of enthusiasts.
Throughout the country to-day upward
of ten thousand boy aviators are strug-
gling with the problem of the air-ship.
Among these junior aeronauts the record
for height and that for distance in flying
are matters of quite as lively interest as
among the grown-ups. The great con-
tests of aviators here and abroad are
watched with intelligent interest. Let a
new form of aeroplane, a biplane or mono-
plane, appear, and it is quickly reproduced
by scores of models and its virtues put to
an actual test. If a new wing or new plan
for insuring stability is invented, a new
thought in the steering-device, or some
new application of power, it is instantly
the subject of earnest discussion among
the junior aeronauts the country over.
Nor are junior aeronauts merely imita-
tors. The mystery of the problems of the
4
THE NEW SPORT FOR BOYS
air, the fascination of a new world of con-
quest, make a strong appeal to the Amer-
ican temperament. With thousands of
bright boys working with might and main
to build air-ships which will actually fly,
there is certain to be real progress. Thou-
sands of different models have been de-
signed and put to actual test. This army
of inventors, ranging in age from twelve
to eighteen years, some of whom will be
the aviators of the future, cannot fail to do
great service, as time goes on, in the actual
conquest of the air.
Within a few months this army of in-
ventors has become organized into clubs,
and a regular program of tournaments has
been arranged. The junior aero clubs are
found in connection with many schools,
both public and private; they are made
features of the Young Men's Christian
Association amusements, or they become
identified with various neighborhoods.
Tournaments are arranged between clubs
of different cities or States, while an inter-
national tournament is even planned
5
MODEL AEROPLANES
between the United States and Great
Britain.
The junior aero world has its prizes,
which are scarcely less coveted than the
rewards for actual flight. Some fifty med-
als have been distributed this year among
the members of the New York Junior Aero
Club. Many elaborate trophies will be
contended for during 1910 by the junior
aeronauts of the country. A handsome
silver cup of special design has been pre-
sented by Mr. A. Leo Stevens, and a sec-
ond by Mr. Sidney Bowman, while similar
trophies are offered by Commodore Mar-
shall, O. Chanute, and others.
The toy aeroplane is not limited to any
one season, as one's sled, kite, or skates.
In the winter months the tests of flight
may be carried out in any large room or
hall. There is even an advantage in hold-
ing such a tournament in a large school-
room, riding-academy, or armory, since
there is no baffling wind to contend with.
Already definite rules have been laid down
for conducting these tests and for making
6
D
THE NEW SPORT FOR BOYS
official records of flights. It is possible,
therefore, to compare the records made in
different cities or countries with one an-
other.
The junior aero tournaments are likely
to be the most thrilling experience in a
boy's life. The feats which the world has
watched with such breathless interest at
aviation meets at Rheims, Pau, or Los
Angeles are reproduced in miniature in
these boys' contests without loss of enthu-
siasm. The weeks or months of prepara-
tion in scores of little workshops are now
put to an actual test. The model air-ship,
which has cost so many anxious and de-
lightful hours in the building, is to spread
its wings with scores of similar air-craft.
The superiority of the monoplane or bi-
plane forms is to be tested without fear or
favor.
For the young inventors, even for the
mere layman in such matters, the scene is
extremely animated. On every hand one
sees the inventors tuning up their air-craft
for the final test. There are lively discus-
9
MODEL AEROPLANES
*
sions in progress over the marvelous little
toys. The layman hears a new language
spoken with perfect confidence about him.
The boys have already made the pictur-
esque vocabulary of the world of aviation
their own. The discussion ranges over
monoplanes and biplanes, cellular types,
and flexed planes, or of rigid and lateral
braces. To hear a crowd of these enthu-
siasts shout their comments as the air-
ships fly about is in itself an education in
advanced aeronautics.
Directly the floor is cleared, the judges
take their position, and the junior sky-
pilot toes the mark, air-ship in hand.
" One, two, three/' shouts the starter,
and with a whir the graceful air-craft is
launched. The flutter of the tiny propeller
suggests the sudden rise of a covey of
partridges. The little craft, at once so
graceful and frail, defies all the accepted
laws of gravitation. It darts ahead in
long, undulating curves as it floats over
the invisible air-currents. As in the aero-
planes of larger size, the length of the
10
THE NEW SPORT FOR BOYS
flight is dependent almost wholly on the
motive power. As the little engine slows
down, the craft wavers, and then in a long
curve, for it can do nothing ungraceful, it
glides to rest, skidding along the floor like
a bird reluctant to leave the sky.
When the time comes for the races be-
tween the air-craft, enthusiasm runs high.
Naturally these contests are the most pop-
ular features of the tournament. A line of
inventors, with their air-craft, usually six
at a time, take their positions at the start-
ing-line. Each air-craft has been tuned to
its highest powers. The labor of weeks,
the study of air-craft problems, the elabo-
ration of pet inventive schemes, are repre-
sented in the shining model. And the
problem before the young inventors is
most baffling. There are few models to
work from, the science is still so young,
and the inventor may well feel himself
something of a Columbus in launching his
frail craft upon this uncharted sea.
At the signal half a dozen propellers are
instantly released, a whirring as of innu-
ii
MODEL AEROPLANES
merable light wings fills the air. The
curious flock of mechanical birds rises and
falls, dipping in long, graceful curves as
they struggle toward the goal. Some
graceful little craft perfectly reproducing
to the last detail the famous Wright ma-
chine shoulders along beside a glistening
monoplane which resembles a great hawk
with wings outspread. The next craft is
perhaps a complicated arrangement of
planes of no registered type, while the
craft made familiar by the photographs of
the famous aviators are reproduced.
The thrill of an aeroplane race is a sen-
sation peculiarly its own. It seems so
astonishing that the graceful little craft
should remain aloft at all, that they are a
never-failing delight to the eye. The
varying fortunes of the race, the tempo-
rary lead gained by one craft, to be lost the
next moment to another, which a second
later itself falls behind, and the final heat
between the survivors in the race as they
approach the goal, are enough to drive the
average boy crazy with delight.
12
A Young Inventor in His Workshop.
Boys Comparing Models.
THE NEW SPORT FOR BOYS
The rules for these contests are rigidly
observed. Each air-craft is sent aloft by
its inventor or owner. The start must be
made from a mark, and of course each
aeroplane must toe the mark. There must
be three judges for each event. One
stands at the starting-line and gives the
word of command for the start of the race
or flight, as the case may be. A second
judge stands midway down the course,
and the third at or near the finishing-line.
Each young aviator winds up his craft,
adjusts the power with his own hands, and
sets the rudder for the flight.
The miniature air-craft must act in
flight exactly the same as the great work-
ing air-craft which carry men aloft. A toy
air-ship must make its flight in a horizon-
tal position, and if it turns over in flight,
even though it flies farther and faster than
any other, it is disqualified. The craft
must also fly in a reasonably straight line
toward the goal, and should it be deflected
for any reason and go off at a tangent, the
flight, no matter how successful otherwise,
15
MODEL AEROPLANES
will not be counted. In case of a collision
between air-craft, the race is repeated.
The responsibility for adjusting the
power, arranging the steering-gear, and
giving direction to the flight at the start
is entirely in the hands of the young engi-
neer himself.
In measuring the length of the flights,
again, the point at which the air-ship first
touches the ground is fixed arbitrarily as
the end. Often the little craft merely
grazes the ground to rise and skid for
many feet, but in the official count this
secondary flight is not considered. First
and last, no one but the owner of the little
craft is permitted to touch it. The grace
with which the ship lands is also taken
into consideration in granting the prizes.
Each boy is permitted three trials. As in
the regular aviation world, these records
rarely stand for more than a few days at
a time.
These air-ships are driven by ropes of
rubber bands which are turned on them-
selves until they are tightly knotted, when
16
THE NEW SPORT FOR BOYS
in unwinding they serve to drive the pro-
peller around some hundreds of times.
The rubber is so light that it adds little
to the weight of the craft. The motor is
of course a makeshift and at best only
serves to keep the propeller in motion for
a fraction of a minute. Experiments have
been made in driving the propeller with
compressed air, which is carried in an
aluminium rod fastened beneath the
planes. But the force of thousands of
youthful inventive geniuses is certain to
bring forth some new motive power.
It is characteristic of the American boy
that our young aviators should feel them-
selves disgraced to fly a model not of their
own make. As a result, miniature craft of
amazing ingenuity and workmanship are
being turned out by the amateur aviators
all over the country. The materials em-
ployed, such as rattan, bamboo, or light
lath, and the silk for covering the planes,
or the wires for bracing the frame, cost but
a few pennies. Toy aviation is one of the
most democratic of sports.
17
CHAPTER II
WHY THE AEROPLANE FLIES
THE aviator must venture in his frail
craft upon an unknown and un-
charted sea. The great problem is to ride
the shifting air currents and keep the ma-
chine right side up. Although we cannot
see the air currents, we know that they are
constantly ebbing and flowing, piling
themselves in great heaps, or slipping
away in giddy vortices. There is much
beautiful scenery, high mountain peaks,
deep valleys, and level plains formed by
these ever shifting air currents through
which the aviator must steer his course
blindly as best he may. A great bank of
whirling clouds driven before the wind
shows how rough and tumbling a sea he
must navigate.
The_air being a much thinner medium
18
WHY THE AEROPLANE FLIES
than water is, of course, far more unstable
and baffling. Its supporting power is not
only very small but constantly varies.
The flying machine which will navigate
successfully in a perfectly quiet atmos-
phere may be unseaworthy, or rather, un-
airworthy, when a wind springs up, or the
shifting of the wind may spoil all the air
pilot's plans. To add to his troubles, the
aviator must move among air currents
which change and change again in a
moment's time. As we study the difficul-
ties of air navigation we will appreciate,
more than ever, the wonderful patience,
skill, and daring of the successful aviators.
The action of the air currents had first
to be carefully studied before flight be-
came possible. Although the air is invis-
ible we now know exactly how the air cur-
rents act upon the wings or planes. When
a plane surface, such as the wing of an
aeroplane, moves horizontally through the
air, the air is caught for a moment under-
neath it and is pressed down slightly and
a moment later slips out again from under
19
MODEL AEROPLANES
the other edges at the sides and back. It
is this air under pressure which yields a
slight support.
It has been proven by many experi-
ments that this supporting power varies
with the shape of the plane or surface
driven horizontally through the air. A
long narrow surface driven sideways gains
much more support from the air than the
same area in the form of a square or any
other shape. In other words, a square
surface ten feet square containing 100
square feet will not travel as far as a sur-
face twenty feet long and five feet wide.
The explanation is very simple. As the
square surface moves along, the air is
momentarily compressed under the front
edge, but instantly slips off at the back
and sides. As the broad surface of the
rectangular plane cuts the air, however,
few of the air currents can escape at the
sides while the most of them are crowded
together and held in place until they slip
off at the back. The supporting power of
the plane is therefore in direct proportion
20
WHY THE AEROPLANE FLIES
to the length of the front or, as it is called,
the entering edge of the plane.
Here we find one of the secrets of the
flight of birds. The spread between the
tips of their outstretched wings is much
greater than the width of the wings them-
selves. It also explains why the Wright
model, for instance, should be so oddly
shaped and should move sideways like a
crab. If you study the models of the suc-
cessful monoplanes with this in mind they
have a new meaning. The law of the pro-
portion of the entering edge is very im-
portant in designing an aeroplane.
It is so important for the air to be con-
fined as long as possible beneath the glid-
ing plane that many devices have been
tried to hold it. Some planes are built
with a slight edge running around the
sides and back, on the under surface, to
hem in the air. Some of the biplanes are
built with closed sides, the cellular form
they are called, to keep the air from slip-
ping away. The box kite is constructed
with this in view. The builder of model
21
MODEL AEROPLANES
aeroplanes will find, however, that the
slight edge formed by turning the cloth
over the frame of the plane is sufficient to
hold the air.
The flight of a kite, by the way, appears
a very simple matter once this law is un-
derstood. The air currents strike the kite
at an angle and are deflected or carrom off
at exactly the same angle. A line drawn
through the middle of this angle, exactly
bisecting it, will give you the direction of
the force exerted by the wind. Mean-
while the kite string holds the plane rig-
idly in position. As the kite darts from
side to side it is merely obeying this law
and adjusting itself so that its surface will
stand at right angles to this thrust of the
wind. An aeroplane is simply a kite which
makes its own wind or air currents.
The kite is, of course, balanced against
the wind currents and kept more or less
stable by its cord, but an aeroplane must
balance itself. The secret of insuring sta-
bility was discovered only after years of
experience with gliders in actual flights.
22
WHY THE AEROPLANE FLIES
The stability of the aeroplane depends
upon the proper adjustment of the pres-
sure of the air on the machine. There is,
of course, a center of pressure, just as
there is a center of gravity in every aero-
plane of whatever form or size. It may be
laid down as a general rule that a plane
traveling horizontally in a quiet atmos-
phere is kept horizontal and stable by
making the centers of pressure and grav-
ity coincide.
The air currents, as we pointed out, are
never entirely at rest but are constantly
tilting the plane about. Hold a sheet of
stiff paper horizontally and let it fall. It
will flutter to the ground or perhaps be
twirled away, indicating the presence of a
number of unexpected air currents. The
aeroplane which would remain stable in a
perfectly quiet atmosphere must overcome
all these twists and turns. The problem
of stability has not yet of course been
solved. Having reached this stage in the
evolution of the aeroplane the aviator
next began to experiment by bending his
23
MODEL AEROPLANES
wings or planes and throwing out lateral
or stability planes to help him keep his
balance.
It was now found that a very little tilt-
ing of the planes upward or downward
would serve to right the machine when it
leaned over. The secret, like so many
others, was gained by watching the flights
of birds. You have perhaps seen a great
albatross or sea gull soar without the
slightest effort and apparently without
motion. Look more closely and you will
see that the tips of the broad wings move
slightly from time to time, while the main
body of the wings remains rigid, which is
the great secret of stability in flight.
The ends of the planes were next made
flexible, very slightly so, and arranged so
that they might be moved up and down or
flexed at will. The flights made with this
adjustment were at once brought under
control. New planes were added before
and behind, and it was found that the ma-
chine could be kept from darting up and
down just as well as tilting over at the
24
WHY THE AEROPLANE FLIES
ends. The aeroplane was now ready for
the installation of the motor.
The best curve for the wing of an aero-
plane is an irregular curve drawn above
the horizontal line. It is not a perfect arc
of a circle but reaches its greatest height
about one third back of the front edge,
with the rest of the line slightly flattened.
It is much the same line as is formed by
some waves just before they break. The
plane thus shaped is driven with the blunt
or entering edge forward or against the
wind. In building the large aeroplanes
this curve is worked out with great accu-
racy, but the builder of model airships may
carry the line in his eye.
As the air strikes the entering edge of
this surface it is driven underneath and
held there for a moment before it can es-
cape from beneath this hollow. The sup-
port of the air is therefore greater than in
the case of a flat plane, or in fact, any
other form. The air which passes over the
top of the entering edge, meanwhile, glides
or slips off at a slight upward angle, thus
25
MODEL AEROPLANES
forming a partial vacuum over the greater
part of the upper surface. This vacuum,
in turn, tends to pull the plane slightly
upward thus acting in the same direction
as the air which is compressed beneath it.
The planes thus constructed are, be-
sides, much more easily controlled than
those of any other shape. When the en-
tering edge of this plane is raised the
pressure of the air beneath is increased
and the pull of the partial vacuum com-
bines with it to make it rise. The difficult
problem of getting the aeroplane aloft was
largely solved by this curve. Once aloft,
such an airship answers her helm much
better than any other form.
This curve is accountable for many of
the movements of aeroplanes which seem
so mysterious to the mere layman. When
an aeroplane turns, its outer end rises, and
the more rapid is its flight the greater is
this tilt. It must be remembered that the
end is moving more rapidly and the in-
creased speed causes the plane to lift.
Many photographs of aeroplanes show
26
WHY THE AEROPLANE FLIES
them balanced at precarious angles while
making a turn. If the plane is tilted too
high the air currents slip out from be-
neath, no vacuum is developed above, and
it quickly loses speed. On the other
hand, if it be inclined downward it soon
loses the supporting power of the air and
plunges down.
At every stage of this development the
aviators are indebted to the birds for in-
formation. The successful aeroplanes
have great width compared to their depth,
they gain stability by flexing the tips of
the wings, and their planes are arched up-
ward and forward exactly as are the wings
of a bird. The aviator arranges his center
of gravity after the same general model,
below the planes and well forward. He
places his engine forward, just as the bird
has its strongest muscles in the chest, and
he builds his frame of hollow tubes like
the bones of a bird.
29
CHAPTER III
THE simplest form of heavier-than-
air machine is the stiff card or letter
which you may spin across the room. If
you give it just the right twirl it will glide
on a level for many feet. There are many
ways besides of folding a sheet of stiff
paper which will convert it into a surpris-
ingly clever little airship. With a little
practice these gliders may be made to fly
ten or twenty times their own length,
which would be a very creditable flight for
the best aeroplane models.
There is no better way to begin the con-
struction of a model aeroplane than by
study and experiment with these paper
ships. The most famous aeronauts of the
day, the Wright brothers, Curtiss, Her-
ring, and many others, have spent years
30
HOW TO BUILD A " GLIDER "
working with gliders before attempting to
build or fly an aeroplane. It is in this way
that they discovered what form of wing
would support the greatest weight,
whether the passenger should stand up or
lie down, how to place the propeller and
the rudder, and hundreds of other details
which have made possible the actual con-
quests of the air.
Following in their footsteps, or rather
their flights, the amateur aeronaut should
first build and fly only gliders or aero-
planes without means of self-propulsion.
The simplest form of glider may be made
by cutting a broad oval from a sheet of
stiff letter-paper and creasing it down the
middle. The experiment may be made
more interesting, however, by cutting out
the plane like the outstretched wings of a
bird, as suggested in the accompanying
illustration. Try as you may, this sheet
will not fly. Now add a trifling weight to
the front of the plane. This may be done
by fastening one or more paper clips to
the edge, pasting a match or a toothpick,
31
MODEL AEROPLANES
or by dropping a little tallow or sealing-
wax.
At first you will underestimate the
weight your little airship will carry. Add
more .weight in the same way, and test
its gliding powers until the little airship
will glide gracefully across the floor.
Keep the length of these models under six
inches. If you increase it beyond this, the
model loses steadiness and flutters about
ineffectively.
An interesting model may be made by
folding a sheet of stiff paper in an arrow-
like form. The idea is to form a series of
planes which will support the weight of
the tiny craft and, at the same time, enable
it to fly or dart in a straight line. It will
be found that the vertical surfaces lend
stability and keep the ship moving in a
straight line. You will soon learn, in this
way, more of the principles of aeroplane
construction than mere reading from
books can teach you. Be careful, mean-
while, to remember just how you have
launched the various forms of models,
32
Dowel Strips of Different Sizes.
HOW TO BUILD A " GLIDER "
whether you have thrown them with an
upward or downward motion, and how
hard a push you have given them. The
skill you acquire in this way will be valu-
able later on when you come to launch
your regular model aeroplane.
We are now ready to begin the construc-
tion of the frames of aeroplane models.
The first model will be merely a glider.
The frame and wings or planes of an aero-
plane are built much the same as a kite.
The idea in all such work is to combine
the greatest possible strength or stability
with extreme lightness. Remember, how-
ever, that the aeroplane during its flights
is racked and shaken by its motor, and is
likely to land with a bump. The materials
used must be stronger than in the case of
an ordinary kite, the joints more securely
formed, and the entire structure braced in
every possible way.
The best materials for constructing
these gliders or aeroplanes are very cheap
and easily obtained. At almost any hard-
ware-store you will find a variety of
35
MODEL AEROPLANES
" dowel-sticks," which seem especially
made for this work. They are smooth,
round sticks a yard in length and of a va-
riety of diameter. The sticks three six-
teenths of an inch in diameter will be
found most serviceable, while the larger
sticks are just the thing for the backbones
of your aeroplane. These sticks will not
split at the ends and may be readily
worked. They cost one cent apiece.
Some boys find that the reed or cane
suits their purpose better than the dowel-
sticks, since it is more flexible and a trifle
lighter. The cane is easy to work when
you wish to build planes with curved lines.
It can be readily shaped to any desired
form by first wetting it and allowing it to
dry after working. Care must be taken in
using it, since the ends are likely to split.
Bundles of this cane may be bought at
most hardware-stores or in department-
stores. Enough material for constructing
a model may be bought for a few cents.
The lightest of all available materials is
bamboo. It is difficult to procure, how-
36
HOW TO BUILD A " GLIDER "
Care must be taken to have the sides of the
rectangle exactly the same length and the
joints closely and neatly finished. Some
boys prefer to lay one stick over another,
then wrap the joint tightly with thin but
strong linen thread, and over this brush a
coat of thin glue, without using any brads
or nails.
