| Show Aviation If iii i Wb o ir a. a s ss P 4 1 r a g c 1 rB fl 74 FAltZ 1 u n an aa woo I ro o r h r 4 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON WATSO m seventeenth of December of this flits year marks the twenty twenty fifth of one of the most Important Important tant dates In the history of ot mankind mun man E kind for It Is the anniversary of ot the first successful flight I ht In fn a pow pow- operated er airplane In recognition J of or the Importance of this event fife trie United States government go hits has sponsored upon upon- g D nored an on International Civil Aero- Aero conference In Washington to which Uncle Bum Sam has r representatives of ot M LS nations to come and help him honor one of ot his sons lions of ot whom he Is justly proud Wilbur proud Wilbur V Wright right the pioneer o of American aviation This silver s Jubilee celebration which Uncle Sam has bas arranged for tor this month recalls recoils the epochal achl achievement of ot two young Ohio brothers who realized the dream of ot mankind for tor centuries and startled the world with the news that on onI I December 17 1003 1101 at nt Kitty Itty Hawk wk N N. C. C they had hod made malle a successful stul fil flight ht In a n power power driven driven airplane What If the night flight lasted only twelve seconds and the distance covered W was ll only 1 feet The fact remained that they accomplished what others hn hart had failed to do and there and then they laid the tho foundations for tor n a development In Ina ina a ft new activity Ity by man which In the comparatively comparative comparative- ly Ily short time of ot twenty five years has hns become one of the greatest of ot modern miracles To understand the Importance of the tho achievement achievement achieve achieve- ment of ot Wilbur and Orvllle Orville Wright It will be helpful to go o far back Into history Early stories of ot flights belong In the tile realm of ot pure legend There Is the fiction of who was said to have flown from Crete where he had been In in prison for tor revealing rc the secrets of ot the tho Laby It has hns beep pointed out that his was probably probably probably ably the first attempt to adopt sails In 10 Greek waters and the astonished Cretans mistook for tor wings the first salts sails which they thy beheld Hut But a flying model In Imitation of ot a dove made of ot wood and made to fly by regulated mechanics Is II said sold to J have ave been constructed prior to It D. C. C and Ith the satires of ot published In 10 II n 10 0 c. c ridiculed the various means menns which had been suggested to enable men and ships to soar through the Ule air which shows that the Idea of ot flying was fairly common then During the reign of ot Emperor Nero the scientists endeavored ored to build ionic come machine machine ma mn- chine which would conquer the tho air In 1070 1670 Francisco Lana an en Italian Jesuit published published pub pub- a n study on the physical properties of air far In advance of ot the general knowledge of his time He lie proposed a vessel suspended from four tour hollow i-hollow copper globes globe from which the air was to tobe tobe tobe be evacuated o by filling flying them with water and then allowing water to run out through a ft pipe 81 31 t feet t long but concluded That God shall never neter allow such a machine to be successful In practice and added for tor who does docs not see that no city would be surprise as a 0 ship could descend at any hour from the very most places anI and from It Issue men Intent on ruin What appears to be he the first authentic record of ot an aerial trip was that of ot 1783 when a Frenchman French French- man named Rosier Hosler took a trip In a n balloon built I 1 by two friends the They filled a 8 large cloth bug bag with hot air and attached to It Ita Ita ita a tire fire pot IlOt to keep a continuous supply of ot air In Inthe Inthe inthe the balloon and sent It up with animate animals as ns the first passengers When the animals came come down alive Roster Hosier enthusiastically offered himself as the first man human passenger He lie finally did succeed in getting up Ul and Is reputed to be the first man who ever er took a trip Into the air That was Will the beginning of ot what Is now known as lighter tighter than air craft crat One of ot the first recorded record Id I'd attempts to build a R heavier ler than air flying machine which would lift I Itself without the use of ot gas gal was mode made In 1 1500 by br bythe bythe the artist Leonardo da Vinci He ne made malle several small email models and Is reputed to have gotten some of ot them In the air In 1842 two I Englishmen named and Hanson Hnnson built a model that resembled closely closel some somo of ot our monoplanes monoplanes mono mono- planes It was driven by a one cylinder steam engino en gino and n getting Into the air B lI lIcause Dp cause of ot lack of ot money the Enl Englishmen never I got got t tart farther