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i N HIS NEWP NEGATE THE AIRWASHINGTON

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Two years ago I ws about toplace a motor on an aeroplanewhen in an experiment of towingtheaeroplane as a kite by an automobile the aeroplane collapsedand I fell from the height of 100feet This accident caused a su spension of my experiments

withheavierthanair flying machinesuntil the present time Peelingconfident that the model I de-sign d two years ago ears fly determined me to begin constructionwork again Such resolution isgeneral avid requires no enthusiatm for aeronautics to comprebend

gDefrayed All Expenses Himself

The expenses were overcomeby my own efforts for appeals tothe Carnegie Institute the

Institution and H numberof wealthy men I knew have beenunsuccessful except in the case oftwo personal friends Will CBarnes and Charles E Miller whoeach voluntarily suacribed 10 toward the project The initialmoney to start was gained by thesale of a magazine and a news-paper story on aeronautics Thiswas expended in the purchase ofbamboo cloth and wire The la-borquestion was sonic trouble fora while as the sum on hand wasnot sufficient to pay for the hireofmechanics

Looking however from thestandpoint ofmy own enthusiasmI came to the conclusion that therewere some workmen who wouldoffer their help freely and I seeured their services through an ad-vertisement in the Washington papers There was a plumber sev-eral carpenters two machinistsfrem the Navy Xrdan electrician a telephone wireman a telegraph operator andsome college students All ofthese worked well and devotedsuch timeas they could sparefromtheir ordinary occupations

the expectation ofany rewardother than the hop of the prac-tical development of the subjectsOf course here stood in all ofovrminds the intangible hope of thereward which would be ours to di-vide in the cause of a successfulflight of the aeroplane These as-sistants were P L L LKendall A L afeMilJaji J AICilHnger M WhittingtonMaehinante N W Springer WillHolmes Franly Kelly a n d H SLa Due

A workshop was secured in therear of l18 L street northwest

Vahing n

Rice 1

Joseph

tt

Smith-sonian

with-out

The plan of the flying raawas drawn and laid before the

in length 22 feeY aXrw44 feet high The first step wastherefore to inal poles 2SJ Q

length which was done by join-ing two 18foot bamboo polO athe butt end and in oj

tIle extra length or by overlappingthe small ends until the length ofthe joined sticks was 22 feetAn equal number of each varief

were made The bamboo stickswere bound together by makinga hole in them oneeighth of airinch in diameter through which aheavy piece of annealed wire wasrun aa the ends twisted tightlytogether

The 1 nno is

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The United Sthtes War Depart-ment had caVed for bidson aeroplane and one of theirrequirements i that tl aeroplanebe capable ofbeing

transported inarmy wagons To comply withthis epcoificatlon it Woo decided

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e

to-

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build theaeroplane in five sectionseach 4 feet high feetlong 2ZVIs feet long

five of these sections to

gether forms the completed ia-ehine There are three setssuporpoeed surface with dihedral

aDd

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taching

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oblique rudders or plaices be-tween the upper nnd Tower

which rudders form thesystem of control of its equilib

rium These scsis of surfaces orearranged tandem fashion with aspace betwejp There is a verticalrudder in the rear to turn to theright or The open space be

tween t e sets of surfacesgives ai matte equilibrium to thewhile the dihedral

Jilt

era

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sur-

faces

Framework of Ludlow Aeroplane

angle rudders and planes insurelateral equilibrium

Tie question of equilibrium isofthe utmost importance and onewhich I assert is solved by thisform of construction Twenty orthirty times an aeroplane like thiswan sent up as a kite carrying aman and in every instance was itsstability satisfactory

The accident I had In Floridawas caused by the breaking ofmaterial afault which is

in this machine The work is Jin

ished installing and testing the

motor is now being done and then

the machine wiJl fly Its speedwill be between thirty and fortymiles anhour

Jfaylgatlon of the Air

From Mongolfler to Santosmont is embraced the wholetory of navigation of the air

Designers of airships haveranged themselves into

Continued on flacond

rem a

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