In kite-building, to be sure, it would be
enough to lay the strips over one another
and fasten roughly with a tack. Nor did
the lengths of the stick, when covered with
paper, make much if any difference. The
aeroplane, it must be remembered, travels
edgewise, and, having no guiding string,
is at the mercy of every gust of wind. If
the frames are carelessly proportioned it
will not travel true, but is likely to be de-
flected. Imagine a boat whose sides are
not exactly uniform trying to travel in a
straight line. It would be lopsided, and
would roll and pitch under the most favor-
able conditions. Now an aeroplane, since
it travels in so thin a medium as air, is far
more sensitive than a boat, and it becomes
39
MODEL AEROPLANES
lopsided if its proportions be in the least
inaccurate. Only the greatest care in con-
struction will produce an air craft which
will fly true and straight.
It makes little or no difference in a kite
if the ends project a little and the joints
be carelessly made. Not only must your
aeroplane be perfectly proportioned, but it
must be finished like a piece of fine furni-
ture. The question of friction is a very
important one in the heavier-than-air ma-
chine. You cannot be too careful to round
off every corner and smooth every exposed
surface. If you have opportunity to see a
regular aeroplane, a Wright or Curtiss
model, you will find that every part of the
machine has been sandpapered and var-
nished with the greatest care. This is not
done for the sake of appearances, but be-
cause it has been found that the wind
striking against the rough piece of wood
meets an appreciable amount of resistance,
whereas it slips past a polished surface
with little or no friction. Your aeroplane
should be finished like a violin.
40
HOW TO BUILD A " GLIDER "
In building these planes be careful to
compare the lengths of the corresponding
sides throughout. If you prefer to use
brads for fastening the joints do so. The
dowel-stick and bamboo will take the
brads with little danger of splitting.
When thoroughly dry, cut away the glue
which has squeezed out, round off the
ends, and sandpaper with fine sand or
emery-paper. If you use brads it will not
be necessary to place the joints in a vise
while drying. Should your strips split,
bore the holes with a fine awl. Some boys
after drilling the holes merely tie and glue
the sticks together, using no nails what-
ever.
Now cut three dowel-strips 34 inches
long and slightly sharpen their ends, so
that when brought together they will form
a prism whose base is about one fourth
their length. Next bend a strong piece
of wire into a hook — a hair-pin will an-
swer for small models — and fasten it in
the apex of the prism, with the hook in-
side. The projecting end of wire should
43
MODEL AEROPLANES
then be bent over, and the three dowel-
sticks glued and tied tightly together.
At the open end of the prism next fasten
two strips from end to end, leaving the
third side of the triangle open. Now
fasten your two planes on the open side of
the prism, slightly mortising the sticks
and gluing and nailing them securely in
position. To further strengthen the
prism, join the three sides at the middle
with three sticks, forming a complete tri-
angle. The prism thus braced will be
found as strong as a heavy central stick,
besides being much lighter and providing
an excellent base for the propeller. A
strong stick about half an inch square
should be tied and glued across the middle
of the triangle at the base of the prism to
support the motor.
The frame once complete, sandpapered
and varnished, it is ready to be covered.
At first this may be done with some
smooth paper. Almost any thin material,
muslin or linen, will answer for the pur-
pose, although white silk makes the most
44
HOW TO BUILD A " GLIDER "
finished-looking model. Such scraps as
may be found in the family piece-bag will
answer every purpose. In sewing the
cloth over the frame the advice of some
big sister, aunt, or the mother may well
be taken. The idea is to fasten the cloth
smoothly and neatly over the frame, keep-
ing the surface free from creases or wrin-
kles of any kind. Boys are likely to be
awkward with the needle. The cloth may
also be glued over the frames. When com-
plete cover the planes with a thin solution
of paraffin dissolved in benzine.
In attaching the planes or wings to the
central axis of the model, the larger stick
or backbone may be mortised neatly, so
that the sides of the frame will be sunk in
flush with the upper surface. A fairly
good glider may be made, however, by
merely nailing down the frames against
this backbone. The distance between the
two planes is a complicated problem, but
the beginner had better at first imitate the
model shown in the accompanying illus-
tration. If the two supporting planes be
45
MODEL AEROPLANES
too far apart or too near together, the
glider will fall. The amateur must experi-
ment by changing their position on the
central axis until he hits the right propor-
tion. He will be able later to carry this
proportion in his eye, and the experience
will prove invaluable. Until you have hit
upon the proper position, fasten them to
the backbone with rubber bands. These
permit you to slide the planes back and
forth without the trouble of nailing.
Aeroplanes, unlike kites, fly best in a
perfectly quiet atmosphere. If you make
your trial flights out of doors, select a
quiet day. A room, a barn, or any large
interior will be found better. In launch-
ing your glider, hold it from beneath, so
that it balances, and throw it forward with
a swift, steady movement of the arm. A
little practice will make you very expert.
You will now find yourself fitted to re-
produce any of the simpler forms of mono-
plane models, several of which are here
illustrated. An interesting model is made
by attaching U-shaped wings to a central
46
Splitting a Bamboo Fish-Pole.
HOW TO BUILD A " GLIDER "
axis. In making these curved planes the
reed will be found useful. Other effective
gliders are made with triangular wings
fixed at a variety of angles. Remember
that the model must be absolutely sym-
metrical. In attaching the frames to the
central axis, always make the joints as
smooth and rigid as possible.
The weighting of the glider will be
found to be a very important detail. As a
rule the gliders require a considerable
weight at the front. The exact position of
the weight can only be determined by ex-
periment. The simplest way is to wire a
nail or a piece of metal to the edge of the
frame. If your glider does not balance per-
fectly, which is likely to be the case, this
fault can be largely remedied by weight-
ing it. The tendency of the glider is likely
to be upward, and the weight serves to
keep it on an even keel. When your model
glides steadily through the air, without
rolling or pitching, you have constructed
a well-balanced frame. It will then be
time to take up the problem of propulsion.
49
CHAPTER IV
BUILDING THE MOTOR
A WELL-CONSTRUCTED glider
alone makes a fascinating toy, but
once the motor has been installed it seems
almost alive. Your little craft will now
be ready for new conquests. It will imi-
tate the flights of the famous aviators,
contending with the same problems, per-
haps meeting similar accidents.
The motor is the most interesting, as it
is the most important, detail of the aero-
plane. Although it is possible to buy the
propellers for the motor, it is advisable
that every boy should work out this prob-
lem for himself. An effective motor is
easy to build, and costs practically noth-
ing. The length of your propeller-blades
should be equal to about one third the
width of your largest plane. For this you
BUILDING THE MOTOR
will need six strips of some light wood,
such as pine or ash, although a cigar-box
wood, if the grain be straight, will answer.
Cut the strips to measure about half an
inch in width and one eighth of an inch
thick. (See Plate B.)
THE PROPELLER BEFORE CUTTING DOWN.
PLATE B.
The strips should be covered with a thin
glue and laid one on top of another, and
a very thin nail be carefully driven
through the little pile at the exact center
between the two ends. While the glue is
still soft, turn the sticks on the axis formed
by the nail, so that they make a double
fan, spacing the outer edges about one
quarter of an inch apart. Be certain that
the fan is regular, and then give the nail
a final rap to tighten its hold and keep all
the glued surfaces together, and set away
MODEL AEROPLANES
to dry. If you can prop up the ends it will
be better to put a flat-iron or other weight
on each end to make the strips glue to-
gether tighter.
The thrust or propelling power depends
as much upon the curves of the propeller
as upon the force with which the motor is
driven. If the propeller be too flat, it will
not take hold of the air, while if the pitch
or angle of the curve be too sharp, it will
simply bore holes in the air and create a
vacuum which is useless. The pitch
should be about one in twelve; that is, if
the propeller-blade be twelve inches long,
the curve should be one inch high.
When the glue is thoroughly dry and
hard the projecting step-like edges may be
cut away. A flat chisel or an ordinary
pen-knife will do the work. Be careful to
keep the ends uniform, since much de-
pends upon the balance. Cut away the
wood until the blades are one eighth of an
inch or less in thickness, and round off the
corners. The propeller should then be
sandpapered perfectly smooth and var-
52
BUILDING THE MOTOR
nished. You will be delighted to find how
professional and shipshape the finished
propeller will be.
Now carefully remove the nail fastening
the pieces, and you will find, of course,
that it marks the exact center and forms
a perfect axis. Should you need to en-
large this hole, do not attempt to bore it,
since this may split the wood, but burn it
out, using a nail heated over a gas-flame.
Now insert a stiff wire in this hole — a
hat-pin will answer — and fasten it by
clenching it at the back tight to the pro-
peller, and fill up the hole with glue. The
photographs of the propellers of various
models will give you an excellent idea of
the proper curve.
Aviators differ as to the proper position
for the propellers in toy aeroplanes. Here
is a problem you must work out for your-
self. Some believe that the propeller
placed in front of the planes gets a firmer
grip on the air, since when the propeller
is at the stern the planes make many dis-
turbing currents, just as a steamship
53
MODEL AEROPLANES
churns the water in its wake. Others ar-
gue that by placing this propelling force
at the rear of the planes the craft is
made more steady. At any rate, excellent
flights may be made with either arrange-
ment.
In connecting up your propeller with
the motor it is very important that the
shaft should turn freely and that the bear-
ings offer the least possible resistance.
If you have built your aeroplane from the
drawing (see Plate A), now drill a hole
exactly in the center of the stick which
crosses the triangle at the rear of the
frame. This hole will come on a line
with the apex of the prism, or exactly in
the center of the triangle. When the turn-
ing of the motor pulls the ends of the
frame together, the strain will therefore be
exactly distributed among the three sides
or braces.
The propeller must be kept clear of the
frame and must never touch or scrape
against it. First a thin strip of metal,
drilled to take the axle or hat-pin, should
54
BUILDING THE MOTOR
be nailed over the hole in the crosspiece.
A sheet of aluminium such as is used for
name-plates is just the thing. Now on the
propeller-wire or axis string a smooth,
symmetrical glass bead, and pass the axle
through the metal strip and the crosspiece.
This will give you an excellent substitute
for ball-bearings. The end of the wire
should then be turned into a hook well
inside the frame. The propeller should be
mounted so carefully that it will turn
freely without friction and without wab-
bling from side to side.
The simplest and most effective motor
is formed by connecting the two hooks
with many turns of a long, thin strand of
rubber, which can be bought by the yard
or pound. The thinner strands of rubber
will exert more force than the heavy
bands, and red rubber is more durable
than any other. The bands should be
looped loosely between the two hooks,
just as you would wind a skein of
zephyr — over the hook on the propeller-
" shaft," then around the hook at the other
55
MODEL AEROPLANES
end, then down over the propeller-shaft
hook, and so on. If the hooks be three feet
apart the combined strands should form a
band one inch or more in diameter. If you
cannot buy the rubber in this form, a
number of two-inch rubber bands, such as
you buy by the box at the stationer's, may
be lopped chain fashion together to form
a continuous rope from hook to hook.
To store up energy for the flight, simply
turn your propeller round and round until
the rope of rubber bands is tightly
knotted. You can readily tell when it is
sufficiently wound and the danger-point is
reached, which comes when the pull of the
rubber grows too strong for your frame.
The average motor should be turned about
one hundred and fifty times. When the
propeller is released the rubber bands in
unwinding will give you back almost ex-
actly the same number of revolutions, less
perhaps one or two, which represents the
loss through friction.
If the propeller simply buzzes around,
coming to rest in a few seconds, without
56
Model Constructed from Diagram, Plate A.
BUILDING THE MOTOR
raising your aeroplane, it is probably too
small for the weight of the aeroplane.
When fully wound up the propeller should
run for about ten seconds. On the other
hand, if the propeller be too large, it will
quickly twist the aeroplane out of its
course and drive it to earth. It is well to
try out your motor thoroughly to make
sure of its running smoothly before at-
tempting any actual flights.
Do not yield to the temptation of trying
your wings, however, until the skids have
been attached. Most of the regular full-
size aeroplanes run on ordinary bicycle
wheels, although the Wrights use runners
like a sleigh. These skids or runners en-
able the machine to run along the ground
with the least possible friction and greatly
assist in rising. In the models of aero-
planes the skids serve a double purpose in
protecting the machine when it alights.
A serviceable f skid may be made by
building a triangle of thin strips and at-
taching it to the frame with the broad side
downward, as shown in the accompany-
59
MODEL AEROPLANES
ing drawing. Skids made of reed curving
down from the main body of the aeroplane
will also serve to take up the shock. There
are many ways of constructing these skids,
and a study of the models here illus-
trated will give many suggestions. If you
intend to have your aeroplane start from
the ground, the front skids should be
somewhat longer than those in the rear to
give it the proper lift.
The friction of the skids is greatly re-
duced by mounting them on wheels. Small
metal wheels may be borrowed from toy
automobiles, or small disks of wood or
cork will answer for the purpose. A very
simple axis may be formed by running a
long hat-pin through the uprights of the
skids. The photographs of the best
models will be found full of suggestions.
You will need at least three skids to form
a tripod for your aeroplane. It makes
little difference if you use one leg in front,
or two.
It is very important that the frame
should be properly braced to withstand
60
BUILDING THE MOTOR
the strain brought upon it. In the glider
this bracing is less important, but the ac-
tion of the motor changes the situation.
The rapid movement of the propellers
wracks the entire frame, and the impact
on landing is naturally greater when the
weight is increased. A thin copper wire,
No. 32, 34, or 36, should be used, which
will be found strong and flexible, while
adding little to the weight. After con-
structing your aeroplane go over it care-
fully and cut away the wood wherever it
may be lightened, and then strengthen it
by bracing. Wherever a joint may be
strengthened or a strut or a plane be made
more rigid by bracing, do not spare the
wire.
The accompanying drawing, with the
photographs of models, will indicate how
these braces may best be applied. To begin
with, braces should be run, wherever pos-
sible, from the corners of the planes to the
central frame and the skids. In the mono-
plane forms you will find it worth while to
add posts or perpendiculars to the upper
61
MODEL AEROPLANES
side of the frame and run wire braces diag-
onally to the ends of the planes. The ex-
treme ends of the planes should also be
connected.
No matter how carefully you have con-
structed your aeroplane, you will find the
planes have a tendency to sag and become
wrinkled. These braces give you the op-
portunity to pull them taut and hold them
in this position. This is commonly called
" tuning up " the aeroplane. It will be
found convenient to fasten small rings to
the ends of the braces whenever they may
be slipped over the ends of the frame to
save the trouble of winding. The more
perfectly your aeroplane is tuned up, the
greater will be its speed and distance quali-
ties.
An excellent monoplane for the begin-
ner is shown in drawing. (Plate C.) It
is very simple and easily adjusted, and
when well tuned up will fly upward of
two hundred feet. The two planes are
built separately in the proportion indi-
cated. The frame consists of a central
62
Splitting the Cigar Box Cover to Build the Propeller.
BUILDING THE MOTOR
stick supported by triangular skids. An
ordinary hat-pin run through the supports
near the ground serves as an axle for
wooden disks or wheels. The front skids
are made somewhat higher to give the
front planes the proper angle of elevation.
THE DIAGRAM OF A MONOPLANE.
Planes measure 20 inches by 8 inches. The motor base is 36 inches in length.
PLATE C.
The bracing of the planes is simple but
effective, and should be copied carefully,
particularly the double bracing in the rear,
using ordinary wire for the purpose. A
double support is used for the axle of the
propeller, an excellent idea, which keeps
the shaft rigidly in place. It is formed by
fastening two blocks drilled to hold the
axle to the bottom of the main frame. The
planes are held taut by wires running from
65
MODEL AEROPLANES
the corners to a post at the middle of the
plane. The front plane is hinged at its rear
edge, and may be tilted by pulling back a
piece of whalebone fastened at its center,
which is tacked to the top of the frame.
The rudder turns on a triangular frame at-
tached to the top of the rear plane. A
string passes through the rear end of the
rudder to the rear edge of the plane, form-
ing a triangle, which makes it possible to
adjust the rudder-plane and fix it rigidly
in position.
After you have built one or two models
you will find yourself confronted by a be-
wildering number of schemes for con-
structing new forms. It will be found a
very simple matter to use stiff wire for
many parts of your model instead of wood
or reed. In building rounded planes the
wire will be a convenience. The wire may
be attached to the wooden frame by em-
bedding it in the wood and binding it fast.
And, by the way, you can get a surprising
effect by painting your wooden frame with
silver paint, as the Wrights do. To all
66
BUILDING THE MOTOR
appearance you will have an aluminium
frame.
An aeroplane to be considered shipshape
must be even more perfect in every detail
than the finest racing yacht. Go over
your model, scrutinize every detail; if after
taking every precaution, your planes do
not fit like the sails of a racing yacht, cover
them with a thin solution of paraffin. On
hardening, this will hold the material per-
fectly smooth, so that the planes will offer
a perfect lifting surface.
The amateur aeronaut must be prepared
for disappointments. An aeroplane is one
of the crankiest crafts in the world to man-
age. It may twist and turn, plunge in and
out, up and down, apparently without the
least excuse. There is always, however,
a good reason somewhere for its behavior.
As you learn its ways, which, after all, are
very simple, the flights will be longer,
swiftier, and steadier. There is no toy in
the world which so quickly repays one for
patience and perseverance.
67
CHAPTER V
PINE POINTS OF CONSTRUCTION
A GREAT many experiments have
been made to find whether the flat or
curved wings give the best support, and
how sharply the curve should be drawn.
The wings of birds are curved slightly up-
ward, and in the end, after all the experi-
ments, it has been found that this curve
is just the right one. All forms of aero-
planes will fly more swiftly and steadily
if the planes be slightly bowed or flexed.
After you have built your aeroplane with
flat wings it will repay you to replace them
with flexed planes, and you will find that
the experience in building models will
make this construction very simple.
The lighter and more flexible materials,
such as bamboo or cane, are best for the
curved planes. After you have decided
upon the dimensions of the wings cut the
68
FINE POINTS OF CONSTRUCTION
pieces for the ends slightly longer than the
width of your planes. These pieces may
then be bent by steaming them over a
kettle of boiling water and bending to the
desired curve. When dry they will hold
their shape remarkably well. Another
plan is to use a flexible strip and pull the
ends together by a strong thread or wire
until the wood is bowed to just the right
curve. A corset steel or whalebone may
readily be curved in the same way. It is
a common mistake to curve the plane too
sharply, when the resistance offered to the
air will be greater than that with the flat
plane.
A plane two or three feet in width can-
not be held in shape merely by curving the
end pieces. A series of ribs must be added
at equal distances, each having, of course,
exactly the same upward curve. The ribs
may be fastened to the sides of the planes
with small brads or simply with glue or
wire. The covering should then be drawn
down. A very smooth covering may be
made of rice-paper. Cut the sheets the
69
MODEL AEROPLANES
proper size and lay them for a few minutes
between moistened cloths. Now stretch
the paper carefully over the frame and
glue in position. When dry the paper will
contract and leave a smooth, taut surface
like the head of a drum.
Much depends upon the curve of the
plane. A wing whose curve is not a per-
fect arc of a circle, but which is rounded
just back of the front edge and flattened
at the rear, will be found to offer the least
resistance to the air. The best plan is to
study the curves in the aeroplanes or mod-
els and imitate them. Different models
require different planes. It is a problem
which each young aeronaut must work out
for himself.
The question of rudders or guiding
planes is very important. It is too much
to expect of even the best model that it
will fly in an unswerving line. Any simple
vertical plane which may be turned from
side to side and held in position will act as
a rudder. There is great difference of
opinion as to the proper size and position
70
•
FINE POINTS OF CONSTRUCTION
of these guiding surfaces. It is argued by
some aviators that the rudder should be
placed above the plane, where the air is
undisturbed, while others believe that the
partial vacuum created above the wings in
flight makes the propeller ineffective. Still
others argue that a rudder placed back of
the planes affords a leverage, and is there-
fore more effective. Try a rudder in each
position. It is impossible to lay down a
law for all models.
The larger models should be equipped
with twin propellers. In building these
the greatest care should be taken to have
them exactly the same size, weight, and
pitch. Twin propellers should, as a rule,
be placed at the front of the machine, that
is, they should pull and not push the
planes. If by any accident the motor of
one should fail, the second propeller will
continue to keep the aeroplane afloat and
break its fall on descending. With the
propellers at the stern of the little airship,
the failure of one would cause the plane to
pitch downward, and the remaining pro-
73
MODEL AEROPLANES
peller would drive it down to possible dis-
aster.
In winding up the two motors, care
should be taken to give both the same
number of turns. The aeroplane may be
launched by holding a propeller in either
hand and releasing simultaneously. The
double motor insures a steadier as well as
a longer flight. Always turn the propel-
lers in opposite directions. In flying they
must spin around either toward each other
or away from each other. If they turn the
same way they will give the model a
torque which no rudder could possibly
overcome.
The efficiency of your motor depends
more upon its length than its diameter.
In constructing the motor-base, especially
for the larger models, arrange to have the
strands of rubber bands extend the entire
length of your aeroplane, and if necessary,
project well forward of the front plane.
Such a motor in unwinding will exert
a more sustained force. The shorter
strands of greater diameter will unwind
74
FINE POINTS OF CONSTRUCTION
much more quickly and give very short
flights.
With a little experience you will soon
learn to gauge your motor to the needs of
your air-ship. It is, of course, absolutely
necessary that the force exerted by the
motor should be sufficient to keep your
aeroplane in rapid motion, but it is easy
to make it too powerful. If it were pos-
sible to attach a " governor " to your
motor, this would not matter so much.
