266 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO KNOWLEDGE VOL. -t 



therebj overcome the sharp angle of descent. Finding that the machine made 

 n«i response to this extreme movement of the tail, he immediately realized that 

 a crash into the water was unavoidable and braced himself for the shock. The 

 tremendous crash of the front wings being completely demolished as they struck 

 the water bad hardly become apparent before he found himself and the machine 

 plunging downward through the water. By some instinct he grasped the main 

 guy wires which were above his head, and pulling himself through the narrow 

 space between them freed himself from the machine and swam upward as rap- 

 idly as possible. A few moments after reaching the surface of the water the 

 uppermost point of the pyramid of the machine was seen to project from the 

 water and he swam over and sat down on it until a row-boat could be sent to 

 it from the uearby power-boat. 



The first thing that the writer saw after looking around him was a news- 

 paper reporter, his boatman expending the utmost limit of his power in push- 

 in- his boat ahead to be the first one to arrive. 



After giving directions to the workmen regarding the recovery of the ma- 

 chine, the writer returned to the house-boat to obtain dry clothing, and although 

 his first inclination was not to make any statement until a complete examina- 

 tion could be made to determine both the cause of the lack of success and also 

 the extent of the damage which had been sustained by the machine, yet owing 

 to the very great pressure brought to bear by the press representatives who 

 said that unless some statement was given out they would write their own 

 conclusions as to the cause of the mishap, he finally gave out the following 

 tement : 



STATEMENT MADE BY MR. MANLY TO ASSOCIATED PRESS 



" Tt must he understood that the test to-day was entirely an experiment, and 

 the firsl of its kind ever made. The experiment was unsuccessful. The bal- 

 ancing, niioii which depends the success of a flight, was based upon the tots 

 of the models and proved to lie incorrect, hut only an actual trial of the full- 

 size machine itself could determine this. My confidence in the future success of 

 the work is unchanged. I can give you no further information. I shall make a 

 formal report to Secretary kangley." 



After recovering the machine the foreman of the workmen (Mr. Reed)' 

 [who together with Mi-. McDonald were the only ones on top of the boat when 

 the launching actually took place], busied himself to discover what had caused 

 the jerk to the machine at the moment it was released, which had been imme 

 diately followed by the great depression of the fronl end. After some Little 

 time he discovered that the uprighl guide at the extreme front of the launch 

 ng car (which, as heretofore stated, was slotted to receive a metal lug project 

 ing from Hie end of the guy-post, and thus prevent the front end of the frame- 



