154 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1908. 



compartment, the question of the surface area of which is an impor- 

 tant one. As in the Santos Dumont type, it is phiced well to the rear 

 of the center of gravity, but it is fixed. It would appear that in this 

 class of machines there is secured perfect automatic stability. There 

 are no lateral oscillations. Even at speeds of 70 kilometers an hour 

 the balance remains perfect, since speed itself enhances the stability. 

 Some experimenters, however, still object that the compartment offers 

 a great resistance to the turning of the machine. 



In this connection I beg leave to recall the following incident : 



Wright is not the only aviator who has made flights with a fellow- 

 passenger. French aviators have carried passengers on several oc- 

 casions. Farman in particular, at Ghent, made a flight of 1 or 2 

 kilometers with M. Archdeacon, vice-president of the Ligue aerienne. 

 At Mourmelon Farman repeated this exploit in company with M. 

 Pajnleve, although in this case, owing to lack of room, M. Painleve 

 hung onto the frame and, as he says, nearly on M. Farman's back. 

 In spite of the abnormal position of the passenger, however, the ma- 

 chine preserved a perfect equilibrium. 



It is much easier to manage this machine than the one whose equi- 

 librium is controlled, since we have here only the front balancing 

 planes and the vertical rudder to manipulate. There are no levers, 

 but a simple automobile steering wheel moving in two directions — one 

 of rotation, which governs the vertical rudder, and a sliding forward 

 and backward in a groove of the whole steering gear to govern the 

 front horizontal rudder. There is nothing to do when sailing straight 

 ahead, and it is necessary to use the balancing planes only to rise. 

 To descend, one slows the engine. 



This is a theoretical demonstration. In actual practice those who 

 have managed these machines have certainly evidenced great coolness 

 and have accomplished a very delicate task. The delicacy of the 

 task is caused chiefly by the poor action of our present-day motors. 

 ■ As soon as the ideal motor is attained the French aviators may secure 

 as satisfactory results as the Americans. It is hardly probable that 

 we shall witness any agreement between the two schools of aviators. 

 In fact, those who favor governed equilibrium have realized a machine 

 whose flight is analogous to that of a bird, while those who prefer 

 automatic equilibrium are arriving nearer the form of flight of an 

 arrow. Each class of experimenters has striven toward a different 

 ideal, and each has secured a satisfactorj^ result. One class should 

 not be criticised to the detriment of the other, but both should be 

 praised without reserve. 



The Wrights and the Voisin brothers are not the only aviators, for 

 to-day in France they are so numerous that it is impossible here to 

 name them all. New experimenters come to the front daily, each 

 filled with laudable enthusiasm. Certain names, however, force them- 