But since this is practically out of the
question, the motor itself must be very
nicely proportioned to the demand made
upon it. You will soon be able to judge
between the steady whir of a good motor,
and the buzz of a propeller which races.
There is a distinct note for each.
The motor is, at present, the great prob-
lem of the model aeroplane. The rubber
bands are, at best, only a make-shift. It
is practically out of the question to get a
flight of more than fifteen seconds in this
way, so that the distance is limited to a
little more than two hundred feet. It is
75
MODEL AEROPLANES
doubtless only a question of time before
a much more efficient form of motor will
be invented. Very probably, some ama-
teur aviator will be the first to apply a
new means of propulsion, which would be
an important achievement indeed.
The simplest form of motor after the
rubber bands would seem to be some form
of metal spring which could be wound up.
Long before the days of automobiles, as
we now know them, wagons were built
with motors of springs, and some sur-
prising runs were obtained. The spring
lends itself to many forms of construction,
and is not expensive. It will be necessary
to control its action in some way, however,
to prevent it from racing and running
down in almost no time, like the too heavy
rubber motors. It might be found inter-
esting to experiment with the spring to be
found in the ordinary roller-shade. The
weight of these springs is not too great to
be carried by a good aeroplane model,
which, of course, is a great factor in their
favor.
76
FINE POINTS OF CONSTRUCTION
A number of experiments have been
made in France to equip aeroplane models
with compressed-air motors. The com-
pressed air is carried in a hollow tube in
much the same position as the rubber
bands. Many believe that the motor
problem, for the toy aeroplane will be
solved in this way. A number of interest-
ing models have also been equipped with
clock-work motors. A small movement,
such as may be borrowed from some me-
chanical toys, will run for a minute or
more. What glorious flights would be
possible if our models could be kept
aloft — say five times as long as at pres-
ent. When you feel that you thoroughly
understand your model, borrow the clock
work from some old toy and make the
experiment. It is possible to buy motors
for model aeroplanes. The smallest of
these develops one half horsepower,
weighs seven pounds and will run for
fifteen minutes.
The best covering for the wings still re-
mains largely an open question. Al-
79
MODEL AEROPLANES
though your model will make successful
flights with almost any kind of covering,
you will find that its stability will be in-
creased and the flight lengthened by a
little attention to this detail. According
to the Wright Brothers, the most success-
ful covering is the one which offers the
greatest resistance to the air. The pres-
sure of the air upward under the planes
tends to force its way through the meshes
of even the finest cloth. The addition of
a coat of varnish will prevent this leakage.
A light parchment will also be found ef-
fective. It will be well to experiment with
a variety of coverings.
A very light, serviceable frame may be
made for your motor-base by using hollow
shafts or sticks. Procure a very thin, light
wood, such as is used for veneering, and
after cutting it carefully into strips, glue
them together to form a hollow shaft
about an inch square. Although the shell
may be only one sixteenth of an inch thick,
the frame will be found strong enough for
all practical purposes. A hollow frame of
80
FINE POINTS OF CONSTRUCTION
this kind will save several ounces of
weight.
The builder of aeroplane models will
find a good friend in aluminium. It is
strong enough for all purposes of the
model air-ship and, even when used freely,
adds almost nothing to the weight. The
metal costs ninety cents a pound, but it
is so light that, at this rate, it will be found
a very cheap material. Comparatively
thick pieces may be used for braces or for
angles, thus making the frame absolutely
rigid, while adding but a fraction of an
ounce to the weight. The metal, being
comparatively soft, is easily worked, and
simple castings may be made at little ex-
pense.
Many builders of aeroplanes waste time
and ingenuity quite unnecessarily in con-
structing sets of wheels for carrying their
models. The time would be better em-
ployed in looking to your planes. The
amount of friction saved by attaching
wheels, even good ones, to your model, is
after all very trifling. Should the wheels
81
MODEL AEROPLANES
jam or stick, which is likely to be the case
with such small models, they are worse
than skids, and besides, add appreciably to
the weight. A light skid is better than a
clumsy wheel. If your model fails to rise
from the ground, the fault is not at all
likely to be in the skids, but in the thrust
or lifting-surface.
An excellent plan for guiding the flights
is to add square frames of soft lead wire
to the front or cutting-edge of your front
planes. Bend a piece of wire to form three
sides of a square, each two or three inches
long, and fasten the loose ends to the
plane. By bending these up or down, the
center of gravity may be altered at a
touch. If your model goes askew, you
may bend one of these up and the
other down, until you get the desired bal-
ance.
In actual practice, the soaring- or float-
ing-planes seem to add greater stability to
the model and effect to a marked degree
the length of the flight. It is difficult to
tell exactly why. The planes in passing
82
FINE POINTS OF CONSTRUCTION
may create an eddy in the air, a following
wave, as it were, which tends to retard the
flight, while the floating-plane smoothes
this out. In any event, here is an experi-
ment well worth trying.
CHAPTER VI
SIMPLE MONOPLANE MODELS
OF the variety of aeroplanes, there
seems to be no end. Nature offers
a bewildering variety of models in the in-
numerable birds and insects, which may be
accepted as successful monoplanes. These,
in turn, may be copied and modified indef-
initely. The science of aviation is still so
young that there is ample opportunity for
invention and discovery for all, and every
new trial adds something to our informa-
tion, and carries the science a step nearer
perfection.
It will be found an excellent plan to
build, once and for all, a strong well pro-
portioned motor base, and mount a pow-
erful motor and well modeled propeller.
A variety of planes may then be tested out
by attaching them to this. The motor
84
SIMPLE MONOPLANE MODELS
base will answer for practically all mono-
plane forms and many biplane models as
well. Such a frame should be about three
feet in length and carry one or better two
motors, placed side by side.
There is as much danger in providing
too much lifting-surface in your aeroplane
as too little. This fault is well illustrated
in an exceedingly clever French model
(Plate i ). Although the model is well con-
structed, and appears ship-shape at first
glance, it nevertheless has far too much
surface and will not fly well. If the depth
of the wings were reduced fully one half,
it would have a much better chance.
The best lifting-planes are those which
present a broad front or entering edge,
but with comparatively little depth. The
successful flying-machines, whether mon-
oplanes or biplanes, use these very wide
but shallow planes forward. The theory
is of course that the air is caught for an
instant beneath the plane and before it has
a chance to slip off the sides, the wing has
caught its very slight supporting power
85
MODEL AEROPLANES
and moved on to new and undisturbed
air.
With this rule in mind examine the
model's front plane once more. It will be
seen that, as the air is caught under this
broad surface, it will try to escape in all
directions and set up currents of air. In-
stantly the broad plane loses its balance
and tilts to one side or the other. No
weighting of the plane can overcome this.
If the plane were forced through the air
at a very high speed a steady flight might
be possible, but it is useless to try to over-
come this tendency to tip and wabble.
The planes again are badly designed. A
perfectly straight front or entering edge
gives the best results. A certain stability
is gained by curving the front plane
slightly, this will be discussed later, but
there is no excuse for the semicircle de-
scribed in this case. Every inch of sur-
face cut away from the front edge of the
plane directly reduces its lifting power.
The arrow like form of the rear plane does
not matter because this is a stability plane,
86
PLATE I.
A Clever Folding Model. The Wings Are Broader than Need Be.
SIMPLE MONOPLANE MODELS
not a lifting plane. In this case the rear
plane is twice the size it should be.
The propeller of this model is much too
small, even if the size of the planes was
correct. It is well placed however at the
front of the model where it may turn in
undisturbed air. The passage of these
large planes, or any planes for that matter,
is likely to cut up the air just as a ship
churns the water into a wake behind it and
the propeller does not work effectively in
these eddies. The motor seems powerful
and well braced, although it might be
made even longer by carrying it to the
extreme rear.
Several very useful ideas may be bor-
rowed from the construction of the frame
of this model. It is made entirely of metal,
so jointed that it may be folded up into
very compact form like an umbrella. The
amateur model builder should not attempt
anything so complicated, but an old um-
brella frame may be used with good results
in building a rigid frame. Use the steel
rod of the umbrella as a backbone, and cut
89
MODEL AEROPLANES
away the ribs you do not need. The
others may be bent into various shapes to
form the front or sides of the planes, the
skids or braces. Such a construction is
light and perfectly rigid.
A very effective monoplane may be
made by curving the front and rear edges
of the forward plane, while keeping the
rear or stability plane rectangular in shape
(Plate 2). The curve of this model may
be imitated to advantage, as well as the
general proportions. Such a plane is less
likely to be deflected by air currents than
a straight entering-edge and insures
longer and steadier flights. Should you
be troubled by your model twisting from
side to side in flight try curving the front
edge of the forward plane.
This model is one of the easiest to make
and is an excellent one for beginners.
Build the two planes separately making
the larger one about thirty inches in width
and ten inches in depth, and the second
one fifteen inches in width and ten inches
in depth. The curved sticks may be
90
SIMPLE MONOPLANE MODELS
worked up by using bamboo or dowel
sticks, soaking them in water and fasten-
ing them in a bowed position while damp
and leaving them to dry. It may be found
a good plan to use a heavier stick for the
rear edge of the plane to gain stability.
A single stick about one half an inch in
diameter may be used for the backbone.
It will be found an excellent plan to attach
the planes lightly to the main frame so
that they may be adjusted before fixing
them finally in position. Place them in
the position shown in the accompanying
photograph, and move them up and down
until the flights are all that you expect,
when they may be fastened for good and
all. The bracing of this model is excellent
and may be safely imitated. It enables
one to tune up either plane and fix them
rigidly in position. The propeller is very
properly placed forward although it ap-
pears to be rather small. It is unnecessary
to bother with any vertical rudder for this
model since the curve of the front plane
insures a reasonably straight flight.
MODEL AEROPLANES
A popular French model which may be
easily imitated consists of curved planes
both front and rear (Plate 3). The
curve of the planes is too complicated to
be carried out in wood, but may be readily
formed by bending a stiff wire to the de-
sired shape. The front plane should be
about twelve inches in width and four
inches in depth. The rear should be about
half this size and of the same form. The
planes may be readily mounted "on a small
dowel stick. A small propeller and a
motor a foot in length will answer. A
small semi-circular fin should be set below
the rear plane to act as rudder.- First
cover the frames with a stiff paper and
after you have succeeded in adjusting it,
this may be replaced by cloth. The model
will not fly far, or very steadily, but it is
interesting to practice with. The balance
of the model is open to criticism; for the
center of gravity appears to be too far
forward.
The simplest of all models to build, and
not the least interesting, is the small paper
92
A Model Aeroplane Worth Imitating.
SIMPLE MONOPLANE MODELS
monoplane (Plate 4). The planes which
are slightly curved are formed of a stiff
card which will hold its shape when bent
into position. These may be attached to
the main stick by inserting an edge into
a groove in the stick and glueing in place.
It is not well to construct these more than
six inches in width over all.
One of the simplest monoplanes to con-
struct is formed of a broad rectangular
forward plane with a fan-shaped stability-
plane at the rear (Plate 5). This is a
French model which is said to have flown
long distances ; that is to say, 300 feet or
more. It has several very interesting fea-
tures. In the first place the combined area
of its planes is doubtless greater than that
of any other model here described. The
vertical rudder which looks very ship-
shape and effective is very easy to build
and the frame illustrates several new prin-
ciples.
The frame or motor-base may be made
of heavy dowel sticks or light lath as indi-
cated in the photograph. It will be found
95
MODEL AEROPLANES
simpler to avoid tapering the frame at the
rear by merely constructing a stout rect-
angular base with a length two and one
half times its width. The forward plane
is slightly bowed or flexed. It will be
found a good plan to construct the frame
for the base and then bow a light strip at
either end against the edge. By fastening
the covering to these curved strips a
smooth curved surface may be obtained.
The rear stability-plane may be
stretched over a fan-shaped frame of strips
or lath which is in turn fastened to the
motor-base. Another plan is to attach the
front and rear edges of the plane, the rear
one being slightly longer, and stretch the
covering over these leaving the sides free
as in the photograph of the accompanying
model. The vertical rudder is very simple,
consisting of a piece of dowel stick sunk
in the rear frame to which a rectangular
piece of cloth is attached the front corner
being pulled taut.
The spread of the planes appears to be
considerably greater than needs be. Since
96
SIMPLE MONOPLANE MODELS
the front plane is flexed it may be reduced
one third or even one half in depth with-
out reducing its lifting quality; although
in this case it should be placed nearer the
stability plane. This reduction would, of
course, make an important saving in the
weight of the craft. So large a model calls
for two propellers which will prove more
effective at the front rather than the rear
of the machine. It might be well to carry
the motors further back than has been
done in this model thus gaining additional
power.
Since the model is expected to rise un-
aided from the ground the question of the
skids is very important. The design fol-
lowed in the model is excellent. The front
of the frame is supported by legs consist-
ing of inverted triangles built of dowel
sticks attached to the frame. The axle
connecting the two runs on small wheels,
such as may be borrowed from a toy auto-
mobile. The rear of the frame rests on a
simple skid made of curved reed. These
supports place the model at an angle
97
MODEL AEROPLANES
which should enable it to rise easily with-
out loss of power. There is a great deal
of satisfaction in working on so large a
model, the parts may be made stronger
and there is less likelihood of its getting
out of order.
Now turn from these broad planes to
the rather slight model (Plate 6), and the
faults of its proportion are at once obvi-
ous. The front plane is much too far back
for stability. Such a model will glide
fairly well, and, if the motor be powerful
it will rise quickly, but a steady horizontal
flight is out of the question. The size of
the planes seems perilously small, and yet
if they be well shaped and spaced they will
prove large enough. This is just the sort
of model a beginner is likely to make, and
therefore serves a very useful purpose in
pointing a lesson.
It is not without its good points. The
front plane has been carefully flexed and
attached to the motor frame at a good
angle. An interesting experiment has also
been made in carrying the edges of the
98
SIMPLE MONOPLANE MODELS
front plane a trifle behind the rear edge,
thus making for stability. The vertical
rudder above the rear stability-plane is
well placed, although it appears rather
small. The skids upon which the model
rests and the proportion of the front to the
rear elevation are excellent. It is a first
rate plan in building such a model to at-
tach the front plane temporarily to the
motor-base, and move it back and forth in
the trial flights until the best spacing has
been found.
101
CHAPTER VII
ELABORATING THE MONOPLANE
IT is surprising to find how far the pure
monoplane form has been developed by
the builders of model aeroplanes. It is no
exaggeration to say that they have car-
ried some principles of construction even
further than the builders of the large man-
carrying monoplanes. Since a model is so
easily built, and costs so little, it is of
course possible to experiment with all sorts
of new forms. A great many of these will
doubtless prove to be all wrong, but some
are certain to be valuable discoveries. In
future years, when the aeroplane has been
perfected and perhaps plays an important
part in commerce, sport and warfare it will
probably be possible to trace back many of
its improvements to the model aeroplanes
102
ELABORATING MONOPLANE
designed, built and flown by American
boys of to-day.
A beautiful model of a pure monoplane
form carefully elaborated is shown in
Plate 7. In this case increased stability is
obtained by throwing out additional
planes both to the front and rear. It may
appear at first glance that these stability-
planes are very small compared with the
broad soaring-plane, but they have not
proved so in flight. It will be remembered
that the elevating-plane of the Wright
machine is very small compared with the
spread of the main wings. There is be-
sides a great advantage in placing the sta-
bility plane well forward since it makes it
possible to build an unusually long motor-
base and install longer and more powerful
motors.
The main plane is one of the best ex-
amples of construction work to be found
among all these models. It is well pro-
portioned and the curve has been skilfully
drawn. The plane is made unusually rigid
by a series of supports or braces run both
103
MODEL AEROPLANES
horizontally and vertically. Such a plane
calls for considerable time and patience,
but it will well repay the builder by the
long and steady flights it insures for the
model. In adding ribs to a large plane of
this kind a convenient material may be
prepared by splitting up thin wooden
plates or dishes, such as you buy at the
grocers for a penny. The strips obtained
in this way may be easily glued or tied to
the edge of the plane and shaped as de-
sired.
A long, straight flight is insured for this
model by equipping it with three vertical
rudders or guiding-planes. The first rud-
der is well placed above the front plane.
The second performs a good service be-
neath the main plane, while the third is
carried unusually far back behind the pro-
pellers. The problem whether a rudder
is more effective above or below the planes
is very ingeniously solved in this case by
placing them in both positions. An in-
teresting principle is involved in placing
the rear rudder. By fixing it far behind
104
One of the Simplest of Aeroplanes to Construct.
ELABORATING MONOPLANE
the center of gravity of the model a con-
siderable leverage is obtained, and a small,
light rudder becomes more effective in this
position than a much larger plane placed
forward. These rudders are built so that
they may be easily turned from side to side
and fixed rigidly at any angle.
Still another interesting feature of this
model is the design of the skids. The
model is supported at an angle which en-
ables it to rise easily. These skids are be-
sides arranged with shock-absorbers, sim-
ply constructed with elastic bands, which
enable them to take up the shock on land-
ing and thus protects the machine. This
is an interesting field of experiment and
a little care in building these skids will
save many a smash-up.
It cannot be too often stated, that the
supporting power of the planes depends
far more upon their shape than their size.
A remarkably effective model may be
made with planes, which are little more
than blades (Plate 8). The planes, in this
case, are made of white wood, slightly
107
MODEL AEROPLANES
curved. The front or entering edge is
very sharp, while, at the rear, a thin strip
of shellaced silk is glued, thus forming a
good soaring blade. The front plane is a
counterpart of the first, except that it is
smaller. The only stability plane is a thin,
knife-like strip placed vertically just be-
fore the rear plane. The model is mounted
on skids. It is driven by a small propeller
placed far back of the center of gravity.
It is probably the easiest as it is the small-
est of all models to construct, and will fly
for more than three hundred feet.
In building this model it will be found a
good plan to bend the strips of wood for
the planes by steaming them over a kettle.
Allow the steam to play on the under or
concave side of the plane. When dry the
plane will retain its shape. The front or
entering edge should be trimmed away to
a sharp line and sand-papered perfectly
smooth. The front corners of the planes
should be slightly rounded while the rear
edges are kept straight. The forward
plane should be tilted slightly upward to
108
ELABORATING MONOPLANE
enable it to rise, but at an angle of less
than thirty degrees. The secret of the re-
markable flights of this model probably
lies in the smoothness of its planes and the
absence of irregular parts which offer a
resistance to the air.
An interesting field of experiment, as
yet almost untouched, lies in the triangu-
lar, or narrow-prowed forms of aeroplanes
(Plate 9). The theory of this model is, that
a triangle entering the air end-wise, will
meet with less resistance than when pre-
senting a broad, entering edge. The
model is, frankly, an experiment, although
it has been found to have unexpected sta-
bility, and flies well. Its central planes,
joined at right angles, is supported by two,
lateral, stability-planes, radiating back-
ward from the front of the model. The
aeroplane is drawn, not pushed, through
the air, by double propellers, and is steered
by an angular guiding-plane at the rear.
The planes are mounted upon a triangular
frame, which runs on wheels, two being
set forward and one aft. The planes,
109
MODEL AEROPLANES
taking advantage of the dihedral angle,
seem to rest upon the air, which makes for
stability. In actual practice, however, the
planes in this particular model have been
found to be too narrow. The question
naturally arises as to the effect of revers-
ing this model and turning the dihedral
angle of the central plane, into a tent effect.
As a matter of actual experience, the
model flies almost equally well upside
down.
In many of the early attempts to build
aeroplanes the wings or planes were tilted
sharply upward from the center thus
forming what is known as a dihedral angle.
This form served to lower the center of
gravity and, it was thought, made for
stability. The Wright Brothers found
that this plan, although it lowered the
center of gravity, caused it to move from
side to side like a pendulum, and therefore
abandoned it in favor of the flat curved
wing which have been so generally imi-
tated. Now this model returns to the old
principle of the dihedral model, but treats
no
Too Large for Beginners, but Will Make Long Flights.
ELABORATING MONOPLANE
it in a new way. By building the model
with three planes, each with the dihedral
angle, the center of gravity has been low-
ered and, at the same time, the oscillation
has been greatly reduced.
The narrow-prowed form of this model
is also very interesting and its principle
may well be copied. All of the successful
monoplanes aloft to-day, the Bleriot,
Santos Dumont, Antoinette and others
are driven with their larger or soaring
planes forward and their smaller stability-
planes in the rear. The day may come
when these machines will be reversed.
The model before us may point the way
to a great improvement in the building of
air-craft. It is an important principle for
the builder of model aeroplanes to bear in
mind.
In the present state of model aeroplane
building, the longest flights are made with
an adaptation of the monoplane forms.
An excellent model is shown in Plate 10.
The dihedral, or V shape of the planes
gives them greater supporting power than
"3
MODEL AEROPLANES
others in the horizontal position. The
stability plane beneath is particularly
recommended, since it utilizes the frame
already in position and does not add to
the weight of the model. The rear of
this plane, which is hinged, is easily ad-
justed.
