120 EXPERIMENTS WITH THE L ANGLE Y AERODROME. 



Aveight of the model was 58 pounds, its sustaining surface Ofi square 

 feet, and the horsepower from 2i to ?). 



This was the first time in history, so far as I know, that a success- 

 ful flight of a mechanically sustained flying machine Avas made in 

 public. 



The flight was not as long as had l)een expected, as it Avas found 

 afterAA'ards that one of the AAorkmen, in his zeal to insure an especially 

 good one, had oA^erfilled the gasoline tank, Avhich AA^ould otherwise 

 haA'e enabled a flight seA'eral times as long. HoAv^eA^er, as such a 

 flight AA'ould IniA'e giA'en absolutely no more data than the short one 

 did, and as the delays in getting ready for testing the large machine 

 had already far exceeded what AA^as expected, it AA'as thought best not 

 to make auA^ more tests with the small one, as all of the data Avhich 

 Avas desired had been procured, and it Avas accordingly stored aAA'ay 

 'jnd every energy immediately concentrated in getting the large ma- 

 chine ready for its first test, AAdiich at that time seemed onlj^ a few 

 days aAA' ay. 



During all these delays it maj" be remarked that aac necessarily 

 resided near the house boat, and therefore in a region of malaria, from 

 whose attacks a portion of us suffered. 



I haA^e spoken of the serious delays in the test of the small machine 

 caused by changed atmospheric conditions, but they proA^ed to be 

 almost negligible compared Avith Avhat Avas later experienced AA'ith 

 the large one. I huxe also alluded to the fact that the necessarily 

 light ribs of the large sustaining Aving surfaces were coA'ered AA'ith 

 scA^eral coats of a special marine A'arnish Avhicli many tests had shoAA'n 

 enabled the glue to AA'ithstand submersion in AA'ater for more than 

 t AA^enty-four hours Avithout being aifected. This aa' ater test AA-as made 

 Avith a AneAv to guarding against the joints of the ribs being softened 

 when the machine came doAA'u into the AA\ater, as it Avas planned for 

 it to do at the close of its flight, and these submersions had apparently 

 shoAvn that no trouble need be anticipated from the effects of the 

 sustaining surfaces getting AA^et. It is an instance of the unpre- 

 dictable delays AAdiich present themselves, that Avhen preparations 

 had been begun for the immediate trial of the large machine, already 

 down the riA'er, it Avas found that cA^ery one of the cross ribs had 

 been rendered almost useless by the damp, though under shelter. 

 As it would take months to build ncAV ones, a temporary means of 

 repairing them Avas used. There Avere other delays too numerous 

 to mention, but chiefly incident to Avorking OA^er the Avater, some of 

 the principal of Avhich Avere due to storms dragging the house boat 

 from its moorings and destroying auxiliary apparatus, such as 

 launches, boats, rafts, etc., to say nothing of the time consumed in 

 bringing Avorkmen to and from the scene of the ex])eriments. The 

 propellers Avere cA'en found to break under the strain of the actual 



