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VOL. 



partment, he had, therefore, made a search for a reliable builder who would un- 

 dertake to construe! a gasoline engine of not less than 12 horse-power to weigh 

 not exceeding 100 pounds, and what then seemed a safe contract had been en- 

 tered into with such a builder to supply one engine which would meet these 

 requirements. 



Almosl immediately before the Board of Ordnance and Fortification had of- 

 ficially placed the work in Mr. Langley's hands and had made an allotment of 

 fifty thousand dollars to meet the expenses thereof, it was found that the en- 

 gine builder could not he depended on, and that it would, therefore, be neces- 

 sary to find one who was more reliable and more experienced in the construc- 

 tion of light engines. After a most extended search for the best builder to un- 

 dertake this work, a contract was entered into on December 12, 1898, with Mr. 

 S. M. Balzer, an engine builder in New York City. He was to furnish a twelve- 

 horse-power engine to weigh not more than 100 pounds, and delivery of it was to 

 be made on or before February 28, 1899. With this great problem of the engine 

 apparently provided for, every facility of the. Institution shops was pressed to 

 the utmost limit in order to have the frame, supporting surfaces, launching ap- 

 paratus, and other accessories ready as soon as possible after the delivery of 

 the engine. It was expected from the first that more power would be necessary 

 than this one engine would furnish, and provision had been made in the contract 

 that a duplicate engine should be constructed immediately after the completion 

 of this first one. From past experience, however, it was not likely that the cor- 

 rect balancing of the aerodrome could be determined from a priori calculation 

 based on the results obtained with the models, and it was, therefore, expected 

 that the aerodrome would have to be launched several times before a successful 

 flight could be obtained. In view of this it was planned to make a test of the 

 machine as soon as the first engine was ready, with the expectation that, while 

 the aerodrome would not have sufficient power to fly, yet the test would furnish 

 definite data on the all important question of balancing, and also determine 

 whether or not the launching apparatus would require modification. In fact, 

 Mr. Langley fell so apprehensive that the first, and possibly the second test, 

 would be unsuccessful that, in order to avoid the possibility of a fatal accident, 

 it was planned that a dummy should be used to represent the weight of the 

 man in these preliminary tests. 



This plan, however, was not carried out. In 1903, when the large aerodrome 

 was finally completed, so much time had been lost that the writer proposed to 

 assume the risks of such an accident and to guide the machine in its first test, 

 in the hope of avoiding a disaster, with the consequent delay of months for re- 

 pairs, which the presence of a controlling hand capable of correcting any inac- 

 curacies of balancing rendered far less likely to occur. To this proposal Mr. 

 Langley assented with greal reluctance, as he fully realized the danger involved. 