The planes of this model are especially
interesting. They are made of silk, laid
over frames of dowel sticks, and each pair
is held tightly together by the simple de-
vice of connecting them with elastic bands,
attached to clasps. The wires running to
the corners of the planes, are fastened to
small brass rings which may be slipped
over the sticks or posts in the center of the
frame, which makes them very simple to
adjust. It will be noticed that the rear
part of each plane swings freely, and is
kept in place only by corset steels, used as
ribs, which are sewn into the cloth. These
floating or soaring blades, as they are
sometimes called, insure longer flights.
With such a model there is little danger
of building a too powerful motor. By in-
114
ELABORATING MONOPLANE
creasing the size of the wings, and careful
weighting, a surprising amount of power
may be applied to such a model without
rendering it unstable. This is of course a
great advantage in such a model, since it
lends itself to longer flights and the in-
stallation of comparatively heavy motors.
When you find yourself with a model of
this design in good working order, experi-
ment by binding the wings or planes at the
middle to form an arched surface like the
wings of a sea gull. The flying radius of
some of these models has been increased
fully fifty per cent by this simple expe-
dient.
An interesting modification of this form
(Plate n) is provided with rigid wings,
and is driven by a single propeller. The
very simple but effective method of brac-
ing the wings, may be studied to advan-
tage. The skids are well designed. In still
another type of this general monoplane
form (Plate 12) the propeller is placed in
front of the planes, and the rubber motor
runs below the main bar. The wheels sup-
MODEL AEROPLANES
porting this model are particularly well
made.
A very serviceable, little monoplane
form may be made by making the rear
upper plane adjustable (Plates 13-14).
The front plane is V-shaped and is unusu-
ally stable for so light a model. By tilting
the rear plane up or down, a good level
flight may be obtained. The frame, in this
case, is made of wire. The propeller is
placed well behind the rear plane, thus
bringing the center of gravity well for-
ward to balance the angle of the rear plane.
The blades of the propeller are made of
twisted wood, which is not to be recom-
mended, since it is likely to lose its shape.
In Plates 15-16 we have a well thought
out little monoplane, which well repays
study. The propeller is set forward of the
lifting plane which is the larger of the
wings. The rear plane may be tilted up
or down. The rudder, which is also ad-
justable, is set below it. The arrange-
ment of skids is excellent, enabling it to
rise from the ground with little loss of
116
Model shown in Plate V. Ready for a Flight.
ELABORATING MONOPLANE
friction. The method of flexing the front
plane may well be imitated.
A good working idea of the aeroplane
is clearly shown by the builder of the bi-
plane with triangular wings (Plate 17).
His model is not successful and will not
fly, yet it embodies several good features.
The biplane form of the lifting plane is
excellent in itself as we have seen in earlier
models. The spacing of the two planes is
good, and the bracing of the model
throughout is well planned. The triangle
does not make a good soaring plane even
when its broad side is made the entering
edge. The triangle serves well enough
however for the rear stability plane. The
chief fault of the model is that it is much
too large. The motor although well pro-
portioned is much too weak to propel so
large a frame.
An interesting variation from the com-
mon type of aeroplane is made by varying
the angle of the sides of the planes
(Fig. 18). Here is a well constructed
model, and, with a single exception, fairly
119
MODEL AEROPLANES
well proportioned. The mistake, and it is
likely to prove a serious one, is in the size
of the vertical rudders. They are well
placed above the main plane, but their size
is likely to defeat the purpose for which
they were designed and knock the model
off its course rather than keep it steady.
It is a question again if one of these rud-
ders would not serve the purpose better
than two and thus minimize weight and
resistance.
The best point of this model is the in-
genious method of enlarging the surface
of the planes without increasing the size
of the planes or adding to their weight.
This is done by cutting the covering of the
planes at an angle and keeping the entire
surface taut by bracing. It is of course
very important that the cloth should be
held tight without wrinkling. The plan of
having the wings taper slightly outward is
good. Such a model combines more lift-
ing surface with less weight than any
other model of this general group.
120
CHAPTER VIII
BUILDING A BIPLANE
EVERY one knows, of course, that the
box-kite flies better than a plane sur-
face, and many believe that the box or
cellular type of aeroplane has a similar ad-
vantage over the monoplane. The en-
closed end keeps the air from slipping off
the edges of the plane, and makes for sta-
bility. There is all the difference in the
world, or rather in the air, between an
actual flight and the movement of a model
aeroplane. The aviator, by flexing his
planes, and adjusting his rudders fore and
aft, may balance his craft to suit the air
currents. In the model aeroplane, the ad-
justment must be made before starting
once and for all. Several interesting prin-
ciples are involved in the cellular or box
121
MODEL AEROPLANES
form of aeroplanes which will well repa>
study (Plates 19-20).
In disturbed air, which is of course the
usual condition of the atmosphere, the
cellular model is likely to be deflected, and
since the elevating plane or planes cannot
be adjusted, it will soon fall off its course.
Such models are easy to construct, and
any one who has built a monoplane will
have little difficulty with them. No at-
tempt is made to flex the planes. The
cellular type must be equipped with a lift-
ing-plane forward, which may be easily
adjusted to any angle, and held in position.
It is indispensable that you have two pro-
pellers placed aft behind the main plane.
The model may be made much more effect-
ive by adding a third stability-plane or rud-
der at the rear. It may be either vertical
or horizontal and should be easily ad-
justed. The models illustrated, herewith,
are very simple forms and clearly indicate
the necessary frame work. It will be found
that these models require considerable bal-
last, skilfully distributed.
122
BUILDING A BIPLANE
In building these cellular forms select
some light lath for the frame rather than
dowel sticks. It will be necessary to join
many of these together at right angles,
and the curved stick will be found difficult
to work. For each box cut four sticks the
desired width, and eight sticks the depth
of your plane. The box should be almost
exactly square so that all these shorter
sticks should be the same length. Now
build your box by nailing and glueing
these sticks together, taking great pains
to have it symmetrical. Should a single
one of these sticks be too long or too short
it will throw the entire frame out of plumb
and make it next to impossible to get a
straight flight.
In most of these models the front or rear
stability-planes are made exactly like the
larger frame only much smaller. When
the frames are completed and thoroughly
dry and smooth, stretch the cloth covering
tightly over them by drawing it length-
wise, all the way around. By using a
single piece of cloth it will be found easier
125
MODEL AEROPLANES
to pull it together and hold it tight and
smooth. It will be found a good plan to
touch the outer edges of the frame you
are covering with glue just before cover-
ing. When the glue dries the cloth will
thus be held firmly in position. The cloth
may be fastened to the outer edges by
glueing or sewing.
A simple but effective plan for mount-
ing the stability-planes is suggested by the
models here illustrated. The frame of the
motor-base may be made the width of the
smaller frame and fastened between the
two sticks. It should be left free so that
it may be tilted up or down and fixed in
any position. If the rear stability-plane
is to serve as rudder it should of course be
mounted vertically so that it may be turned
to right or left. Be sure to make your
frame sufficiently strong and rigid. A
light frame which will vibrate when the
motor turns or is shaken by the wind will
be found very troublesome indeed.
The cylindrical forms of planes (Plate
21 ) carries the foregoing principles a step
126
BUILDING A BIPLANE
further. A surprising degree of stability
is obtained by thus enclosing the air, and
by throwing out several lateral stability-
planes fore and aft. The models may be
constructed of heavy wire, ordinary um-
brella wire will answer the purpose, and
may be readily bent. The planes in the
accompanying model are merely suggest-
ive. The broad planes placed forward,
well above the diameter, promise well, but
the rear wings appear unstable and small
for the other surface. The forward or
lifting-plane is again, much too narrow.
The cylindrical form is equipped with a
double propeller, one before and the other
in the rear, both mounted on a bar, which
forms the exact axis of the cylinder. This
adjustment will give you a very pleasant
surprise. The vibration and torque of the
two propellers seem to equalize one an-
other, and the thrust is much more steady
than in the case of a single screw. The
thrust is not only double, in this way, but
the gain for stability is surprising. The
model should be mounted on skids to
127
MODEL AEROPLANES
assist it in rising, and to take up the force
of the impact on landing.
The double propeller, mounted on the
same shaft, may be used successfully in
many models. A very simple monoplane
form (Plate 22) may be equipped in this
way. If two or more planes be mounted
between the propellers, an astonishing
soaring quality may be had. It is an ex-
cellent plan to fasten the planes to the
frame at first by rubber bands, so that they
may be pushed up or down readily, and
adjusted and weighted to suit the condi-
tions.
There is danger in this form, however,
that the plane will turn completely over in
its flight, although this will have little
effect upon the thrust or direction. The
model is exceedingly simple to make. The
propellers should not be too large, not
more than twice the diameter of the planes
at most. The two propellers must, of
course, be turned in opposite directions,
to correct the twisting tendency.
Should you construct a motor-base of
128
BUILDING A BIPLANE
this kind with propellers at either end it
will be found interesting to experiment by
attaching planes of different shapes and
sizes. It requires very little surface to
keep such a monoplane afloat. Instead of
the circular and elliptical plane placed
lengthwise, as in the accompanying model,
try the effect of larger circles and broader
ellipses, placing the latter sideways. This
may be varied by using small rectangular
planes with the corners rounded off.
Sooner or later you will hit upon a shape of
plane and a spacing which will give you
good, steady flights of surprising length.
It has been suggested that a good motor-
base be built with double propellers and
the various forms of planes tested out upon
it. Let us carry this idea further and, now
that we have had some experience in build-
ing aeroplane models, construct a quad-
ruple motor-base; that is a motor-base
with four strands of rubber bands and four
propellers, two forward and two aft. The
four would of course have to be very nicely
balanced. The two sets of propellers if
MODEL AEROPLANES
carefully set up would tend to correct one
another, as we have seen in the cylindrical
and other double propellers thus giving a
very steady flight. The increased speed of
such a motor would carry any good model
at a much higher rate of speed than any of
the present forms.
There is a very simple rule to be remem-
bered in building all biplanes, regarding
the spacing of the planes. The distance
between the super-imposed planes should
always be equal to the width of the planes
themselves. A beautiful model (Plate 23)
is here reproduced, to show how not to
space your planes. In all other respects
the model is excellent. The planes them-
selves are beautifully constructed and sci-
entifically curved. It is interesting to
note, in this case, that the front and rear
sets of planes would be much too far apart
were they flat surfaces, but being flexed as
they are, their supporting power is greatly
increased. By placing them so far apart,
a longer and more powerful motor may be
used. The rudders, both fore and aft, are
132
BUILDING A BIPLANE
adjustable, and appear very effective and
shipshape.
The method of tuning up the planes in
this model is especially to be recom-
mended. From a post, placed at the center
of the planes, wires are run to the corners
which holds the frame perfectly taut. For
the main frame, or backbone, a metal tube
has been used which greatly adds to the
appearance of the model. This aluminium
tubing may be bought cheaply and will
serve admirably for this purpose.
The most popular of all models, among
amateur aeronauts in America, at least, is
the Wright machine (Plates 24-25). The
opinion is ventured that this is due more
to the attractiveness of its lines and the
pride we all take in its wonderful achieve-
ments, than to its actual flying ability as
a model. The most perfect of these
models will rarely fly more than a hundred
feet. They will be found exceedingly dif-
ficult to weight and adjust so that they
will maintain their course in a disturbed
air current.
133
MODEL AEROPLANES
The planes of these models are usually
made separate from the motor base. The
shafts of the propellers, with the rubber
motors and skids, are built up in a single
piece. This plan has the advantage of
making the planes adjustable so that they
may move backward or forward as desired.
The model leaves the ground from a base,
much the same as the rail used by the large
Wright machines. Some models are even
started by the propulsion of a rubber band
attached to the frame, which is pulled back
and released, like the old-fashioned sling
shot.
134
CHAPTER IX
COMBINING MONOPLANE AND BIPLANE FORMS
ALTHOUGH the regular biplane form
is exceedingly difficult to manage in
small models, there is great advantage in
combining it with the monoplane forms
(Plate 26). The biplane makes an excel-
lent lifting plane, and when the model
combines with it a broad monoplane for
stability, surprisingly long flights may be
made. The model here illustrated has
flown 218 feet 6 inches.
Despite its size, the model is exceed-
ingly light. It is made almost entirely of
dowel sticks braced with piano wire. Still
another advantage of the biplane form is
the action of the supporting surface when
it comes to descend. The model settles
easily to the ground, in contrast to many
monoplane models which come down with
137
MODEL AEROPLANES
a dislocating shock. The skids of this
model are simple and effective. In a
model of this form it is obviously best to
have the propellers drive rather than pull
it.
An ingenious young aeronaut has re-
versed the above order and placed his bi-
plane in the rear, using the monoplane for
lifting (Plate 27). His model is unusually
large, having a spread of four feet. The
biplane is square, with lateral stability
planes on either side. The elevating
planes appear small in proportion, but they
serve to keep the craft on an even keel.
The most striking feature of this model is
its extreme lightness. Although unusu-
ally large, it weighs but nine ounces. The
frame, except for the braces is built of
reed. The planes are covered with parch-
ment. The model is driven by two rather
small propellers. The position of the pro-
pellers will appear, at first glance, to be
rather low, but it must be remembered
that the extreme lightness of the model
brings the center of gravity very far down.
138
COMBINING FORMS
The model has flown more than two hun-
dred feet.
The stability of the models thus com-
bining the monoplane and biplane forms
comes as a surprise. Both the models in
question rise easily from the ground,
which is more than can be said of many
aeroplanes big or little, and once aloft
maintain a steady horizontal flight, which
is still more unusual. An interesting field
of experiment is suggested by these com-
binations. These successful experiments
have been made with perfectly flat planes.
Suppose now we try them out with flexed
planes. If the stability thus gained may
be combined with the increased soaring
quality of the curved plane, we may be on
the way to making some remarkable
flights. In the summer of 1909 a number
of boys built and flew model aeroplanes
in New York, when many interesting and
well constructed modes were brought out,
and the longest flight was only sixty feet.
Less than one year later the same boys
succeeded in flying their machines for
141
MODEL AEROPLANES
more than two hundred feet. The new
models were no larger, the motors no
more powerful, but the machine had be-
come more ship shape and efficient. It is
reasonable to suppose that each year will
bring a similar advance.
142
CHAPTER X
FAULTS AND HOW TO MEND THEM
YOUR model, perhaps a beautiful one,
finished in every part, may twist and
tip about as soon as it is launched and
quickly dart to the ground. The fault is
likely to be in the propeller, being too
large for the size and weight of the
machine. This may be remedied by add-
ing a weight to the front of the machine,
by wiring on a nut or piece of metal.
Should this fail to steady the aeroplane,
the propeller must be cut down.
When your propeller is too small the
machine will not rise from the ground, or,
if launched in the air, will quickly flutter
to earth. If the model on leaving your
hand, with the propeller in full motion,
fails to keep its position from the very
start, the blade should be made larger.
MODEL AEROPLANES
There is no use in wasting time and
patience over the machine as it is.
Many a beginner, with mistaken zeal,
constructs a too powerful motor. The
power in this case turns the propeller too
swiftly for it to grasp the air. It merely
bores a hole in the air and exerts little
propelling force. An ordinary motor
when wound up one hundred and fifty
turns should take about ten seconds, per-
haps a trifle longer, to unwind. It is a
good plan to time it before chancing a
flight.
Bad bracing is another frequent source
of trouble. The planes should be abso-
lutely rigid. Test your model by winding
up your motor and letting it run down
while keeping the aeroplane suspended,
by holding it loosely in one hand. If the
motor racks the machine, that is, if the
little ship is all a-flutter and the planes
tremble visibly, the entire frame needs
tuning up. It is impossible for an aero-
plane to hold its course if the planes are
in the least wabbly. The braces should be
144
FAULTS
taut. A loose string or wire incidentally
offers as much resistance to the air as a
wooden post.
The flight of your model aeroplane
should be horizontal, with little or no
wave-motion. Your craft at first may rise
to a considerable height, say fifteen or
twenty feet, then plunge downward, right
itself, and again ascend, and repeat this
rather violent wave-motion until it strikes
the ground. To overcome this, look care-
fully to the angle or lift of your front plane
or planes and to the weighting.
The explanation is very simple. As the
aeroplane soars upward, the air is com-
pressed beneath the planes, and this con-
tinues until the surface balances, tilts
forward, and the downward flight com-
mences. Your planes should be so in-
clined that the center of air-pressure comes
about one third of the distance back from
the front edge. The center of gravity of
each plane, however, should come slightly
in front of the center of pressure. After
all, the best plan is to proceed by the rule
145
MODEL AEROPLANES
of thumb, and tilt your planes little by
little, and add or lessen the weight in one
place or another, until the flight is hori-
zontal and stable.
If your aeroplane does not rise from the
ground, but merely slides along, the
trouble is likely to be in your lifting
plane. Tilt it a trifle and try again. The
simplest way to do this is to make the
front skids higher than those at the back.
If the front skids are too high, the plane
will shoot up in the air and come down
within a few feet.
The most carefully constructed model is
likely to go awry in the early flights. The
propeller seems to exert a twist or torque,
as it is called, which sends it to the right
or left, or up or down, even in a perfectly
undisturbed atmosphere. It is assumed
that your model is symmetrical. An aero-
plane not properly balanced, which is
larger on one side than the other, or in
which the motor is not exactly centered,
cannot, of course, be expected to fly
straight. However, to be on the safe side,
146
FAULTS
go all over the machine again. Measure
its planes to see that the propeller is in the
center. Hold it up in front of you right
abeam, and test with your eye if the parts
be properly balanced.
If it still flies badly askew, flex the
planes by bending the ends up or down
very slightly by tightening or loosening
the wire braces running to the corners,
At the same time add a little weight to
counteract the tipping tendency. A nut
or key may be wired on the edge which
persists in turning up. It may require
much more weight than you imagine. The
difference should begin to show at once.
Even after a model appears to work fairly
well as a glider, the addition of the motor
may so change the center of gravity that
it will " cut up " dreadfully.
It will be well to leave your planes loose
so that they may be shifted back and forth
and not fasten them till you have tried out
the motor. If you followed the plan sug-
gested of fastening the plane to the central
frame by crossing rubber bands over it,
147
MODEL AEROPLANES
you can easily adjust them. If the model
tends to fly upward at a sharp angle, slide
the front plane forward an inch, and try
another flight. There is an adjustment
somewhere which will give the model the
steady, horizontal flight you are after.
Some models will refuse to rise and
swing around in an abrupt circle the mo-
ment the motor is turned on. This may be
caused by the propeller being much too
small for the motor. After looking over
all the photographs of the models shown
in these pages you will gain an idea of the
proper proportion, and be able to tell off-
hand if the propeller is out of proportion.
A small propeller revolving very rapidly,
or racing, is likely to give the model a
torque, even if it be otherwise well pro-
portioned. Don't try to remedy this with
rudder surfaces, but change your pro-
peller, or your motor, or both.
When your aeroplane turns in long,
even curves to one side or the other, look
to your rudder surface. Turn it to one
side or the other, just as you would in
148
FAULTS
steering a boat. It is, of course, obvious
that it must be kept rigidly in position. If
a slight turn of the rudder does not
straighten out the flight, you probably
need more guiding surface, and the rudder
must be enlarged. If the model still con-
tinues to turn away from a straight line,
tilting as it does so, try a little weight at
the end of the plane which rises.
The commonest of all accidents to aero-
plane models is the smashing up of the
skids on landing. A model will frequently
rise to a height of fifteen or twenty feet,
and the shock of a fall from such an eleva-
tion is likely to work havoc in the under-
body. There is no reason, however, why
your model should not come down as
lightly as a bird from the crest of the flight
wave. The model, when properly propor-
tioned, weighted, or balanced, will settle
down gradually and not pitch violently.
It is these quick darts to earth which cause
the worst disasters.
A model should have sufficient support-
ing surface to break its fall when the
MODEL AEROPLANES
motor runs down, at any reasonable eleva-
tion. If the model aeroplane falls all in
a heap, as soon as the motor slows down,
it will be well to look to this and perhaps
increase the size of your planes. As a gen-
eral rule, the biplanes or the models in
which the double planes have been used,
either for lifting or soaring planes, will
settle down more gradually. The lateral
planes, whatever their position, also lend
valuable support when the critical time
comes in the descent. Your model is not
perfect until it falls easily at the end of the
flight.
Under perfect condition, in absolutely
undisturbed air, an aeroplane may be
made to come down so lightly that no
bones, even the smallest, will be broken.
A gust of wind, however, may ruin all
your calculations and bring the aeroplane
down with a dislocating shock. The skids
must be designed to meet extreme condi-
tions, the worst that can possibly befall.
It has been pointed out that these skids
or supports should be high enough to give
152
FAULTS
the propeller clearance so that the pro-
peller blades will not touch the ground.
By using a light flexible cane for the pur-
pose, and bending them under, a spring
may be formed which will take up the
shock of a violent landing. Some builders
go further and rig up the skids with braces
of rubber bands to increase this cushion
effect. A variety of constructions are
shown in the photographs of the various
models. Your skids should enable your
model to withstand any ordinary shock of
landing, without breakage of any kind.