her than this After this little progress was made mad for tor a long longtime Ion longtime time until the Wright and Langley In America I Millennial lenthal In Germany and one or two French Frenchmen men started their experiments with gliders and li it liI itI I was from these glider experiments that the practical prato trial airplane evolved evoh These experiments de dl developed fe principles which made It possible to con roD control trot on nn airplane In flight that Is II to keep It stable Daring Durin this period a power driven machine was developed by Dr Or Samuel Samueli P P. P Langley In 1891 1591 IJ He lie made several models for tor which power was furnished furnished fur fur- by rubber bands II Ht lIt finally succeeded In constructing a power plant big enough to rive a n full tull size plane but the machine crashed Is In to o the 1 Potomac river during ltd Its test In to September 1003 1903 Langle was ridiculed for the crash of his hll flying machine which has since been proved to have ha-e been capable of ot flight People leople scorned him and he died dieda a failure only to be granted his recognition In another decade On December 17 11 1003 1903 a queer queer looking contraption tion called a flying machine and made by two unknowns Orville Orvllle and Wilbur Wllbur Wright was pushed onto a runway at lit Kitty Hawk N. N C. C The Wright brothers ba hail had been experimenting with aeronautics for tor years rears and tl the tI t flights of ot their 1 k t 1 V O y s r his x J i c an aa glider In 1002 1902 convinced con them of ot the efficiency of or their system of ot maintaining equilibrium Before Before Be nee fore tore they left their camp rami at nt 1 Kitty Hawk In 1002 1902 they were at nt work on the general design of a aneW anew anew new machine which they proposed to operate with engine driven propellers Unable to get the type of ot engine they wanted they built their own Finally Final Final- ly Iy the engine and the airplane were assembled Endless difficulties ensued When It came time for tor the first trial the brothers broth broth- ers era tossed a coin to see who vho would fly the plane Wilbur won The first flight ended when the airplane airplane air air- plane climbed a few tew feet stall stalled ell and then settled to the tile ground slightly damaged The plane was fl repaired for tor the second attempt which proved pro to tobe tobe tobe be the first successful flight of a man In a heavier heavier- than than machine Wilbur having used his chance In the unsuccessful unsuccessful unS a attempt on the fourteenth the right to the next trial belonged to to Orvllle Orville The engine was heated up and the wire that flint held beld the machine to the track was released The machine started forward for for tor ward into the wind Wilbur ran at the side holdIng holdIng holding hold- hold Ing the wing to balance It on the track The craft faced a mile 27 wind The lute machine lifted from the ground after otter a R foot 40 run and the course of ot the first flight was erratic due to Irregularity Irregularity Ir Ir- regularity of ot the air anI and partly to lack Inck of ot experience ence In handling this machine The control of the front was difficult on account of ot Its lis being balanced too near neur the center This gave ga It n a tendency to turn Itself when started so that It turned too far on one side and the then too far tar on the other As a 0 result the machine would rise suddenly to about ten feet and then ns nl suddenly dart for tor the ground A sudden dart when a 0 little over o a hundred ft feet et from the end of ot the track or a little over over lW feet from the point at which It rose Into the air ended the flight As All the velocity of ot wind was over o 3 35 t feet t per second and the speed of the machine over the ground against this wind 10 feet teet per second the speed of ot the machine relative to th the theair sir air was wal over 43 45 feet per second and the length th of ot the flight was equivalent to a flight of ot 5 10 40 ft feet et made in calm air This flight lasted only twelve seconds but it was nevertheless ne the first In the history of ot the world In which a machine carrying a man had raised Itself by Its own o power pO Into the theair theair air In full flight had salted sailed forward without reduction reduction re rl of ot speed and had finally landed at a II point as high as that from which It started That vas as twenty five years ears ago ngu Aviation developed developed de dl slowly despite the pioneers who saw It Its possibilities Unless a 8 world war had developed It Is probable that aviation a today tollay would be In the doldrums Previous to 1914 when the l Europeans at war were striving to develop the airplane IIa asa us II usa a weapon of destruction the aviation enthusiasts enthusiast were few tew The war forced the airplane to the front after It had hibernated for eleven years tars following the historic flight of ot the