THE TRIUMPH OF THE AEROPLANE 



had, indeed, lifted itself and its passengers, but it sailed 

 imguided through the air, and it could in no sense be 

 said to have made a flight comparable to that of a bird 

 or a bat. The Wright machine, on the other hand, 

 progressed through the air under guidance of its pass- 

 enger, rising or settling, or turning to right or left as he 

 wished. Its progress constituted, in other words, a 

 veritable flight. 



Yet the problem of perfectly controlled flight under 

 all ordinary conditions was by no means completely 

 mastered. The principle was correct, but there were 

 endless details to be worked out. The embodiment 

 of these is the Wright flying-machine of the present time. 



In the Wright aeroplane the lifting power is obtained 

 by two parallel horizontal planes of canvas stretched 

 over retaining-frames, placed with their long diameters 

 transversely to the direction of flight, as in the case of 

 the wings of a bird. At a little distance, in front of 

 these, are placed two horizontal parallel rudders, and 

 at the back two parallel vertical rudders. The machine 

 is moimted on huge skids, which resemble giant sled- 

 runners in shape, but lighter and more flexible, and is 

 driven by two wooden-bladed propellers not unlike 

 some of the types of ship-propellers. For stability in 

 flight under all kinds of atmospheric conditions this 

 machine has shown itself to be a true flying-machine, 

 capable of navigating the air in any direction at the 

 will of the operator, and remaining in flight a length 

 of time dependent entirely upon the amount of fuel 

 carried. 



The stability of this machine, particularly in a 

 [291] 