The life of your motor can be greatly
increased by careful handling. The rub-
ber strands are likely to be worn away
against the hooks at either end. The wire
used for the hooks should be as heavy as
possible to keep it from cutting through.
Be careful that the wire which comes in
contact with the rubber is perfectly
smooth and flawless. A little roughness
or a spur on the wire will soon cut through
the rubber. It is a good plan to slip a
piece of rubber tubing tightly over the
155
MODEL AEROPLANES
hook and loop the rubber bands of your
motor over this cushion.
The first break in the rubber bands is
likely to come near the center of the
strand. A number of loose ends appear.
The broken ends should be knotted neatly
and the loose ends cut away. If the
strands come in contact with any part of
the motor base, a breaking will quickly fol-
low, and your strands soon become cov-
ered with a fringe of loose ends. Be care-
ful to tie up all loose ends and trim them
away, since the ends in twisting serve to
break other strands. Although the finer
strands of rubber give the greater thrust,
do not buy them too small, since they are
easily broken.
The length of your motor base beyond
the front plane should be carefully calcu-
lated. It is very easy, of course, to run
your shaft too far forward. The center of
gravity is easily shifted in this way, and
your model soon becomes unmanageable.
An aeroplane with this fault will not rise,
but merely pitches forward under the
156
FAULTS
thrusts of the motor. It is almost useless
to attempt to balance this by weighting
the machine. The front plane should be
placed further forward, and if the lifting
surface does not seem sufficient, cut away
the front of your motor base, once for all.
A too short motor base, on the other hand,
will cause your model to shoot upward at
a sharp angle, and waste much valuable
propelling power before it rights itself and
takes a regular horizontal flight.
In the model aeroplane there is only one
point where friction affects the flight,
namely, along the propeller shaft. One
can hardly be too careful in the construc-
tion of the axle. The thrust of the rubber
at best, is limited, and this power must be
exerted without loss of any kind. A faulty
propeller shaft will use up a surprising
amount of energy. Your rubber motor
should unwind to within one or two turns.
Bear in mind that one of four things is
likely to be responsible for your trouble.
The planes may not be properly placed on
the frame, they may not be properly
MODEL AEROPLANES
flexed, they are not set at the proper angle
of elevation, or your motor is at fault.
Watch these points, and you will soon
have your machine under perfect control.
In the extremely complicated models it is
often difficult to locate the fault. Build
your model so that these parts may be ad-
justed in a moment without taking apart.
After you have built an aeroplane model,
even a very simple one, the pictures of
other aeroplanes will have a new meaning
for you. Every new model you see will
give you some new idea. A number of the
most successful aeroplane models in the
country are shown in the accompanying
photographs. Study these carefully, and
you will learn more from them of practi-
cal aeroplane construction than from any
amount of reading.
160
PART II
THE HISTORY AND SCIENCE OF
AVIATION
CHAPTER I
THE FIRST FLYING MACHINES
THE conquest of the air was not won
by a happy accident of invention.
Long before man learned to fly the science
of aviation had to be created by investiga-
tion and experiment. At first with very
crude attempts, a great many flying ma-
chines had to be built, and many lives
sacrificed in flying them. The exact
nature of the invisible air currents and the
action of wings and planes, were to be
learned before the delicate mechanism of
the modern aeroplane was possible. Prob-
ably no other great invention has required
such long and patient preparation.
In many ways the aeroplane is therefore
a greater achievement than the steam en-
gine or the steamboat. When Watt turned
from watching his tea kettle to build his
163
MODEL AEROPLANES
engine, he applied mechanical principles
which had long been in actual use, and
there were many experienced mechanics
to help him. Robert Fulton, again, when
he set up his engine, found the science of
boat-building highly developed. The avi-
ator had no such advantage. He must
first of all build a craft which would keep
afloat in the most unstable of mediums.
A motive power had to be applied to suit
these conditions, and the two must be so
attuned that they would work perfectly
together when the least slip would mean
instant disaster. As we learn to realize
these difficulties we will appreciate more
than ever how marvellous a creation is the
modern aeroplane.
Man has thought much about flying
from the earliest times.' The open air has
always seemed the natural highway, and
flying machines were invented hundreds
of years before anyone dreamed of steam-
engines or steamboats. The ancient
Greeks long ago spun wonderful tales of
the mythical Daedalus and Icarus and
164
THE FIRST FLYING MACHINES
their flight to the sun and back again.
The first practical aviator seems to have
been a Greek named Achytas, and we are
told he invented a dove of wood propelled
by heated air. There is another ancient
record of a brass fly which made a short
flight, so that we may be sure that even
the ancients had their own ideas about
heavier-than-air machines.
As far as we may judge from these
quaint old records the early aviators at-
tempted to fly with wings which they
flapped about them in imitation of birds.
About the year 67 A. D., during the reign
of the Emperor Nero, an aviator named
" Simon the Magician " made a public
flight before a Roman crowd. According
to the record, " He rose into the air
through the assistance of demons. But
St. Peter having offered a prayer, the ac-
tion of the demons ceased and the magi-
cian was crushed in a fall and perished
instantly." The end of the account, which
sounds very probable indeed, is the first
aeronautical smash-up on record.
167
MODEL AEROPLANES
Even in these early days the interest in
aeronautics appears to have been wide-
spread. It is recorded that a British king
named Baldud succeeded in flying over the
city of Trinovante, but unfortunately fell
and, landing on a temple, was instantly
killed. In the eleventh century a Bene-
dictine monk built a pair of wings mod-
elled upon the poet Ovid's description of
those used by Daedalus, which was ap-
parently a very uncertain model. The avi-
ator jumped from a high tower against the
wind, and, according to the record, sailed
for 125 feet, when he fell and broke both
his legs. That he should have attempted
to fly against the wind, by the way, indi-
cates some knowledge of aircraft.
If we may trust the rude folklore of the
Middle Ages, the glider form of airship
which anticipated the modern aeroplane
was used with some success a thousand
years ago. An inventor named Oliver of
Malmesburg, built a glider and soared for
370 feet, which would be a creditable
record for such a craft even in our day.
168
THE FIRST FLYING MACHINES
A hundred years later a Saracen attempted
to fly in the same way and was killed by a
fall. The number of men who have given
their lives to the cause of aviation in all
these centuries of experiment must be con-
siderable.
Meanwhile the kite and balloon had
long been in use in China. There is no
reason to doubt that kites were well under-
stood and even put to practical use in time
of war as early as 300 B. C. A Chinese
general, Han Sin, is said to have actually
signalled by kites to a beleaguered city
that he was outside the walls and expected
to lend assistance. And a French mission-
ary visiting China in 1694 reported that he
had seen the records of the coronation of
the Emperor Fo Kien in 1306 which de-
scribed the balloon ascensions that formed
part of the ceremony.
The fifteenth century was the most act-
ive period in aeronautical experiments
before our own. A number of intelligent
minds worked at the problem and notable
progress was made, although all fell short
169
MODEL AEROPLANES
of flying. Even in the light of our present
knowledge of aeronautics we must admire
the thorough, scientific way the aviators
went about their work five centuries ago.
Many of their discoveries have been of
great assistance to our modern aviators.
Had these investigators possessed our
modern machinery, of which they knew
little or nothing, it is very likely they
would actually have flown.
One of the greatest of these investiga-
tors was Leonardo da Vinci, famous as
architect and engineer as well as painter
and sculptor. To begin at the beginning
of the subject, he dissected the bodies of
many birds and made careful, technical
drawings to illustrate the theory of the
action of wings. These drawings and de-
scriptions are still preserved, and even to-
day repay careful study. He also calcu-
lated with great detail the amount of force
which would be necessary to drive such
machines. Plans were prepared for flying
machines of the heavier than air form to be
driven by wings, and even by screw pro-
170
A Serviceable Form Made of Wire.
THE FIRST FLYING MACHINES
pellers, which was looking far into the
future.
Among all these early experiments the
best record of actual flight was made by
Batitta Dante, a brother of the great
Italian poet. In 1456 Dante flew in a
glider of his own construction for more
than 800 feet at Perugia in Italy and a few
years later he succeeded in flying in the
same glider over Lake Trasimene. The
glides made by the Wright Brothers while
perfecting their machines seldom reached
this length.
For several centuries it was believed
that a lifting screw, if one could be built,
would supply enough lifting power to sup-
port a heavier than air machine. Da Vinci
experimented along this line for many
years and even built a number of models
with paper screws. This form of flying
machine is called the helicopeter. The
plan was then abandoned for nearly five
centuries and revived in our own century.
The record of all the aviators and their
experiments would fill many volumes.
173
MODEL AEROPLANES
The belief that man could learn to fly
by flapping wings up and down was not
given up until very recently. Nearly all
the early machines were built on this
principle. Man can never fly as the birds
do because his muscles are differently
grouped. In the birds the strongest mus-
cles, the driving power, are in the chest
at the base of the wings where they are
most needed. It is amusing to find that
while the birds are always flying before
our eyes no one has guessed their secrets.
Many attempts have been made to wrest
their secrets from them by attaching
dynometers to their wings to measure the
force of the muscles but little has been
learned in this way. One scientist calcu-
lated that a goose exerts 200 horse power
while another investigator figured out that
it was one tenth of one horse power.
Many of the theories of flight have been
quite as far apart. A great variety of
false notions about flying had to be tried
and from all these failures man slowly
learned the road he must follow.
CHAPTER II
DEVELOPING THE AEROPLANE
THE opening of the twentieth century
found the world well prepared for
actual conquest of the air. Aviation has
been developed to an exact science. It had
taken centuries of failure to teach man
that he could not fly by flapping his wings
like the birds but the idea was at last aban-
doned. The birds were still the models of
the heavier-than-air machines, but man
had at last learned to study them more in-
telligently. The marvellous development
of modern mechanics, especially the build-
ing of light and efficient motors, was also
of great importance. The theory of the
aeroplane was rapidly gaining in favor.
It was thought at one time that since
no birds weighed more than fifty pounds
no flying machine heavier than this could
175
MODEL AEROPLANES
ever fly. Some years ago Hiram S. Maxim
pointed out, however, that if we had built
our steam engines to imitate the horse, as
we then hoped to build flying machines
like the birds, we would have built loco-
motives which weighed only five tons, the
weight of an elephant, which walked five
miles an hour. The secret of flight evi-
dently did not lie in closely imitating the
familiar forms of flight. So far as man
was interested it lay clearly in the soaring
flights. When a bird flies with extended
wings it does two things. It forms an
aeroplane which supports its body, much
the same as a kite, and it operates a pro-
peller for driving this aeroplane forward.
And so men finally learned to fly by bor-
rowing a single principle from the birds.
It is claimed by some that the theory,
and largely the form, of the modern suc-
cessful aeroplane was first suggested by
an English inventor, Sir George Cayley,
as early as 1796. Cayley argued that a flat
plane or surface when driven through the
air inclined slightly upward would lift a
'176
DEVELOPING THE AEROPLANE
considerable weight. He also suggested
that a tail would help to steady the plane
as well as steer it upward or downward.
His ideas of propelling the aeroplane by
screws driven by motors was also far in
advance of his time, but the engines then
in existence were much too heavy for the
purpose and he never built a model.
Fifty years later, when the steam engine
had been highly developed, these old plans
were remembered and two engineers, Hen-
sen and Stringfellow, actually built a fly-
ing machine on Cayley's principles. This
early aeroplane was of the monoplane
form, made of oiled silk stretched over a
frame of bamboo. A car to carry a steam
engine, and presumably the passengers,
was hung below this plane. The motive
power was supplied by two propellers at
the rear. The aeroplane carried a fan-
shaped tail with a rudder for steering it
sideways, placed beneath. The model is
said to have actually flown for a short dis-
tance, but proved to be unstable.
From this time onward the experiments
177
MODEL AEROPLANES
became more scientific and accurate. Re-
liable scientific data was accumulated
which later enabled the aviators to build
practical aeroplanes. A number of inter-
esting experiments were made shortly
afterward by a scientist named Wenham
to prove that the lifting powers of a carry-
ing surface might be increased by arrang-
ing small surfaces in tiers one above an-
other. Wenham had watched the birds to
some purpose, and decided that a single
plane, large enough to support a man
would be too large to control, but that a
number of small surfaces would make the
bird flight possible. Wenham built and
patented a machine in 1866. He never
flew but he collected a great deal of valu-
able information about the behavior of
planes.
The slow, but on the whole, encourag-
ing movement toward the successful flying
machine was given a serious set back in
1872 by a book written by H. Von Hum-
boldt announcing the result of his experi-
ments. This well known scientist, whose
178
PLATE XIV.
The Under Body of the Monoplane Shown, Plate XIII.
DEVELOPING THE AEROPLANE
name carried great weight, wrote that me-
chanical flight was impossible. He based
his idea on the discovery that as the body
increased in size the work or power re-
quired to lift it increased more rapidly
than the size of the body. In other words,
a very large bird or flying machine could
not contain muscles strong enough or
machinery strong enough to enable it to
fly. He argued that no bird larger than
the albatross, for instance had ever lived,
therefore no flying machines could ever be
more than toys. The book was so discour-
aging that many aviators gave up their ex-
periments and the science of aviation stood
still.
It may be said to have been awakened,
however, by the German scientist, Otto
Lilenthal, whose book, published in 1886,
at once attracted world wide attention. It
was this book, incidentally, which inspired
the Wright Brothers to begin their experi-
ments. Lilenthal was not only a great
scientist, but he worked on the principle
that an ounce of actual experience was
181
MODEL AEROPLANES
worth a ton of theory. In aviation, where
the weight is all important, this saving
was naturally of the greatest importance.
Lilenthal built gliders, many of them, and
put to actual test the theories which others
had merely talked and figured about.
Finally he set up an engine on a glider but
the machine turned over and he was in-
stantly killed. The scientific information
he collected, however, proved of the high-
est value to those who later actually con-
quered the air.
Lilenthal built a hill fifty feet in height
and shaped like a cone with sides slanting
at an angle of thirty degrees. Here he
proved by actual tests that he might fly
no matter which way the wind blew and
that an arched surface, driven against the
wind, would rise from the ground and sup-
port his weight. A great deal of scientific
information was collected and tabulated
as well as the exact effect of the pressure
of the air. He also changed the shape of
the gliding surfaces, making them very
long and narrow and driving them edge-
182
DEVELOPING THE AEROPLANE
wise as in the first form of aeroplane. The
aeroplane took shape in his hands. The
success of these experiments encouraged
aviators in many countries to imitate him,
and so great was the interest aroused that
even his fatal accident in 1896 did not dis-
courage them. The successful flying
machine was now actually in sight.
For a time it was believed that Hiram S.
Maxim would be the first to construct a
flying machine which would actually fly.
He had gone about the problem in a thor-
oughly scientific manner, sparing neither
time nor expense. An elaborate apparatus
was first constructed like a revolving
derrick, to test accurately the lifting
powers of various aeroplanes of various
sizes and shapes flying at different angles,
as well as the propelling force, of many
kinds of screws. The horizontal arm of
this machine was thirty feet, nine inches
long, so that it described a circle of 200
feet in circumference. The arm was
driven by an engine at high speed.
The various aeroplane forms to be tested
185
MODEL AEROPLANES
were attached to the extreme end of this
arm, and driven by propellers of various
shapes and sizes, exactly as they would be
in actual flight. Every part of the
machine, meanwhile, was so adjusted that
the readings of the speed of the aeroplane,
its lifting power, the exact force of the
propeller, in fact, every detail, could be
measured and recorded with scientific ac-
curacy. This preliminary work proved to
be of the highest value. The test showed,
for instance, just what size the propeller
should be for different size planes, and the
exact pitch of the screw which would give
the best results, the proper angle of eleva-
tion for the front plane, the resistance of-
fered by various shaped planes, and the
exact amount of power required for planes
of different sizes. A delicate machine was
also built to test the different kinds of
fabrics used for covering the planes. The
fabric was stretched over a small steel
frame, mounted at a slight angle, in a blast
of air. The tendency of the cloth to lift
or drift was then accurately measured.
186
DEVELOPING THE AEROPLANE
The material which gave the greatest
amount of lift and the least drift was
used.
A large aeroplane was finally built in
1893. It weighed 7500 pounds, measured
104 feet in width, and was driven by a 360
horsepower engine. Compared with the
clear cut, ship-shape air-craft of to-day
this early model appears crude and cum-
bersome. The main plane was almost
square in shape, while stability planes ex-
tended out from the sides. A series of four
narrow planes, one above another, were
carried below on either side. The machin-
ery for driving was carried far below the
main plane. The two large propellers
were placed in the stern. The aeroplane
was run along a double-tracked railroad
1800 feet in length, to gather sufficient
momentum to cause it to rise. Almost any
school-boy of to-day familiar with the
aeroplane models could have told at a
glance that the machine could not rise.
When it was finally sent down the track
at a good clip, the front wheels did actu-
187
MODEL AEROPLANES
ally rise a trifle but it immediately came
down with a bad smash.
Not in the least discouraged, Maxim at
once designed a new machine. This meas-
ured fifty feet in width and forty feet in
length in the middle, but with the corners
cut off, so that it was sharpened both fore
and aft. The wings were made long and
narrow, extending out twenty-seven feet
beyond the main plane, and large fore and
aft rudders were attached. It was not
even expected that the machine would fly.
All that was hoped for was that it would
lift somewhat so that its upward tendency
might be accurately measured.
The most successful " flight " of this
model will seem a very tame affair indeed
to the boys of to-day who are daily read-
ing of the marvellous voyages in air across
sea and land. The " airship " was run
over its track and the steam pressure run
up to 329 pounds per square inch. The
speed increased and the upward thrust be-
gan to be felt. Finally the front wheels
of the machine actually lifted from the
188
DEVELOPING THE AEROPLANE
track. The rear axle rose three or four
feet above its normal position. When it
alighted, the delighted aeronauts found
that the wheels of the machine had passed
over the turf for a very short distance,
without making any marks, showing that
for a second or so the machine was actu-
ally off the earth. It seems curious to us
to-day that this " flight " should have been
considered remarkable.
The experiments carried out by S. P.
Langley, beginning in 1887 and lasting for
four years, placed a great deal of valuable,
scientific data in the hands of the aviators.
Thousands of tests were made with an ap-
paratus similar to that used by Maxim.
In one class of these experiments solid
metal planes were attached to the end of
the revolving arm in such a way that they
were free to fall for a fixed distance.
When in rapid, horizontal motion, the
metal seemed to part with its weight, and
the material, though one thousand times
heavier than the air, was found to be actu-
ally supported by it. It was proven, for
191
MODEL AEROPLANES
instance, that one horse power would sup-
port over 200 pounds weight of planes
driven at a speed of fifty miles an heur.
All this preliminary work, or nearly all,
we now see, was necessary before a prac-
tical aeroplane could be constructed. The
early aviators, although they did not fly,
at least showed what not to do, and several
paid the price of their lives for this knowl-
edge. Lilenthal had mapped out the aero-
plane in the rough, and determined the
general shape it must take. The experi-
ments of Maxim and Langley enabled the
successful aviators to calculate the size of
the machine necessary to carry them and
the amount of power required to drive it.
IQ2
CHAPTER III
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS* OWN STORY
Wright Brothers brought to
A their work a genius for invention
and, making free use of the results of for-
mer investigation and experiment, finally
succeeded in building a heavier than air
machine which would actually fly. The
story of their experiments and final suc-
cess, which one may read in their own
words, forms one of the most fascinating
chapters in the history of invention.
The Wright Brothers' first flying ma-
chine was a mere toy. " Late in the au-
tumn of 1878" they tell the story, "our
father came into the house one evening
with some object partially concealed in his
hands, and before we could see what it
was, he tossed it into the air. Instead of
falling to the floor, as we expected, it flew
193
MODEL AEROPLANES
across the room till it struck the ceiling,
where it fluttered for a while, and finally
sank to the floor. It was a little toy known
to scientists as a ' helicoptere ' but which
we, with sublime disregard for science,
dubbed a bat. It was a light frame of cork
and bamboo which formed two screws
driven in opposite directions by rubber
bands under torsion. A toy so delicate
lasted only a short time in the hands of
small boys, but its memory was abiding."
The interest of the brothers in aeronau-
tics was awakened. " We began building
these helicopteres ourselves," their story
goes on, " making each one larger than
that preceding. But, to our astonishment,
we found that the larger the ' bat/ the less
it flew. We did not know that a machine
having only twice the linear dimensions
of another would require eight times the
power. We finally became discouraged,
and returned to kite-flying, a sport to
which we had devoted so much attention
that we were regarded as experts. But as
we became older, we had to give up this
194
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' STORY
fascinating sport as unbecoming to boys
of our age."
The Wrights did not begin their exper-
iments until the summer of 1896. They
first prepared themselves thoroughly by
reading the literature on aeronautics,
making themselves familiar with the re-
sults of all the experimental work of the
aviators — Langley, Chanute, Mouillard,
and others. The Wrights soon decided
that the first thing to be solved was to
build aeroplanes which would fly and that,
until this was solved, it was foolish to
waste time building delicate and costly
machinery to operate them. They took
up the problems of the glider and sought
by actual tests what many scientists had
been theorizing about for years.
