NAVIGATING THE AIR 



overcoming the scruples of the mariner against killing 

 the sacred sea-rover, shot one of the birds. On remov- 

 ing a wing and spreading it in the wind he thought that 

 it had a very appreciable tendency to pull forward into 

 the breeze, and tended to rise when the wind was strong. 

 Convinced that by duplicating the shape of the bird he 

 could construct a successful flying-machine, Le Bris set 

 to work and succeeded in producing a most remarkable 

 "air-ship." 



The body of this machine, which was supposed to 

 correspond to the body of the bird, was made boat- 

 shaped, and was about thirteen feet long and four feet 

 wide, being broadest at its prow, in imitation of the 

 breast of the bird. The front part was decked over, 

 something like the bow of the modem torpedo-boat, 

 and through this deck protruded a small mast which 

 was used for supporting the pulleys and cords used in 

 working the machinery of the wings. Each wing was 

 about twenty-five feet long, so that the entire spread of 

 the machine was fifty feet. There was a tail-like 

 structure so hinged that it could be used for steering up, 

 down, and side wise, the total area of surface presented 

 to the atmosphere l^ing something over two hundred 

 square feet, although the entire "albatross" weighed 

 something less than a hundred pounds. 



The front edges of the wings were made of pieces of 

 wood fashioned like the wings of the albatross, and 

 feathers were imitated by a frame structure covered 

 with canton flannel. The front edges of the wings 

 could be given a rotary motion to fix them at any desired 

 angle by an ingenious device worked by two levers. In 



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