NO. 5 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION AND WRIGHT BROTHERS 1 5 



weighing 125 pounds, oi" 2.2 pounds per horsepower. This engine 

 was designed and built by Mr. Charles M. Manly at the Smith- 

 sonian shops. Two tests were attempted with this flying machine, 

 Mr. Manly being the pilot in both cases. 



3. The machine was designed to obtain its initial impetus by 

 means of a spring-catapult propelling it along a pair of rails on top 

 of a house boat. The first test was conducted in the middle of the 

 Potomac River, opposite Widewater, Virginia; and suitable pro- 

 vision was made for the flotation of the machine upon its landing 

 on the surface of the river as it was intended to do. The second 

 test was made on December 8, 1903, off the Arsenal Point in the 

 Potomac River at the junction of the Georgetown Channel and the 

 Eastern Branch. A full description of the machine and the tests 

 is given in " Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight," published in 

 191 1. Both attempts to launch the machine failed. The first on 

 October 7, 1903, failed because a lug on a pin projecting from the 

 bottom of the lower front guy post hung in its slot on a support 

 on the launching car or catapult, causing the front wings to be 

 badly twisted from a positive angle of lift to a negative angle of 

 depression, thus forcing the front end of the machine downwards 

 instead of supporting it, and resulting in the machine striking the 

 water about 150 feet in front of the house boat from which it was 

 launched. The front wings and propellers were broken by the im- 

 pact and the rear wings and control surfaces were destroyed by 

 towing the machine through the water. The second test on Decem- 

 ber 8, 1903, failed for reasons which were never absolutely deter- 

 mined. Photographs of the operation show clearly, however, that 

 the immediate cause was the collapse of the rear part of the machine. 

 This was probably due to a sudden gust of wind striking it and 

 throwing it against a stanchion as it passed down the launching 

 track, while it was still in contact with the catapult. Thus, no evi- 

 dence was obtained of the aerodynamic or other features of the 

 machine itself. Further study at the time was not possible because 

 funds were exhausted and the public prejudice against the work 

 made it impossible for Dr. Langley to raise either public or private 

 funds. 



4. The machine was drawn from the water in its damaged con- 

 dition the night of December 8, 1903. A few days later it was re- 

 moved to the shops of the Smithsonian Institution where the frame 

 was repaired and the engine, which had not been injured, was 

 stored for further use till such time as additional funds might be- 

 come available to build new wings and to defray the expenses of 