They soon discarded the various forms
of gliders then used for experiments. The
tests which led up to adopting the now
famous Wright model, the basis for all
heavier than air machines to-day, occupied
very little time. The story of this mar-
vellous discovery which will rank with
197
MODEL AEROPLANES
that of Robert Fulton or Watt, is best told
in their own words, which are here some-
what abbreviated.
" The balancing of a flier may seem, at
first thought, to be a very simple matter,"
say the Wrights, " yet almost every ex-
perimenter had found in this the point he
could not satisfactorily master. Many
different methods were tried. Some ex-
perimenters place the center of gravity far
below the wings in the belief that the
wings would naturally seek to remain at
the lowest point. A more satisfactory sys-
tem, especially for lateral balance, was
that of arranging the wings in the shape
of a broad V to form a dihedral angle, with
the center low and the wing-tips elevated.
In theory this was an automatic action,
but in practice it had two serious defects;
first, it tended to keep the machine oscil-
lating; and, second, its usefulness was re-
stricted to calm air. Notwithstanding the
known limitations of this principle, it had
been embodied in almost every prominent
flying-machine which had been built.
198
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' STORY
" We reached the conclusion that such
machines might be of interest from a sci-
entific point of view, but could be of no
value in a practical way. We, therefore,
resolved to try a fundamentally different
principle. We would arrange the flyer so
that it would not tend to right itself. We
would make it as inert as possible to the
effects of change of direction or speed, and
thus reduce the effects of wind-gusts to a
minimum. We would do this in the fore-
and-aft stability by giving the aeroplanes
a peculiar shape; and in the lateral bal-
ance, by arching the surfaces from tip to
tip, just the reverse of what our predeces-
sors had done. Then by some suitable
contrivance, actuated by the operator,
forces should be brought into play to regu-
late the balance."
" Lilenthal and Chanute had guided and
balanced their machines by shifting the
weight of the operator's body. But this
method seemed to us incapable of expan-
sion to meet large conditions, because the
weight to be moved and the distance of
199
MODEL AEROPLANES
possible motion were limited, while the
disturbing forces steadily increased, both
with wing area and wind velocity. In
order to meet the needs of large machines,
we wished to employ some system
whereby the operator could vary at will
the inclination of different parts of the
wings, and thus obtain from the wind
forces to restore the balance which wind
itself had disturbed. This could easily be
done by using wings capable of being
warped, and adjustable surfaces in the
shape of rudders. A happy device was
discovered whereby the surfaces could be
so warped that aeroplanes could be pre-
sented on the right and left sides at dif-
ferent angles to the wind. This, with
an adjustable horizontal front rudder,
formed the main features of our first
glider."
" We began our first active experiments
at the close of this period, in October,
1900, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Our machine was designed to be flown as
a kite, with a man on board, in winds of
200
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' STORY
from fifteen to twenty miles an hour.
But, upon trial, it was found that much
stronger winds were required to lift it.
Suitable winds not being plentiful, we
found it necessary, in order to test the
new balancing system, to fly the machine
as a kite without a man on board, operat-
ing the levers through cords from the
ground. This did not give the practice
anticipated, but it inspired confidence in
the new system of balance."
" The machine of 1901 was built with
the shape of surface used by Lilenthal,
curved from front to rear, with a slight
curvature of ^ of its cord. But to make
doubly sure that it would have sufficient
lifting capacity when flown as a kite in
fifteen or twenty mile winds, we increased
the area from 165 square feet, used in 1900,
to 308 square feet, a size much larger than
Lilenthal, Chanute, or Pilcher had deemed
safe. Upon trial, however, the lifting ca-
pacity again fell short of calculation, so
that the idea of securing practice while fly-
ing as a kite, had to be abandoned. Mr.
203
MODEL AEROPLANES
Chanute, who witnessed the experiments,
told us that the trouble was not due to
poor construction of the machine. We
saw only one other explanation — that the
tables of air pressure in general use were
incorrect."
" We then turned to gliding — coasting
down hill in the air — as the only method
of getting the desired practice in balan-
cing the machine. After a few minutes'
practice we were able to make glides of
300 feet, and in a few days were safely
operating in twenty-seven mile winds. In
these experiments we met with several
unexpected phenomena. We found that,
contrary to the teachings of the books, the
center of pressure on a curved surface
traveled backward when the surface was
inclined, at small angles, more and more
edgewise to the wind. We also discovered
that in free flight, when the wing on one
side of the machine was presented to the
wind at a greater angle than the one on
the other side, the wing with the greater
angle descended, and the machine turned
204
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' STORY
in a direction just the reverse of what we
were led to expect when flying the ma-
chine as a kite. The larger angle gave
more resistance to forward motion, and
reduced the speed of the wing on that
side. The decrease in speed more than
counterbalanced the effect of the larger
angle. The addition of a fixed vertical
vane in the rear increased the trouble, and
made the machine absolutely dangerous.
It was some time before a remedy was
discovered. This consisted of movable
rudders working in conjunction with the
twisting of the wings."
" The experiments of 1901 were far
from encouraging. We saw that the cal-
culations upon which all flying-machines
had been based were unreliable, and that
all were simply groping in the dark. Hav-
ing set out with absolute faith in the exist-
ing scientific data, we were driven to
doubt one thing after another, till finally,
after two years of experiment, we cast it
all aside, and decided to rely entirely upon
our own investigations. Truth and error
205
MODEL AEROPLANES
were everywhere so intimately mixed as
to be indistinguishable. Nevertheless, the
time expended in preliminary study of
books was not misspent, for they gave us
a good general understanding of the sub-
ject, and enabled us at the outset to avoid
effort in many directions in which results
would have been hopeless."
" To work intelligently, one needs to
know the effects of a multitude of varia-
tions that would be incorporated in the
surfaces of flying-machines. The pres-
sures on squares are different from those
on rectangles, circles, triangles, or ellipses;
arched surfaces differ from planes, and
vary among themselves according to the
depth of curvature; true arcs differ from
parabolas, and the latter differ among
themselves; thick surfaces differ from
thin, and surfaces thicker in one place
than another vary in pressure when the
positions of maximum thickness are dif-
ferent; some surfaces are more efficient
at one angle, others at other angles. The
shape of the edge also makes a difference,
206
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' STORY
so that thousands of combinations are
possible in so simple a thing as a wing."
" We had taken aeronautics merely as
a sport. We reluctantly entered upon the
scientific side of it. But we soon found
the work so fascinating that we were
drawn into it deeper and deeper. Two
testing machines were built, which we be-
lieved would avoid the errors to which the
measurements of others had been subject,
after making preliminary measurements
on a great number of different-shaped sur-
faces, so varied in design as to bring out
the underlying causes of difference noted
in their pressure. Measurements were
tabulated on nearly fifty of these at all
angles from zero to 45 degrees.
" In September and October, 1902,
nearly one thousand flights were made,
several of which covered distances of over
600 feet. Some, made against a wind of
thirty-six miles an hour, gave proof of the
effectiveness of the devices for control.
With this machine, in the autumn of 1903,
we made a number of flights in which we
209
MODEL AEROPLANES
remained in the air for over a minute,
after soaring for a considerable time in
one spot, without any descent at all. Lit-
tle wonder that our unscientific assistant
should think the only thing needed to keep
it indefinitely in the air would be a coat
of feathers to make it light."
" With accurate data for making calcu-
lations, and a system of balance effective
in winds as well as in calms, we were now
in a position, we thought, to build a suc-
cessful power-flyer. The first designs
proved for a total weight of 600 pounds,
including the operator and an eight horse-
power motor. But, upon completion, the
motor gave more power than had been es-
timated, and this allowed 150 pounds to
be added for strengthening the wings and
other parts.
" It was not till several months had
passed, and every phase of the problem
had been thrashed over and over, that the
various reactions began to untangle them-
selves. When once a clear understanding
had been obtained, there was no difficulty
210
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' STORY
in designing suitable propellers, with
proper diameter, pitch, and area of blade,
to meet the requirements of the flyer.
High efficiency in a screw propeller is not
dependent upon any particular or peculiar
shape, and there is no such thing as a
' best ' screw. A propeller giving a high
dynamic efficiency when used upon one
machine, may be almost worthless when
used upon another. The propeller should
in every case be designed to meet the par-
ticular conditions of the machine to which
it is to be applied. Our first propellers,
built entirely from calculation, gave in
useful work 66 per cent of the power ex-
pended. This was about one third more
than had been secured by Maxim and
Langley."
" The first flights with the power-
machine were made on the I7th of De-
cember, 1903. The first flight lasted only
twelve seconds, a flight very modest com-
pared with that of birds, but it was, never-
theless, the first in the history of the
world in which a machine carrying a man
211
MODEL AEROPLANES
had raised itself by its own power into
the air in free flight, had sailed forward
on a level course without reduction of
speed, and had finally landed without be-
ing wrecked. The second and third
flights were a little longer, and the fourth
lasted fifty-nine seconds, covering a dis-
tance of 853 feet over the ground against
a twenty-mile wind."
" After the last flight, the machine was
carried back to camp and set down in what
was thought to be a safe place. But a few
minutes later, when engaged in conversa-
tion about the flights, a sudden gust of
wind struck the machine, and started to
turn it over. All made a rush to stop it,
but we were too late. Mr. Daniels, a giant
in stature and strength, was lifted off his
feet, and falling inside, between the sur-
faces, was shaken about like a rattle in a
box -as the machine rolled over and over.
He finally fell out upon the sand with
nothing worse than painful bruises, but
the damage to the machine caused a dis-
continuance of experiments.
212
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' STORY
" In the spring of 1904, through the
kindness of Mr. Torrence Huffman of
Dayton, Ohio, we were permitted to erect
a shed, and to continue experiments, on
what is known as the Huffman Prairie, at
Simms Station, eight miles east of Day-
ton. The new machine was heavier and
stronger, but similar to the one flown at
Kitty Hawk. When preparations had
been completed, a wind of three or four
miles was blowing, — insufficient for
starting on so short a track, — but since
many had come a long way to see the
machine in action an attempt was made.
To add to the other difficulty, the engine
refused to work properly. The machine,
after running the length of the track, slid
off the end without rising in the air at all.
Several of the newspaper men returned the
next day, but were again disappointed.
The engine performed badly, and after a
glide of only sixty feet, the machine came
to the ground. Further trial was post-
poned till the motor could be put in better
running condition.
215
MODEL AEROPLANES
"We had not been flying long in 1904
before we found that the problem of equi-
librium had not as yet been entirely solved.
Sometimes, in making a circle, the ma-
chine would turn over sidewise despite
anything the operator could do, although,
under the same conditions in ordinary
flight, it could have been righted in an
instant. In one flight, in 1905, while cir-
cling about a honey-locust tree at a height
of about fifty feet, the machine suddenly
began to turn up on one wing, and took
a course toward the tree. The operator,
not relishing the idea of landing in a thorn
tree, attempted to reach the ground. The
left wing, however, struck the tree at a
height of ten or twelve feet from the
ground, and carried away several
branches; but the flight, which had cov-
ered a distance of six miles, was continued
to the starting point.
" The causes of these troubles — too
technical for explanation here — were not
entirely overcome till the end of Septem-
ber, 1905. The flights then rapidly in-
216
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' STORY
creased in length, till experiments were
discontinued after the 5th of October.
" A practical flyer having been finally
realized, we spent the years 1906 and 1907
in constructing new machines and in busi-
ness negotiations. It was not till May of
this year (1908) that experiments were
resumed at Kill Devil Hill, North Caro-
lina. The recent flights were made to test
the ability of our machines to meet the
requirements of a contract with the United
States Government to furnish a flier capa-
ble of carrying two men and sufficient
fuel supplies for a flight of 125 miles, with
a speed of forty miles an hour. The ma-
chine used in these tests was the one with
which the flights were made at Simms
Station in 1905, though several changes
had been made to meet present require-
ments. The operator assumed a sitting
position, instead of lying prone, as in 1905,
and a seat was added for a passenger. A
larger motor was installed, and radiators
and gasolene reservoirs of larger capacity
replaced those previously used."
217
MODEL AEROPLANES
Let us now take a short air journey with
one of the Wright Brothers as pilot. He
describes the experience as follows, " Let
us fancy ourselves ready for the start.
The machine is placed on a single rail
track facing the wind and is securely
fastened with a cable. The engine is put
in motion, and the propellers in the rear
whirr. You take your seat at the center
of the machine beside the operator. He
slips the cable, and you shoot forward.
An assistant who has been holding the
machine in balance on the rail, starts for-
ward with you, but before you have gone
fifty feet the speed is too great for him,
and he lets go. Before reaching the end
of the track the operator moves the front
rudder, and the machine lifts from the rail
like a kite supported by the pressure of
the air underneath. The ground under
you is at first a perfect blur, but as you
rise the objects become clearer. At a
height of one hundred feet you feel hardly
any motion at all, except for the wind
which strikes your face. If you did not
218
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' STORY
take the precaution to fasten your hat
before starting, you have probably lost it
by this time. The operator moves a lever;
the right wing rises and the machine
swings about to the left. You make a very
short turn, yet you do not feel the sensa-
tion of being thrown from your seat, so
often experienced in automobile and rail-
way travel. You find yourself facing
toward the point from which you started.
The objects on the ground seem to be
moving at much higher speed, though you
perceive no change in the pressure of
wind in your face. You know then that
you are traveling with the wind. When
you near the starting point, the operator
stops the motor while still high in the air.
The machine coasts down at an oblique
angle to the ground, and after sliding fifty
or a hundred feet, comes to rest. Al-
though the machine often lands when
traveling at a speed of a mile a minute, you
feel no shock whatever, and cannot in fact,
tell the exact moment at which it first
touched the ground. The motor close be-
221
MODEL AEROPLANES
side you kept up an almost deafening roar
during the whole flight, yet in your excite-
ment, you did not notice it till it stopped."
On his return from Le Mans Mr. Wilbur
Wright estimated that during a single
year he had flown upwards of 3000 miles.
With the memory of these marvellous
flights in his mind he described his sensa-
tions to the present writer with enthu-
siasm.
" Flying is the greatest sport in the
world," says Mr. Wilbur Wright. "I
can't describe the sensation, I can only
define it by comparison with more familiar
experiences. It is like sledding, like mo-
toring, like sailing, but with increased ex-
hilaration and freedom.
"An aeroplane flight, contrary to the
general impression, is far steadier than the
familiar means of locomotion. There is
absolute freedom from the bouncing of the
automobile, the jar of a railroad train, or
the rolling and pitching sensations of the
sea. No matter how many springs or
cushions may be added to the automobile,
222
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS' STORY
for instance, there will always be some
motion. On the other hand, the seat of
an aeroplane is always steady. The
aeroplane does not jolt over the invisible
wind currents, the ruts of the sky. It cuts
its way smoothly. Even suppose the
plane to be gliding so (indicating an angle
of forty-five degrees), the seat remains
fixed. There is, of course, no absolute
parallel in surface travel. And since there
is no roll or pitch to the aeroplane, there
is no air-sickness comparable to the famil-
iar sea sickness."
223
CHAPTER IV
ABOARD THE WRIGHTS* AIRSHIP
SEEN high aloft the Wright aeroplane
appears so graceful and fragile that its
actual dimensions come as a surprise. In
the upper air it seems no larger than a
swallow, but, as it settles to earth, the
wings lengthen out to the width of an
ordinary street.
There is some good reason for each stick
and wire, and for every twist and turn of
the Wrights' marvellous airship. When
one considers what wonderful feats this
aircraft performs, its form and mechanism
seem extremely simple. It is far less com-
plicated than any locomotive or steamship,
and the action of its planes is far easier to
explain than the sails of an ordinary sea-
going ship. When one has once gone over
the fascinating little craft, all other aero-
224
v
ABOARD THE WRIGHTS' AIRSHIP
planes, which more or less resemble it, may
be readily understood.
The Wright machine was not only the
first power airship to fly and carry a man
aloft, but for all its rivals, it still rides the
unstable air currents more steadily than
any other. The planes measure forty feet
from tip to tip, six and a half feet across,
and are spaced six feet apart. The dis-
tance between the planes is very important
and was only fixed after a number of ex-
periments. The area of the wings or sup-
porting surfaces is 540 feet, which is con-
siderably more than in most airships.
The machine complete, without any pas-
senger or pilot, weighs 880 pounds, al-
though you would imagine it to be much
less. The two propellers measure eight
feet in diameter, and turn at the rate of
450 revolutions a minute. Equipped with
a four cylinder engine of from 25 to 30
horse power, the airship has a speed of
forty miles an hour, which is often in-
creased when traveling with the wind.
The seats for the pilot and the passen-
227
MODEL AEROPLANES
ger are placed at the center at the front of
the lower plane, so that their feet hang
over the front or entering edge. The
passenger sits very comfortably through-
out the flight. There is a back to lean
against, a brace for the feet, while the
struts between the planes give every op-
portunity to hold on. In some of the
models these seats are even upholstered in
gray to harmonize with the silver or alu-
minium paint of the machine.
A second and smaller biplane, which
serves both as rudder and lifting plane,
extends about ten feet in front of the main
planes. These two planes, which have a
combined area of eighty square feet, may
be inclined upward or downward by touch-
ing a lever at the pilot's seat. The motor,
radiator and petrol or fuel tank are placed
on the lower plane in the center of the
machine so that they balance the weight
of the pilot and the passenger. The
weight of the lifting planes and rudders
rests on the main planes or lower deck.
The most interesting feature of the
228
ABOARD THE WRIGHTS' AIRSHIP
Wrights' airship is, of course, the method
for flexing the tips of the wings or planes
to imitate the flight of the birds. The ends
of the large planes are made slightly flex-
ible, and may be turned up or down by
moving a lever placed convenient to the
pilot's hand. Both planes are flexed, or
turned up or down, at the same time the
vertical rudder moves, so that, when the
aeroplane turns to right or left, the wings
give the machine the proper balance. If
it were not for this arrangement, the ends
of the planes in turning would tend to
rise, since they travel the faster, and the
machine would be in danger of upsetting.
The ends of the planes may also be flexed
separately when the machine is in straight
flight, whenever it becomes necessary to
balance it against a dangerous air current
or a gust of wind. The pilot, it will be
seen, has every point of the great machine,
as it were, at his finger ends.
The marvellous power placed in the
hands of the pilot of one of these models
makes him almost equal of the birds soar-
231
MODEL AEROPLANES
ing about him. Let us suppose an accident
to occur. Even should the engine stop,
the skillful pilot is still master of the situ-
ation. He can actually coast down to the
ground on the air with comparative safety.
Mr. Orville Wright has soared up 3000
feet and, after stopping his propeller, slid
down on nothing at all, at the rate of more
than twenty miles an hour, by the force
of gravity alone.
The Wright method of alighting is also
borrowed from the birds. Watch any bird
alight on a twig, and you will see that it
always settles on the top of the twig, which
is pressed straight down by its weight,
and never sideways. As the Wrights
come down, they approach to within a
few feet of the earth, but, without touch-
ing they swoop up again, and finally settle
down from a height of only a few feet.
Considering the weight of their machine,
they actually come down as lightly as a
bird. While traveling at a speed of forty
miles an hour they will skid along the
ground or come to rest within five or six
232
ABOARD THE WRIGHTS' AIRSHIP
feet, so quietly that a passenger cannot
tell when he lands.
No part of the aeroplane calls for more
clever workmanship than the wings or
planes. They must be so thin and light
that they will ride the air like the wings
of a bird, and yet strong enough to sup-
port the weight of hundreds of pounds of
machinery and of passengers. In the
Wright model, the planes are made en-
tirely of wood, but so ingeniously braced
that they are perfectly rigid. The build-
ing of such a wing is especially difficult,
since it must be curved with scientific ac-
curacy. In the Wright model machines,
as in all aeroplanes, the curve is upward,
with the highest point of the arch near
the front or entering edge.
Both sides of the frame are completely
covered so that they may offer the least
possible amount of resistance. There is
not a ridge, scarcely a seam, to catch the
air. A stout canvas is used for covering.
The ingenuity of these clever workmen
led them to lay on the cloth with the
233
MODEL AEROPLANES
thread running diagonally, at an angle of
forty-five degrees. This plan serves to
hold the frame more closely together and
keeps the cloth from bagging or wrinkling.
At the first glance, the Wright machine
appears to be made entirely of aluminium.
Seen high aloft in the sunlight, it appears
like some delicate jewel. The effect is due
to the paint. The entire framework of
the machine is made of spruce pine ex-
cept the curved part of the wings, or
entering edge, which is of ash. The pro-
pellers are driven by chains, connected
with the motor, which run in steel tubes,
thus doing away with the danger of foul-
ing by passengers or loose objects. The
ignition system is operated by a high ten-
sion Eisenmann magneto machine. The
petrol used for fuel is carried in a tank
placed above the engines and is supplied
by gravity. The two wings are connected
by a series of distance rods and wire
cross-stays, which keep the entire front,
or entering edge, and central part of the
model, perfectly rigid.
234
ABOARD THE WRIGHTS' AIRSHIP
Although nearly all the aeroplanes,
nowadays, are mounted on ordinary bicy-
cle wheels, the Wrights prefer a simple
system of skids, not unlike the runners
of a sleigh. One of the great advantages
of the skids is the fact that they take up
the shock on landing more completely than
wheels and protect the machine from
many a hard bump.
