FLYING MACHINE 



223S 



FLYING MACHINE 



had traveled 852 feet, just nine days after the other venturesome crews abandoned the effort 



last spectacular failure of Langley's aerodrome. at the Azores, after distressing experiences. 



In 1908 the world awoke to the realization Harry Hawker, Australian, and Commander 



that human flying was not, after all, a physical Grieve, Englishman, attempted to beat the 



impossibility. The progress that has been Americans by a direct flight from Newfoundland 



made in the short space since then is astound- to Ireland, but their plane fell in midocean; 



ing. It can best be shown by the following lists they were rescued. To Great Britain is ac- 



of record performances: corded the honor of the first nonstop flight, 



LONGEST FLIGHT WITHOUT STOP 



Time Distance 



1903 Wilbur Wright .' 59 sec - 852 feet 



1904 Wilbur Wright 5 mln - 4 sec - 3 mlles 



1905 Wilbur Wright 38 mln - 



1908 Wilbur Wright 2 nrs - 20 min. 23 sec. 95 miles 



1909 Henri Farman 4 hrs. 17 min. 53 sec. 144 miles 



1910 Maurice Tabuteau 7 nrs - 48 mm - 365 mlles 



1911 Alexandra Fourney 11 hrs. 1 min. 29 sec. (447 miles) 



M. Gob6 46 miles 



1912 A. Fourney 13 hrs - 22 min - (628 mlles ) 



1913 A. Seguin 634 miles 



1814 Reinhold Boehm 24 hrs. 12 min. 1,350 miles 



LONGEST AEROPLANE JOURNEY over nearly the same route that Hawker took, 



1910 Louis Paulhan. London-Manchester, 185 accomplished on June 15. The successful pilots 



1911 Sl^ralth P. Rodgers, New York-Long were Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Ar- 

 Beach, 4,029 miles tnur Brown, who flew the 1,900 miles m sixteen 



hours twelve minutes, maintaining an average 



HEIGHT IN FEET ' 



1908 Wilbur Wright about 360 speed of almost 120 miles per hour. 



1909 Louis Paulhan 1,900-2.000 On July 1 a great dirigible left Scotland for a 



1910 Arch Hoxsey 11,474 nonstop trip to the city of New York, an at- 



1911 Roland Garros 13,94 fai h inte nded to demonstrate the 



1912 Roland Garros 19,032 *~ . 



1913 Georges Legagneux 20,668 feasibility of air passenger service. It reached 



1914 Helnrich Oelrichs .26.246 its destination without mishap, but was slowed 



1919 Captain Lang (American) 30,500 U p m j^g passage by severe winds, and its supply 



MILES PER HOUR of gasoline was nearly exhausted. The great 



1909 Leon Delagrange 50 airship returned after a two-days' visit. 



1910 Alfred Leblanc . . . Aeroplane Types. Until 1916 all the success- 



1911 E. Nieuport 83 " 



1912 Jules Vedrines 108 ful fl y m 8 machines were either biplanes or 



1913 Maurice Prevost 125 monoplanes, but in that year several triplanes 



PAS8ENGERS CARRIED were employed in the War of the Nations, and 



1908 l 1912 : . . 5 one was constructed at the Curtiss factory, in 



1909 2 1913 6 the United States. A biplane, as its name indi- 



19 30 cates, has two parallel planes, which are smooth 



Atlantic Ocean Crossed. Before the War of surfaces of cloth stretched over light, strong 



the Nations scientists discussed the ultimate frames. A monoplane has but one plane, a 



possibility of flying across the ocean. The war triplane, three. Monoplanes have proved 



so speedily perfected the airship that before the speedier than biplanes and are favorites in 



war ended planes existed that could accomplish Europe, but biplanes are claimed by Ameri- 



the feat. During May and June, 1919, the first cans to be steadier and more reliable, 



trips were attempted. Three great American Wright machines are biplanes. Like those 



planes left the vicinity of New York City in of all aeroplanes since Lilienthal's, their planes 



May, in an attempt to reach Europe in a series are arched from front to back to gain the 



of "jumps," stopping at Halifax (540 miles), at greatest lifting power with the least resist- 



Trepassey Bay, Newfoundland (460 miles), at ance to forward progress. The longest edge 



the Azores (1,350 miles), at Lisbon (600 miles), of each plane is the one which "bites" the air. 



then straight to Plymouth, England (775 miles). The distinctive feature of the Wrights' inven- 



One of the three, the NC-4, carrying Lieutenant- tion is their method of maintaining lateral sta- 



Commander A. C. Read and five companions, bility, that .is, of preventing the machine from 



succeeded in reaching England May 27 ; the two tipping to one side or the other. If a gust 



