NO. 8 SAMUEL PIERPONT LANGLEY ABBOT 55 



Itself being entirely uninjured. Had this accident occurred at an 

 earlier period, when there were funds available for continuing the 

 experiments, it would not have been so serious, for many accidents 

 in shop tests had occurred which, while unknown to the general pub- 

 lic, had yet caused greater damage and required more time for repair 

 than in the present case. But the funds for continuing the work were 

 exhausted, and it being found impossible to immediately secure 

 others for continuing it, it was found necessary to discontinue the 

 experiments for the present, though I decided to use, from a private 

 fund, the small amount of money necessary to repair the frame so that 

 it itself, together with its engine, which was entirely uninjured, might 

 be available for further use if it should later prove possible, and 

 that they themselves might be in proper condition to attest to what 

 they really represent as an engineering achievement. 



" Entirely erroneous impressions have been given by the account 

 of these experiments in the public press, from which they have been 

 judged, even by experts; the impression being that the machine could 

 not sustain itself in flight. It seems proper, then, to emphasize 

 and to reiterate, with a view to what has just been said, that the 

 machine has never had a chance to fly at all, but that the failure 

 occurred on its launching ways ; and the question of its ability to fly 

 is consequently, as yet, an untried one. 



" There have, then, been no failures as far as the actual test of the 

 flying capacity of the machine is concerned, for it has never been 

 free in the air at all. The failure of the financial means for continu- 

 ing these expensive experiments has left the question of their result 

 where it stood before they were undertaken, except that it has been 

 demonstrated that engines can be built, as they have been, of little 

 over one-half the weight that was assigned as the possible minimum 

 by the best builders of France and Germany; that the frame can be 

 made strong enough to carry these engines, and that, so far as any 

 possible prevision can extend, another flight w^ould be successful if 

 the launching were successful ; for in this, and in this alone, as far 

 as is known, all the trouble has come. 



" The experiments have also given necessary information about this 

 launching. They have shown that the method which succeeded per- 

 fectly on a smaller scale is insufficient on a larger one, and they have 

 indicated that it is desirable that the launching should take place 

 nearer the surface of the water, either from a track upon the shore 

 or from a house boat large enough to enable the apparatus to be 

 launched at any time with the wings extended and perhaps with 