The airship rests on a small frame
mounted on two wheels, placed tandem,
and is balanced on a small trolley which
runs along a rail about twenty-five feet in
length. It is started by the pull of a rope
attached to a 1500 pound weight, which
drops from a derrick fifteen feet in height.
When everything is ready, the temporary
wheels are taken away, the rope is at-
tached, and finally the weight released.
The machine glides swiftly down the
track, and when the necessary speed has
been reached, the pilot raises his elevating
planes, a trifle, and the ship glides grace-
fully upward and onward.
237
CHAPTER V
OTHER AEROPLANES APPEAR
IN the summer of 1904 the boys of Paris
were greatly interested in watching a
curious, giant kite in flight over the River
Seine. The string of this kite was drawn
by a fast motor boat, which darted along,
while the kite rose high in the air. Its
inventor tinkered with it, and changed its
wings about until it finally flew like no
other kite ever seen in France. All this
was by no means mere play, however, for
many scientists watched the kite as it
soared about and a great deal of valuable
information about the behavior of kites
of this shape was learned. The man with
the kite, who soon became famous in the
world of aviation, was named Voisin. The
aeroplane, which he afterwards built,
modeled on this kite, was flown in many
238
OTHER AEROPLANES APPEAR
remarkable flights by Henry Farman,
Delagrange, Paulhan, and others. Like
the Wright airship, Voisin's is a biplane
or double plane model.
Although at first glance, the Voisin and
Wright aeroplanes may seem very much
alike, as we look more closely, we will find
many points of contrast. The Voisin
model has a large tail-piece, consisting of
two vertical planes, which project far be-
hind. These planes are believed to make
its flight very steady. A single vertical
rudder is placed between the two rear
edges of this plane. The rudders are
turned by horizontal, sliding bars attached
to the wheels, directly before the pilot's
seat, like an automobile. The horizontal
rudder in front, which corresponds to the
Wrights' double lifting plane, is single and
is placed lower down than in the Wright
model.
The steadiness of the Voisin aeroplane
in flight is gained without flexing the
planes. A series of four vertical planes
connect the upper and lower wings which
239
MODEL AEROPLANES
give the machine much the appearance of
a box kite. These walls are arranged so
that the space enclosed at either end is
almost square. It is believed that the
arrangement of these walls keeps the air
from sliding off the under surface of the
horizontal planes, and thus greater lifting
power is obtained. It is claimed that the
model has much greater longitudinal sta-
bility than the Wrights' machine. In
other words, the long tail piece prevents
the machine from tipping or pitching
when the wind gusts come unevenly. The
box-like or cellular form, it is believed
also, adds to its stability. The model
holds the record for flying at the lowest
speed — 22.8 miles an hour. On the other
hand, the Voisin model cannot, with any
degree of safety, coast down on the air
from great altitudes, like the Wright
model.
The method of starting the Voisin air-
ship is entirely different from the
Wrights'. The machine is mounted on
two wheels, attached to the girder body
240
OTHER AEROPLANES APPEAR
with an arrangement of springs to take
up the shock on landing. To launch the
aeroplane, the propellers are started, and
the machine rushes forward on its wheels
until it has developed sufficient speed to
send it up. It may thus rise from an or-
dinarily level ground, and does not require
the apparatus used by the Wrights. The
pilot and passenger sit in much the same
position as in the Wright aeroplane.
The Voisin model weighs 300 pounds
more than the Wrights' or 1590 pounds.
It has a supporting surface of 535 square
feet, and a speed, under favorable condi-
tions, of 38 miles an hour. Another point
of difference from the Wright model is the
propeller, which is single and measures
seven feet six inches in diameter. The
motor, an eight cylinder Antoinette, usu-
ally gives fifty horse power at noo revo-
lutions per minute. The Wright Broth-
ers, by the way, make their own motors,
which are considered inferior to the
French motors.
The smallest and swiftest of all the
241
MODEL AEROPLANES
aeroplanes is the Curtiss-Herring model,
which was invented by two Americans
whose names it bears. Its general form
suggests the Wrights' machine. The span
of the large planes is only 29 feet or under,
the depth but four feet six inches, and the
spacing four feet six inches. It has a total
wing surface of but 258 square feet. The
weight, not including the pilot, is only
about 450 pounds. When seen beside the
aeroplane of ordinary size, the little craft
looks like a very large toy model. It has
the appearance of a smart little racer, how-
ever, and its maximum speed is over 50
miles an hour.
Everything has been sacrificed in the
Curtiss-Herring model for the sake of
compactness. The forward rudder, which
seems small even for such a craft, consists
of two planes, one above the other, whose
combined area is only twenty-four square
feet. Unlike the Wright or Voisin models,
this forward rudder carries a vertical plane
which makes for stability. There is no
tail as in the Voisin model, and the rear,
242
OTHER AEROPLANES APPEAR
vertical rudder consists of a horizontal
plane six feet wide and two feet, three
inches deep and a vertical rudder below it,
two feet deep and three feet four inches
wide. The front and rear planes extend
out from the main frame about the same
distance. The main stability planes, curi-
ously enough, are placed inside the frame.
There are two of these, one at either end
of the main plane.
An ingenious method has been followed
to control the various planes. The pilot
sits facing a wheel, like that of an auto-
mobile, which is so rigged that by simply
pushing it from him or pulling it back,
he may lift or decline the front planes. By
turning this wheel he operates the rudder
in the rear, exactly as you would steer an
automobile or a boat. The balancing
mechanism in turn is connected with a
frame which fits about the pilot's shoul-
ders like a high-backed chair and is oper-
ated by merely leaning to one side or the
other. This has the same effect as warp-
ing the main planes. The control of the
243
MODEL AEROPLANES
machine becomes largely automatic. If
the pilot feels that his aeroplane is tilting
over at one end or the other, he merely
leans to one side or the other, and, with-
out taking his hands from the wheel before
him, has the machine under perfect con-
trol. Even the motor is controlled by
pedals placed under the pilot's feet.
This little racer is mounted on three
wheels, one well forward and two in the
rear about half way between the main
planes and the horizontal rudder. An
original feature of this model is a foot
brake which, connecting with the forward
wheel, helps to slow down the machine
on landing, just as you close the brake of
an automobile. There is only one rudder
measuring six feet in diameter, which is
unusually large considering the size of the
model. The engine is mounted at the cen-
ter of the space between the two main
planes, and the propeller, which is kept on
a line with it, is therefore considerably
higher than in most aeroplanes. The
lower plane comes very near the ground.
244
OTHER AEROPLANES APPEAR
It is only raised by about the height of the
bicycle wheels. It is thought by some that
this arrangement of the engine blankets
the propeller, while others argue that the
suction produced in this way increases the
thrust of the propeller. The machine is
built of Oregon spruce, the wings are
covered with oiled rubber silk, and the en-
tire mechanism is beautifully finished in
every detail.
The ingenuity of the designers of aero-
planes is astonishing. With so many aero-
planes in the field, or rather in the sky, it
is surprising that, they are not more alike.
The Farman biplane, for instance, follows
the same general proportion as the Wright
machine, but there the similarity ends.
To secure equilibrium in this model, four
small planes are used, hinged at the back
of the two main planes, and these, it has
been found, take the place of the flexing
device used by the Wrights. The two
swinging planes on the lower wing are
controlled by wires, while the upper two
swing free. A single lever controls the
247
MODEL AEROPLANES
iv/o lower planes and the horizontal rud-
der.
Farman has placed his rear stability
planes unusually far behind the main
frame. They consist of two fixed horizon-
tal planes, one above the other, with a ver-
tical rudder placed in the space between
them. The front horizontal rudder for
vertical steering, is a single plane,
mounted close to the entering edge. The
vertical rudder is worked by a foot pedal.
The machine is driven by one large
wooden propeller, eight feet six inches in
diameter, at a speed of 1300 revolutions
per minute, which, it will be noticed, is un-
usually high. The Farman biplane is one
of the heaviest yet constructed, weighing
about 1000 pounds without the pilot.
An original plan has also been found for
mounting the machine. The aeroplane
rests upon a combination of skids and
wheels. There are two sets of wheels
under the front edge of the plane, while
the two skids are placed between the
wheels of each pair. The motor is four
248
OTHER AEROPLANES APPEAR
cylinder, fifty horse power type, and drives
the machine at the rate of forty miles an
hour.
The largest, and by far the heaviest
aeroplane is the Cody biplane built by an
American inventor who lives in England.
It weighs nearly one ton, or more than
1800 pounds, to be exact, and measures
fifty-two feet across. The machine is bal-
anced somewhat after the manner of the
Curtiss-Herring model, by two horizontal
planes placed at the extremities of the
main planes and midway between the rear
corners. The two main planes are seven
feet six inches wide and are placed nine
feet apart, which is considerably farther
than in any other successful model. The
upper plane is slightly curved toward the
ends. The machine carries two large hor-
izontal planes for vertical steering, sixteen
feet before the entering edge of the main
wings. These planes, placed side by side,
have a combined area of 150 square feet
and naturally exert a considerable lifting
force. A small vertical rudder for horizon-
249
MODEL AEROPLANES
tal steering is carried above and between
these front planes. An unusually large
rudder is placed well behind the machine,
consisting of a vertical plane with an area
of forty square feet. All the rudders are
operated by a wheel in front of the pilot's
seat.
In the Cody aeroplane the horizontal
rudders are moved by pushing or pulling
the wheel, while by moving it sideways the
two balancing planes, which control the
equilibrium, are moved up and down. The
most original feature of the Cody
machine is the position of the propellers.
They are carried in the space between the
two main planes forward of the center. It
would seem that they must draw the air
from the upper planes and affect their lift-
ing quality. The machine is mounted on
three wheels, two beneath the front edge
of the main plane, and the other slightly
forward, which is an unusual distribution.
The Cody biplane, with 770 feet of wing
surface, lifts more than 1800 pounds.
It is all a matter of guess work, of
250
OTHER AEROPLANES APPEAR
course, whether the monoplane, biplane,
or some entirely new form of aeroplane
will come into general use. Every model
has its enthusiastic friends. The biplane,
at present, has greater stability than the
monoplane, and carries greater weights
for longer distances. The development of
the flying machine is so rapid however that
in five or ten years the successful aeroplane
models of to-day may appear as crude as
do the clumsy, lumbering old horseless
carriages of five or ten years ago.
253
CHAPTER VI
SUCCESSFUL MONOPLANES
WHILE the biplane borrows the gen-
eral principles of flight from the
birds, the monoplane carries us a step
further and almost exactly reproduces
their form and movement. Seen high
aloft, with wings outspread, the mono-
planes look like great eagles as, gracefully,
but very noisily, they rise and fall in long,
sweeping curves. The monoplane being a
much lighter machine and less complicated
is therefore cheaper to build than any mul-
tiplane model. Several of the successful
models ride the air very steadily and have
proven themselves capable of making long
and difficult air journeys.
Some aviators believe that the mono-
plane type, highly developed, to be sure,
will some day be adopted for great com-
254
SUCCESSFUL MONOPLANES
mercial airships. Even in its present form,
these mechanical birds look very ship-
shape. The pilot can find a more comfort-
able seat among these wings than in the
biplane forms, and it takes little imagina-
tion to picture these airships, greatly en-
larged, carrying comfortable cabins filled
with air voyagers. The most successful
model aeroplanes, by the way, are of the
monoplane form.
The first monoplane to make an ex-
tended flight was the Bleriot. Its in-
ventor had worked with Voisin in the
experiments above the River Seine at Paris
in 1906, and beginning with short flights
of only a few yards worked his way step
by step. The machine in which he crossed
the English Channel in 1909, and made
several remarkable cross country flights,
was his eleventh model.
Bleriot's most successful model consists
of only two wings curved upward,
mounted on a long motor base which
measures twenty-six and one half feet in
length. The body of the monoplane,
257
MODEL AEROPLANES
which is made of ash and poplar, tapers to
a point in the rear and is partially cov-
ered with " Continental fabric," similar to
balloons. The front or main wing is
twenty-five and a half feet in width with
a surface of 159 square feet. The rear
plane measures only six feet in width, and
three feet in depth and is equipped with
moveable tips or horizontal rudders two
feet square at either side. The vertical
rudder for steering to right or left, is car-
ried behind the frame. The planes are
braced by a series of stay wires running
in all directions.
Unlike the biplane, the motor of the
monoplane is placed in front of the wings.
The blades of the propeller, which are un-
usually broad, measure less than seven feet
from tip to tip. The pilot's seat is inside
the motor frame near the rear edge of the
main wing, and with its high back and
sides appears to be a comfortable place to
sit. It has the disadvantage, however, of
being directly behind the motor, so that a
draft of air strikes the driver in the face.
258
SUCCESSFUL MONOPLANES
The pilot keeps his machine on an even
keel by flexing the tips of the planes, much
the same as in the Wright model. The
tips of the main plane and of the two hori-
zontal rudders are connected with a single
lever, which gives the pilot perfect control
of them. The horizontal rudders may be
turned to steer the aeroplane up or down
in the same way. The vertical rudder for
turning the aeroplane from right to left,
is operated by a foot lever.
The Bleriot monoplane weighs about
500 pounds, so that it carries about four
pounds for every square foot of wing sur-
face, or thirteen pounds per square foot,
which is from two to four times greater
than is the case of any biplane. The
machine is mounted on three wheels, two
at the front and one near the rear, just for-
ward of the rudders. It has a speed of
nearly forty miles an hour.
All the present monoplane models fol-
low the same general plan of placing their
propellers and larger planes in front and
their horizontal rudder for vertical steer-
259
MODEL AEROPLANES
ing in the rear. The idea is gaining
ground, however, that it would be better
if this arrangement was reversed, and they
flew with what is now the tail in front.
The theory of this arrangement is that if
the edge of the lifting planes is presented
to the air, they would answer the helm
much better, as has been proven in the
biplane forms. The experiment of revers-
ing the monoplane forms has been tried in
model aeroplanes with great success.
The heaviest and largest of the mono-
planes at present is the Antoinette model,
which is the invention of M. Levasseur.
It looks like a great dragon fly, and has
proven itself very steady in flight. The
main wings, measuring forty-two feet in
width seem to be arched unusually high
from front to rear, and taper rather
sharply at the ends. Their total lifting
surface is a trifle over 300 feet. In some
of the Antoinette models the wings are set
in the form of a broad, dihedral angle.
The monoplane is driven from a seat in
the body of the frame as the Bleriot model,
260
SUCCESSFUL MONOPLANES
but moved slightly farther back. The rear
horizontal rudder is controlled by a large
wheel at the left of the pilot's seat, while
a corresponding wheel on the right con-
trols the small hinged wings at the outer
edge of the main plane. The pilot turns
his airship from right to left by merely
pressing two foot pedals connected with
the vertical rudder in the rear. In the later
models, the dihedral angle has been aban-
doned and the front planes set horizon-
tally.
The most novel feature of the An-
toinette model is the form and control of
the rear rudders and stability planes. The
model carries two vertical rudders for
turning the craft to the right or left, and
a large horizontal rudder for vertical
steering, extending far out behind at the
end of the main body. All of these rudders
are triangular in shape, tapering to a point
in the rear. The Antoinette has proved,
it is believed, that the corners of square
rudders may be removed, without affect-
ing their guiding qualities, thus saving
263
MODEL AEROPLANES
considerable surface and weight. It would
seem, on general principles, that just the
reverse would be the case. The builder of
model aeroplanes may take a leaf from the
log of this airship.
The Antoinette stability planes are
placed just forward of the rudders, and are
triangular in shape, but with somewhat
narrow ends pointing toward the front.
Two of these planes are carried horizon-
tally and one vertically, the vertical planes
being above the horizontals. The chief
fault of this model is that the rear horizon-
tal stability plane, being perfectly flat, ex-
erts little lifting power. The method of
warping the tips of the planes, the same
as in the Wright aeroplane, works well
with this model, and the flights, are as a
rule, remarkable steady. The machine
lands on wooden skids, carried well for-
ward, connected with the frame by flexible
joints. It is supported in the rear by two
wheels under the center of the planes.
The Santos Dumont monoplane is, so
far, the smallest and lightest monoplane
264
SUCCESSFUL MONOPLANES
to make a successful flight. It is the aero-
nautical runabout, and, although it has
made no very extended air journeys, it has
introduced several interesting features.
Its owner has flown several miles across
country in his little craft, housed it in an
ordinary stable while making a call, and
then, starting from the front lawn, flown
home again without assistance of any kind.
His machine may be counted upon to fly
at the rate of about thirty-seven miles an
hour. It weighs only 245 pounds without
the pilot.
The main plane is set at an angle so that,
seen from the front, the wings rise from
the center, but later bend down toward the
tips. The front or entering edge is also
elevated to an unusually high degree, giv-
ing it the appearance of a rather flat um-
brella. The pilot sits underneath this
front plane just below the center. The
stability of this plane is maintained by fix-
ing the ends in the usual manner. The
wires connecting with the ends of the
planes, are carried to a lever which is at-
265
MODEL AEROPLANES
tached to the pilot's back. The pilot,
therefore, without using his hands, but
merely by swaying his body from side to
side, can warp the planes and bring his
craft to an even keel.
The Santos Dumont monoplane carries
no regular stability plane at the rear, but
depends for its support and guidance upon
a small vertical and horizontal rudder at
the end of its very short frame. These two
rudders bisect one another, or in other
words, half of the vertical rudder is above
and half below the horizontal rudder, while
half of the horizontal rudder is on one side
and half on the other of the vertical rud-
der. They are attached to a single rigid
framework, so that both move as a whole
by means of a universal joint. The rud-
ders, used for ascending and descending,
are operated by a lever, while the rudders
used for horizontal steering are controlled
by a wheel.
The aeroplane is mounted on two
wheels, placed at the front of the frame
and a vertical strut at the rear, thus re-
266
SUCCESSFUL MONOPLANES
versing the arrangement of the Antoinette.
This adjustment works well in practice,
and the Santos Dumont holds the record
for rising from the ground in the shortest
distance. It has risen in six and a quarter
seconds after traveling only 230 feet. The
area of its wings is only no square feet
and its propeller consisting of double
wooden blades measures only six feet three
inches in diameter. It carries a 30 H. P.
motor.
The R. E. P. monoplane, the name being
formed by the initials of its inventor,
Robert Esnault-Pelterie, is an experiment
along new lines. Its inventor believes that
the wires and struts of the monoplane in
vibrating, offer considerable resistance to
the air and seriously retard its forward
movement. His monoplane has, therefore,
been constructed practically without stays,
wires, or rods. The monoplane is grace-
ful in form, light and compact, although
somewhat expensive to build.
The main frame of the airship is made
of steel girders with a broad surface and
269
MODEL AEROPLANES
tapering to a sharp edge at the bottom. It
is covered completely with cloth, thus
forming a vertical stability plane of con-
siderable area. The motor and propeller
are carried at the front of the frame, while
the pilot's seat is fixed inside the frame,
just back of the machinery.
The main planes have a span of thirty-
five feet six inches. They extend from
either side of the frame, and taper slightly
toward their outer edges. Two large rud-
ders are carried at the rear of the frame.
The vertical rudder for horizontal steering
is attached to an extension of the main
frame and the horizontal rudder projects
from the end at a higher level. A fixed
vertical stability plane or fin extends along
the main frame back of the pilot's seat.
The warping of the plane and the control
of both rudders is accomplished by levers
placed convenient to the pilot's hand.
The R. E. P. model, alone among the
aeroplanes, is equipped with a four blade
propeller. It measures six feet six inches
in diameter, and is driven at the speed of
270
SUCCESSFUL MONOPLANES
1400 revolutions per minute. The speed
of the craft is remarkable since it has
flown for short distances at the rate of
forty-seven miles an hour. Its weight, 780
pounds, is not unusual.
An entirely new idea has been intro-
duced in mounting this model. It rests
upon only two wheels, one at the front, the
other at the end of the central frame.
Wheels are also attached to the outer
edges of the main plane. When at rest,
the model tilts over to one side or the other
and rests on one of these wheels. Once
the motor has been started, the machine
quickly rights itself, as the speed increases,
and runs along on two wheels.
271
CHAPTER VII
AERIAL WARFARE
THE boys who turn these pages may
some day read of aerial battles
fought high above the earth, and some
may even take part in them. Air-ships
are even now included in the navies of
nineteen nations. There is great differ-
ence of opinion among experts whether
the balloon or aeroplane will prove the
better fighting machine, but, meanwhile,
aeronautical corps and regiments are be-
ing recruited, formidable navies of air-
ships are being laid down, and special
guns are being built to battle against
them.
The ordinary balloon has played a much
more important part in actual warfare
than most people realize. A balloon corps
was organized in France as early as 1794,
when balloons were built for each of the
272
AERIAL WARFARE
Republican armies. One of these balloons,
measuring thirty feet in diameter, was sent
up near Mayence, to gain a view of the
Austrian army. The balloon was held cap-
tive by two ropes, and an officer in the car
wrote his observations, weighted the let-
ters, and dropped them overboard. The
Austrians were furious at this spying, and
opened fire, but the ropes were lengthened
and the balloon rose to a height of 1300
feet, where it was out of range. Several
years later balloons were again used in
battles by the French against the Aus-
trians, who were so angry with the new
machine that they declared that any bal-
loonist captured would be shot. For a
long time afterward, however, this method
of warfare was neglected, and even Napo-
leon could not see its value, and closed the
aeronautical school and disbanded the
corps.
