NO. 3 LANCLKY MEMOES OH MECHANICAL FLIGHT 141 



ing could be delivered, it was necessary to make the best of what was already on 

 hand. The copper tubing for the boilers which had been used in L896, after be 

 ing carefully annealed and filled with fine sand, oould be wound into a perfectly 

 smooth helix, free from all wrinkles, indentations, and so forth, on the inner 

 side of the coil. But no amount of care, both in annealing and in winding this 

 present lot of tubing, would produce a smooth helix, the tubing being badlj 

 wrinkled on the inner side of the coil in spite; of every precaution. These 

 wrinkles, however, were not so much the cause of serious trouble as was the 

 fact that the tubing was not uniform in quality, each length of it having nu- 

 merous rotten spots which did not always show up in the winding, but which 

 gave way after the boiler had been completed and one or two preliminary runs 

 in the shop had been made with it. While the effect of such small things can- 

 not be appreciated from merely reading about them, yet they were the cause 

 of the most exasperating annoyance and delay, as no sooner had the aero- 

 drome been gotten into what appeared to be perfect working order than the boiler 

 would break at one or more points, thus causing a delay which at the moment 

 would seem to involve not more than a few hours, but before everything was 

 again in working order would amount to several days. 



However, after much perseverance, Aerodrome No. 5 was put in satisfac- 

 tory working condition, and on June 27 was launched with its " single-tier " 

 wings and Penaud tail. The data on settings of wings, tail, etc., are given on 

 Data Sheet No. 6. After lighting the burners, 70 seconds were consumed in 

 raising a steam pressure of 120 pounds Immediately upon leaving the launch- 

 ing car the aerodrome started to rise with its bow elevated to an angle of about 

 15 degrees. It flew straight ahead about 80 feet, when it came backward and 

 downward and touched the water about 40 feet from the boat. The failure of the 

 aerodrome to fly properly was evidently due to its not being in proper balance. 

 The cause of this lack of proper balance was not immediately apparent, but was 

 very soon detected and will be discussed later on. 



JUNE 30 AERODROME NO. 5 



After several days of incessant rain and strong winds, which prevented an 

 experiment, the weather became brighter and the wind quieted down and the 

 afternoon of June 30 was almost ideal for an experiment. At five o'clock Aero- 

 drome No. 5, with " single-tier " wings and Penaud tail, was placed on the 

 launching apparatus, a few minutes later the burners were lighted, and just as 

 the propellers started to turn a racking noise was heard. Upon investigation 

 it was found that the circulating pump had broken. The break was a very small 

 matter and could have been repaired in an hour, but it was then too late to re- 

 pair the damage and get a flight before dark, so the aerodrome was reluctantly 

 dismounted and the men put to work repairing the broken pump. 



