NO. 3 LANU.F.N MHMOIK ox MECHANICAL PLIGHT 281 



Although il was impossible to immediately find funds for actively continu- 

 ing the work, the writer finally, after some delay, persuaded Mr. Langley to 

 allot a small sum from a limited fund which personal friends had some time 

 previously placed al his disposal for use in any experiments lie mighl wish to 

 make. This small sum was used to meel the expense of the workmen who 

 were kept employed long enough to completelj repair I lie main frame so thai, 

 should further experiments he possible at a later time, there would ho no dan- 

 ger of important parts and fittings having been lost in the meantime, and even 

 if uo further experiments were made the frame would he in such condition thai 

 others could profit from an examination of it, the frame itself embodying the 

 solution of many important problems which had cost much time and money. 



In the spring of 1904, after the repairs to the main frame were well under 

 way, the writer on his own initiative undertook to see what could be done to- 

 wards securing for Mr. Langley 's disposal the small financial assistance neces- 

 sary to continue the work; but he found that while a number of men of means 

 were willing to assist in the development of the aerodrome, provided arrange- 

 ments were made for later commercialization, yet none were ready to render 

 the assistance from a desire to assist in the prosecution of scientific work. 

 Many years prior to this Mr. Langley had had some very tempting proposi- 

 tions made to him by certain business men with a view to carrying on the work- 

 in a way that would lead to later commercial development. He had never pat- 

 ented anything previously in his life, and although many friends had urged that 

 it was only proper that he should patent whatever of value had been developed 

 in connection with the aerodromes, he steadfastly refused to do so. He had 

 given his time and his best labors to the world without hope of remuneration, 

 and lie could not bring himself at his stage of life to consent to capitalize 

 his scientific work. Success seemed only a step away, and his age was such 

 that any delay in achieving success increased the probability of his not living 

 to see it, but he maintained positively and resolutely that, if neither the War 

 Department nor others felt sufficient interest in the work to provide the small 

 amount of funds necessary to continue the experiments, and they therefore 

 could be continued only by his giving in and permitting his work to be capi- 

 talized, he would have to deny himself the hope of living to see the machine 

 achieve success. 



The result is well known to all. 



Present Status op the Work 



The completely repaired frame of the large machine is now stored in one 

 of the workshops at the Smithsonian Institution. The large engine, the steam 

 driven models Nos. 5 and 6, and the quarter-size model, driven by the three 