The use of the balloon was revived in
America during the Civil War, and proved
to be so valuable that no great war has
since been fought without it. During the
275
MODEL AEROPLANES
attack on Richmond, a number of balloons
were sent up daily by the Federal Army
to overlook the besieged city. From a
point eight miles away, valuable informa-
tion was gained as to the position of the
troops and the earthworks. A telegraph
apparatus was taken up and messages
were sent directly from the clouds, almost
over Richmond to Washington.
In the Spanish-American War in 1898,
the balloon was again called into use. One
ascent was made before Santiago, Cuba,
and the position of the various Spanish
forces were observed and reported. An-
other was sent up at El Paso, less than
2000 feet from the Spanish trenches, and
the position of the Spanish troops on San
Juan Hill was discovered. The balloon
was finally brought down by the Spanish
guns.
During the siege of Paris in 1870, bal-
loons were used successfully to escape
from the city. Some sixty-six of them,
carrying 168 passengers, succeeded in
passing over the German armies. The
276
AERIAL WARFARE
French army has also made good use of
the balloon in the wars in Madagascar,
and several English balloon corps were
engaged with the British army during the
Boer War.
For ordinary military work, balloons of
three sizes are used, a large balloon for
forts, the regular war balloon, and an
auxiliary for field work. The large bal-
loon holds 34,500 cubic feet of gas and is
only used above fortifications. The regu-
lar field balloon is thirty-three feet in
diameter, and holds 19,000 cubic feet of
gas. It is designed to carry two pas-
sengers to a height of 1650 feet. The
auxiliary balloon is considerably smaller,
holding only 9200 cubic feet of gas, and
carrying but one passenger. It is much
easier to handle on long marches, and, of
course, may be filled and sent aloft in much
less time.
The balloons are usually filled from
cylinders, which may be hurried across
country in carts or automobiles. There is,
besides, a regular field gas generator, read-
277
MODEL AEROPLANES
ily packed up and carried about, which will
fill an ordinary balloon in from fifteen to
twenty minutes. To resist aerial attacks,
a special armored automobile has been
adopted by some European armies, carry-
ing a gun which may be aimed upward and
at any angle. Despite its weight, the auto-
mobile will travel at the rate of forty miles
an hour. The recent developments of the
dirigible war balloon has rendered the free
balloon practically obsolete, and it is un-
likely that it will ever again be used in
actual warfare.
The United States has been the first
country to adopt the aeroplane as a
weapon of warfare. After the successful
flights of the Wright Brothers, the War
Department purchased one of their aero-
planes, and several officers were instructed
in driving it. Before being accepted, the
Wrights were required to make a flight of
ten miles over a rough, mountainous coun-
try near Washington, and return without
alighting. The test, which was highly
successful, was witnessed by President
278
The Machine on the Rails, as it appeared in 1893.
Maxim's First Aeroplane.
AERIAL WARFARE
Taft and many representatives of the Gov-
ernment. In the event of war, the United
States Government could quickly mobilize
a formidable fleet of aeroplanes, and man
them with experienced aviators.
The value of aeroplanes in warfare has
been widely discussed by military experts.
There was, at first, a general impression
that such flights were much too uncertain
to be of practical value. The marvellous
development of the aeroplane, and its
remarkable flights over land and sea,
have served to silence much of this criti-
cism.
Although an over-sea invasion by a fleet
of air-ships would seem to be a danger of
the very distant future, the United States
Government is already preparing to meet
the situation. A remarkable series of tests
have been made at the Government Prov-
ing Grounds at Sandy Hook, by firing at
free balloons as they sailed past the fort.
The balloons were sent away at various
altitudes, in some cases at a considerable
distance from the guns, and again directly
281
MODEL AEROPLANES
above them. The difficulty in hitting such
targets was found to be very great. The
air craft moves so quickly that it is almost
impossible to bring a gun of the ordinary
mounting into position. Although the re-
sults of the test were closely guarded, it is
known that the Government was not satis-
fied with the defense of New York Harbor,
in the event of an aerial invasion, and
special guns are being designed to repel
such an attack.
The military authorities look very far
into the future in their preparations. One
of the most interesting of these problems
is that of protecting our seacoast, should
a fleet of aerial warships be sent against
us. One of the plans suggested is to raise
a series of captive balloons at regular in-
tervals along the shore. It has been
thought that some of these might be held
near the earth, while others are allowed
to ascend to a great altitude. The lookout
in these signal stations could sight the ap-
proach of an hostile fleet of air-ships at a
great distance, and by means of wireless
282
AERIAL WARFARE
apparatus warn the country of approach-
ing danger.
Many military experts, who have
watched the flights of aeroplanes, have de-
cided that the little craft would also prove
an extremely difficult object for the enemy
to bring down. Since they travel at up-
wards of a mile a minute, ordinary guns,
as they are now mounted, could not hope
to hit them except by a lucky shot. It
would be like hunting wild geese with a
cannon. At a height of several thousand
feet, which they can readily attain, an
aeroplane might defy the most formidable
batteries in the world. Should a fleet of
these little craft be sent against an enemy,
many of them would be sure to survive an
attack, even if a few should be lost. It
does not seem probable that the aeroplane
will carry aloft a cannon large enough to
do any damage. But they can drop high
explosives, with astonishing accuracy, and
would do important scout work.
At the present cost of construction, a
fleet of one hundred aeroplanes might be
283
MODEL AEROPLANES
built and put in commission in the field or
sky, for what a single great battleship
would cost. It has been shown, moreover,
that a man can learn to operate an aero-
plane in less time than it takes to learn to
ride a bicycle. The Wrights instructed
Lieutenant Lahm to drive one of their
machines in about two hours of actual
flight. The war aeroplanes would call for
great bravery and daring, but who can
doubt that men would be found to serve
their country, if need be, by facing this
appalling danger.
In military language, the modern air-
ships fall into three classes, dreadnaughts,
cruisers and scouts. The dreadnaughts of
the air are the largest dirigible balloons,
such as Zeppelin flies. They will prob-
ably be used in aerial warfare in the first
line of battle, and for over-sea work. The
cruisers comprise the dirigibles, such as
have been brought to great perfection in
France. These faster air-ships will rise
higher than the dreadnaughts, and will
probably be used for guarding and scout
a 'S-
AERIAL WARFARE
work. The aeroplanes come under the
head of scouts, and will be used for dis-
patch work, and for attacking dirigibles.
Their speed and effective radius of
travel place the air-ship in the first rank
among the engines of war. The value of
the free or captive balloon has, of course,
been clearly proven. It has been of the
greatest value for general observation
work in the field. It has been readily
raised out of effective range of the enemy's
batteries, and from this position, has
looked down upon the forts, cities, or en-
campments. It thus became a signal sta-
tion which might direct gun fire with abso-
lute accuracy, and has been the only safe
and reliable method for locating the pres-
ence of mines and submarines.
The dirigible balloon possesses all of
the qualities of the free balloon and many
more. It can attack by day or night. Its
search lights enable it to look down upon
the enemy with pitiless accuracy. It may
thus gain information about forts and har-
bors, which otherwise could not be ap-
287
MODEL AEROPLANES
preached. The most completely mined
harbor in the world has no terrors for such
a visitor. The great problem in warfare
of patrolling the frontier of a country
against possible invasion seems to be
solved by the dirigible. Two or three men
aboard a dirigible, with a traveling radius
of several hundred miles, could do more
effective work than several thousand men
scattered along the frontier line.
For dispatch work the flying machine is
expected to be indispensable in warfare.
The bearer of dispatches has always
played an important part in war. His
work is often of the most perilous nature,
and his journeys, at best, are slow and un-
certain. The dispatch bearer, driving an
air-ship fifty miles an hour, could ride high
above the range of the enemy's guns.
These same vehicles of the air would
doubtless be equipped with wireless tele-
graph apparatus, so that they might send
or receive messages, and the aviator might
talk freely with the entire country side,
directing a battery here, silencing one
'288
AERIAL WARFARE
there, ordering an advance or conducting
a retreat, with unprecedented accuracy.
These aerial fleets may also carry on
deadly aggressive warfare. The over sea
raid will have greater terror than any or-
dinary invasion. A fleet of dreadnaughts
dirigibles, assisted by fast cruisers of the
air, and many aeroplane scouts, would be
extremely formidable. An enemy's base
line would be at the mercy of such an in-
vasion. Within a few hours, such a fleet
might destroy the enemy's stores, its rail-
roads, and its cities, by dropping explo-
sives or poisonous bombs.
In several recent aeroplane flights,
" peace bombs " have been aimed to strike
a given mark, and the shots have proven
surprisingly accurate. By using various
instruments to determine directions, it will
be possible to drop such bombs with
mathematical accuracy. The bombs or
missiles will be suspended by wires from
beneath the air-ship and released by an
electric current, to give them a perfectly
vertical direction. When dropped from
289
MODEL AEROPLANES
great altitudes, the effect of such explo-
sions will be difficult to withstand. Our
great war-ships, despite their steel sides,
will probably have to be completely re-
modelled before they can fight with this
new enemy.
When an air-ship drops a bomb from a
point directly above a fort or ship, it will
be absolutely out of the range of the
enemy, since to shoot directly up into the
air would be to fire a boomerang which
would quickly return and inflict serious
damage. An actual test was recently car-
ried out in England, when a thirteen pound
gun fired at a balloon 1000 feet in the air.
Although the gun had an effective range
of 4000 feet, and the balloon was held cap-
tive, it was not until the seventeenth shot
had been fired that it was brought down.
It has also been proven that a rifle ball will
be deflected by the draught from the pro-
peller of an aeroplane. The flying
machine promises to revolutionize war-
fare.
290
CHAPTER VIII
SPORTS OF THE AIR, AEROPLANES
ANY contest of air-ships makes excel-
lent sport. A city to city flight by
aeroplane, for instance, attracts greater
crowds than could any procession or royal
progress in the past. The aeronautical
tournaments and meets already have been
held from Egypt in the East, to California
in the west. Let an aeroplane soar higher
than any has risen before, stay aloft
longer, or make a new record for speed or
distance, and the news is instantly cabled
around the world.
All who have gone aloft tell us that fly-
ing is the greatest sport in the world. The
free, rapid glide we all enjoy in skating or
coasting becomes speedier and smoother
in an air-ship, without exerting the least
effort. It is this sense of rapid motion
293
MODEL AEROPLANES
which has made the automobile so popular,
and the air-ship improves upon the auto-
mobile, just as the automobile improved on
the lumbering coaches of the past. Once
aloft, the aerial passenger glides with the
swallow's swiftness. " Now," cried an
enthusiastic Frenchwoman, after her first
aeroplane flight, " now I understand why
the birds sing."
As the aeroplane is brought under better
control, we will see these contests grow
more and more exciting. The develop-
ment of the new craft has been so rapid,
we have come to expect so much from it,
that the exhibition at which the world
marvels to-day, becomes the commonplace
of to-morrow.
The early flights of the Wright Brothers
at Kitty Hawk failed to attract much at-
tention. There had been so many an-
nouncements of successful flying machines
that many were sceptical, especially in
Europe, and the world did not realize that
the great day, so long promised, was
dawning. It was not till the Wrights flew
294
SPORTS OF THE AIR
in North Carolina that the world began to
take the matter seriously.
Every movement of the curious new
craft was closely watched thereafter.
When one of the brothers went aloft the
world knew it, and crowds stood patiently
before bulletin boards in New York,
London, or Sidney, to count the minutes.
When he succeeded in staying aloft for
an hour, the waiting crowds in many
widely separated cities, broke into simul-
taneous cheers. Next came the trip to
Paur, in France, and other European
cities, and day by day the flights became
longer and higher. The brothers made
double progress, for while one was in
Southern Europe increasing the time aloft,
the other was flying higher and higher in
Germany. In these early days no attempt
was made to fly across the country. The
aeroplane merely flew around and around
some large field, and the distance tra-
versed was calculated more or less accu-
rately.
After the triumphant return of the
295
MODEL AEROPLANES
Wrights to America, a cross-country run
was made at Fort Myer, to show the Gov-
ernment that the aeroplane was more than
a toy. A flight of twenty miles was made
over a rough, mountainous country and
several deep valleys. The air of the valleys
drew the machine down with a dangerous
rush, but the aviator pluckily worked his
way higher, and passed over it in safety.
Shortly after this, during the Hudson-
Fulton Celebration in New York, Mr. Wil-
bur Wright rose from Governor's Island in
New York harbor, encircled the Statue of
Liberty, and again sailed high above the
river north to Grant's Tomb, and returned
to the starting point. Each of these feats
was, in a peculiar sense, record breaking.
Meanwhile, a flock of aviators were
making ascensions in biplanes and mono-
planes of many designs in France. Their
first attempts to fly were made, as a rule,
in a great field on the outskirts of Paris,
where immense crowds gathered to watch
them. As the aviators gained confidence
in their craft, the flights rapidly became
296
Front View of the Flight of the Wright Aeroplane, October 4, IQ05-
SPORTS OF THE AIR
longer and higher, and short cross-country
flights were made. These cross-country
and over-water flights quickly out-dis-
tanced those made in America, and this
lead once gained, was kept up. There are
several reasons why France, after America
pointed the way, should have overtaken,
and, in some respects, out-distanced her.
There have been more aviators in France.
The prizes offered for flights of various
kinds, have been ten times more numerous
and valuable in France than in any other
country, and this naturally invited compe-
tition. The example of France in offering
valuable prizes for long flights has since
been followed in the United States.
It should be borne in mind, again, that
the level stretches of country common in
Europe, offers fewer difficulties for the
pilot of the aeroplane than the rough,
mountainous, or even hilly country often
encountered in America. It is possible to
fly hundreds of miles in the south of
France or in Italy and pass over country
like a great parade ground. When a long-
299
MODEL AEROPLANES
distance flight is made in America, rival-
ling or surpassing those made abroad, it is
probable that it has required far more skill
and daring than similar European flights.
The French, again, excel in building light,
serviceable motors, suitable for aeroplanes,
and no small part of the success of the
French air craft is due to this skill.
The cross-country trips were quickly ex-
tended. After several successful short
flights, Henry Farman surpassed all rec-
ords by traveling for eighty-three miles
across country in France. The great feat
was now to cross the English Channel. A
prize of $5,000 was offered by a London
newspaper for the first channel flight.
Two attempts were made by a young
Frenchman, Hubert Latham, but both
times, after sailing out for several miles
over the sea, some accident befell his
machine, and he was thrown into the
water. Undaunted by these failures, an-
other Frenchman, Louis Bleriot, started
early one Sunday morning, June 25, 1909,
from a point near Calais, France, and
300
SPORTS OF THE AIR
landed safely at Dover on the English side.
Shortly after this, still another French-
man, De Lesseps, flew from the French
coast to England in safety.
The richest of the aviation prizes, a
purse of $50,000, had meanwhile been of-
fered for a successful trip by a heavier-
than-air machine from London to Man-
chester, a distance of 171 miles. Several
attempts had been made to cover this dis-
tance, but without success. It was finally
won, however, under very dramatic cir-
cumstances. Two aviators, an English-
man named White and a Frenchman
named Paulhan, actually raced for the
goal. The French machine got away first,
but was followed by the English machine
close on his heels — or should we say pro-
pellers ? The greater part of the race took
place at night in a high wind, and, in the
upper air lanes, intensely cold weather.
Paulhan succeeded in flying 117 miles
without coming down, rushing along
through the night at top speed, with the
dread that every sound behind him came
301
MODEL AEROPLANES
from the machine of his rival. When he
was forced to land for fuel, he worked with
feverish haste, fearing that every second's
delay might cost him the coveted prize.
Several times the crowd about him,
deceived by some night bird, cried
"Here comes White!" As a matter of
fact, White was but a few miles behind.
The fuel tank filled, Paulhan drove his
machine full speed into the sky, and did
not land till he had completed the journey
and won the prize.
There was naturally a great demand for
a similar journey in America, and the avia-
tor and the prize were soon found. For
several years there had been a standing
prize of $10,000 for the first successful
flight between New York and Albany, over
the Hudson River, the course taken by
Robert Fulton in his famous trip by steam-
boat in 1809. An effort was made to
cover the distance by dirigible balloon
without success. An attempt was made by
aeroplane on May, 1910, by Glenn H. Cur-
tiss, the winner of the grand prize for speed
302
SPORTS OF THE AIR
in the aviation meeting at Rheims. Curtis
started from Albany, in order to face the
air currents which drew up the. river.
After waiting for several days for fair
weather, he finally got away early one
morning, and, following the course of the
Hudson River, made the flight to Pough-
keepsie, seventy-five miles south, without
mishap, when he landed for fuel.
Again rising into the air, he started
south, traveling with such speed, that he
outdistanced the special train which was
following him. A difficult problem in avia-
tion was met in passing over the High-
lands, a rugged mountainous section,
through which the river cuts a deep., tor-
tuous channel. Curtiss rose to a height of
more than 1000 feet, but the treacherous
air currents drew him down and tossed
him about at perilous angles. He fought
his way, foot by foot, finally bringing his
craft to an even keel. On reaching New
York, he landed in the upper section of the
city for gasolene, and once more rising
above the Hudson River, flew swiftly to
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MODEL AEROPLANES
the riotous clamor of every whistle in the
great harbor beneath him, to a safe landing
at Governor's Island.
The first great city to city and return
aeroplane trip was made a few days later,
between New York and Philadelphia. A
new aspirant for these honors was Mr.
Charles K. Hamilton, who had amazed
everyone with his daring driving. He was
engaged to fly over the course for $10,000,
offered by a New York and a Philadelphia
newspaper. He carried with him letters
from the Governor of New York and the
Mayor of New York City to the Governor
of Pennsylvania and the Mayor of Phila-
delphia. He also took aloft a number of
" peace bombs," which he dropped along
the route to show how accurate might be
the aim of a war aeroplane. The start was
made early on the morning of June 13,
from Governor's Island in New York har-
bor. A special train was held in readiness
to follow him.
After rising to a considerable altitude,
Hamilton flew in great circles about the
304
SPORTS OF THE AIR
island to try his wings, and then, signaling
that all was ready, darted off to the south.
He quickly picked up his special train, and,
at a pace of almost a mile a minute, flying
hundreds of feet in air, sped on to Phila-
delphia. It was estimated that more than
1,000,000 people had gathered along the
route to cheer him. Hamilton had laid out
a regular time-table before starting, and
so perfect was his control of the machine,
that he passed town after town on time
to the minute like a railroad train.
The run to Philadelphia eighty miles
away, was made without alighting and
without mishap of any kind. Hamilton
flew over the open field selected for land-
ing, circled it three times to show that he
was not tired in the least, and settled down
as lightly as a bird. He was received by
the Governor of Pennsylvania and the
Deputy Mayor of Philadelphia, to whom
he delivered his messages and received
similar letters in reply to bring back to
New York.
After a brief rest of little more than one
305
MODEL AEROPLANES
hour, Hamilton was once more in the sky,
flying across-country at express speed.
He set such a pace, that his special train
was left far behind, and it was only by run-
ning at the rate of seventy-five miles an
hour, that it finally overtook him. Hamil-
ton drew far ahead of the train on the re-
turn trip which was made in much faster
time. The wind was favorable, and New-
ark, eighty miles, was reached at the rate
of fifty miles an hour.
With the goal practically in sight, Ham-
ilton's engine began working badly. He
pushed on, until he found himself in abso-
lute danger, when he decided to descend.
From such high altitudes, the appearance
of the ground is very deceptive. Hamilton
chose what appeared to be a smooth piece
of green grass and dropped to it, only to
discover that he had settled in a marsh.
The fault in the engine was quickly rem-
edied, but now the ground proved too soft
for him to rise. In trying to rise he
broke his propeller, and another delay fol-
lowed, while a new propeller was hurried
306
SPORTS OF THE AIR
from New York. He finally succeeded,
however, in rising and completing his
trip to Governor's Island, thus making
the round trip in a day and winning the
prize.
So rapid is the advance in the new sci-
ence, that each aviation meet sets a new
and more difficult standard. At first,
people marvelled to see an aeroplane rising
but a few feet from the ground, but such
feats soon became commonplace. Within
a few months, prizes were offered for the
machine staying aloft for the longest time.
The element of speed was next considered,
and the aeroplanes sailed around a race
course against time. The highest altitude
now became a popular test feat. The pi-
lots soon found themselves in such com-
plete control of their machines that they
gave exhibitions of landing by the force of
gravity alone. The aeroplane would work
its way upward in great spirals, and then,
shutting off all power, coast down at terri-
fying angles on the unsubstantial air. It
is from such tests as these that there will
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MODEL AEROPLANES
gradually evolve the airships of the future,
the terrible engines of war, the air liners
for commerce, and the light and speedy
pleasure craft.
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