NoveEMBER 8, 1906| 
MAT ORE 
Fi 
ee) 
believe that a meeting here would be of great value 
for British geodesy, but I told the conference that I 
had no power to give an invitation, which must come 
from the Government. I can only now repeat the 
expression of the hope that the conference may meet 
in this country in 1909. G. H. Darwin. 
THE FIRST “MANNED” FLYING MACHINE. 
bered as a red-letter day in the history of flying 
machines, for it was on that day that the first fly- 
ing machine, constructed on the *‘ heavier than air ”’ 
principle, successfully raised itself and its driver 
from the ground several feet, and transported itself 
by means of its own power over a distance of eighty 
yards. 
In this his first successful flight with this machine, 
M. Santos Dumont is to be sincerely congratulated, | 
for he has accomplished a performance which many 
workers in different parts of the world have been 
striving after for many years past and failed. 
Santos Dumont’s machine is built on the aéroplane 
principle, and mounted on two wheels. It is fitted 
with an eight-cylinder, 60 h.p. motor weighing 
about 170 lb., and drives an aluminium fan, which 
makes 1000 to 1500 revolutions a minute. The 
motor is the work of the Adams Manufacturing 
Company, England. With its driver the machine 
weighs about 750 lb. 
The aéroplane is shaped like a large T placed 
horizontally. The short arms of the T are slightly 
inclined upwards, and are each composed of three 
compartments, like three box-kites tied together side 
by side. At the base of the T is a large compart- 
ment, also like a box-kite, and by manipulating this 
about a horizontal axis the upper and lower surfaces | 
act as a powerful rudder. This rudder arrangement 
is at the front end of the aéroplane, and the operator 
stands on a platform midway between, and nearly 
on a level with, the lower surfaces of the two main 
inclined arms. The driving fan is situated at the 
rear of the machine, just behind the operator, at the 
junction of the two main inclined arms. 
Now that success has rewarded this daring in- 
vestigator, it is of interest to take a cursory glance 
at the steps which ultimately led the way to success. 
One naturally, in the first instance, calls to mind 
the very interesting experiments carried out in 1893 
by Herr Otto Lilienthal near Berlin (Narure, vol. 
xlix., p. 157), because Santos Dumont’s aéroplane is, 
generally speaking, somewhat after the style of the 
gliding machines used by him. Lilienthal’s experi- 
ments were confined to trying to learn soaring, and 
he employed slightly curved wings having a surface 
of about 15 square metres. With these 
planes, and eventually vertical and horizontal 
M. | 
inclined | 
| 
| fan, 
rudders, he started from the top of a hill, and after | 
a few steps forward jumped into the air and glided 
sometimes 250 metres. 
Lilienthal depended for the | 
success of his apparatus on himself, trusting to his | 
instinct to be able to keep his balance by making | 
| of Downing College, Cambridge, who is at present 
the necessary compensating adjustments by moving 
his own centre of gravity. In later experiments he 
employed some mechanical aid to assist him in sus- 
taining himself longer in the air. This consisted of a 
small machine driven by compressed carbonic acid 
gas, and operating a series of feather-like sails which 
were capable of flapping. He found that occasional 
flapping of these wings helped him to cover longer 
distances. 
In 1895 he adopted a new principle, and instead 
of using one large framework, employed two smaller 
NO. 1932, VOL. 75 | 
ones, placed parallel one above the other; this methed 
he found distinctly advantageous (Nature, vol. lili., 
P- 300). 
About this time Lilienthal’s soaring experiments 
began to be taken up both in this country and in 
America. Mr. Percy S. Pilcher in England gained 
considerable experience both in the making and in the 
handling of these aéroplanes (Nature, vol. lvi., 
p- 344). Unfortunately, as in the case of Herr 
| Lilienthal, an accident during his experiments re- 
io) oo 23 of the present year will be remem- | 
sulted in his death. Pilcher, however, was quite 
aware of the importance of using some motive 
power, and some time before his death proposed ta 
employ, and actually began to make, a small and 
light engine, indicating about 4 h.p., to drive a 
this being considered by him as more than 
sufficient for flights of moderate length. With tnis 
advance it was hoped that. much greater distances 
could be covered, and a nearer approximation to a 
flying machine attained. 
There is little doubt that if Pilcher had been spared 
he would soon have constructed and made use of 
the latest and lightest form of motor, and probably 
been led to use the double-decked form of aéroplane 
adopted by Santos Dumont. 
By embodying the best ideas of his predecessors 
and using his own ingenuity to make the aéroplane 
a practical flying machine, Santos Dumont has 
advanced the science of aéronautics a very consider- 
able step. The petrol motor has no doubt helped 
greatly in facilitating this progress, since high- 
powered engines of comparatively very light weight 
can be constructed. 
In this pioneer work of navigating the air the 
work of Hiram Maxim and S. P. Langley must 
not be forgotten. Maxim made numerous attempts 
to drive his flying machine at such a speed that it 
would be lifted off the rails on which it ran, but on 
no occasion could it be said that this was suc¢ééss* 
fully accomplished. Further, it was not known 
whether it would capsize or not if it was set free. 
Langley, on the other hand, was undoubtedly the 
first to demonstrate that a machine heavier than air 
could be made to travel in the air driven by its own 
pewer. The machines he made and launched were 
all ‘* unmanned,’’ but nevertheless much valuable in- 
formation .was accumulated. 
This the latest achievement ot Santos Dumont 
will no doubt give a fresh impetus to the problem 
of flight, and those who have the money and time 
have now before them a successful aéroplane that 
can serve as a starting point. 
THE UNIVERSITY MOVEMENT IN 
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 
x MEETING in support ef the movement for found- 
ing a university in Western Australia was held 
on September 7 at Perth, Western Australia. The 
chair was taken by Dr. J. W. Hackett, and the prin- 
cipal speakers included the chairman, the Right Rev. 
Dr. Riley, Anglican Bishop of Perth, Dr. Hill, master 
lecturing in Western Australia, and the Speaker of 
the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Quinlan. In 1904, 
during the Premiership of Mr. Walter James, 4000 
acres of land in the vicinity of Perth were set apart 
by the Legislative Assembly as a permanent endow- 
ment for the University of Western Australia when 
it should come to be formed. The present income 
from this endowment is practically nil, but its future 
value is likely to be considerable. 
Dr. Hackett in his remarks explained the general 