Wright plane plant The aircraft of ot 1913 was but little different from that of ot 1903 1003 In 1910 the American navy had only one airplane under the charge of a lieutenant lieu tenant who was the army's air force forre pilot ground squad quod and ami mechanic But Dut the World war showed the possibilities oftie ot of the tie airplane and ond when hen peace pence came the airplane began lIgan to be de developed eloped as on an Instrument of peace lea and commerce The effect of the World con conflict lct m n the development of ot civil aviation In the United States was wal profound Many lany new aircraft factories factories fac tnt tories had tx been en built hundreds of ot aeronautical engineers and designers were given I en an In opportunity opportunity to demonstrate their skill pilots were taught to fly nearly 1000 planes were wen manufactured scores of ot thousands thousand of artisans became skilled In aircraft production all of ot which created a personnel and material out of which was as to develop the post post war aviation which differs so 80 widely from European civil develop develop- ment With peace peare no Inconsiderable percentage of ot those who had been engaged in the manufacture ture of ot aircraft or trained as pilots became berame actively Interested In the civil possibilities As a result America today Is doing a prodigious amount of ot civil flying A great grent transcontinental system of ot air mall mail express and passenger service sere ice rapidly growing has been in actual operation for tor two years air service operators ore are flourishIng flourishIng flourishing flourish- flourish Ing In hundreds of ot cities executives are fl flying their own airplanes aIrplanE'S In the conduct of d dully illy business more than a R thousand airports are In existence and the manufacturing Industry Is II behind be be- bind hind on Its orders While the public is best familiar with the airplane as al a mall express and passenger carrier It Is used In la a wide variety of ot pursuits such as nl aerial photography airplane dusting of ot crops crop forest patrol work scientific studies aerial ads advertising adver oder er- er geographical study spotting schools of ot fish observing traffic congestion searching for tor lost persons surveying map making representation of ot properties engineering surveys carrying sup aup- plies piles to Inaccessible regions region first aid to devastated de cities and In to many other ways There are now 17 11 air r mall companies operating 23 lines iines with Important additional routes scheduled scheduled sched sched- for tor early operation The mall mail planes are ure flying dying now at nt the rate of ot wore more than miles mills a n year ear and In ID 1929 1920 wI will fly more than 10 miles a I year The mat mai planes are flying 04 nt per cent of or the total mileage scheduled f and that record Includes night flying In b bath bah h dire over oer miles of lighted The air mall planes planE'S now traverse erse 37 31 states with scheduled stops Planes flying United States ninth mall this year ear will w fly more moro than half halt as ns much muchas us liS the total mileage flown by mall express and andIa Ia passenger ener planes In Europe Europ The Post lost Office Onice department deportment predicts That within two years ears every eity elty of ot will willbe willlie lie Ie on an air mall and transport rout route That soon mall mail planes will carry 1000 pounds of ot mall dally daily That 1000 pounds of ot aIr mall will be a n rural load had That within five years all nil class first 19 mall between be he- tween cities will be he carried by airplane That the planes will carry mall clerks clerk who with will 11 ort sort the mall while the plane Is In transit Others point out that the air mall mail lines will soon coon on be he extended to South America Already we have hn foreign lines to British h Columbia eastern Canada Mexico ClI City and a n contract has been belo let lei for a 8 route rout to the Panama Canal anal zone with a possible extension to Dutch Guiana Untied States StuttS Department of ot Commerce scouts are now flow working on air Tines lines to Latin America knowing that this speedy transportation will give America i t real trade trolle advantage over r Europe Europe- In tn addition to the air mall mileage the air er services fer have expanded rapidly In reent reent re- re ent tnt months The Pacific coa coast t area with Its great greut distances between cities took the lend Iad In providing provid- provid Ing dally dolly air service Some of the Important Im Im- passenger strictly lines now In operation Include tho those e from San Francisco ro to Los tos An Angles Angeles lles which makes the trip In three hou hours Los tos Angeles to Sun Son Diego Oo In 70 iO 0 minutes Io Los ios Angeles eles to Phoenix Arts Ariz in three hour hours Los Jos Angeles to Salt Snit Lake Inke In SIx t-Ix hours while there Is n a regU regular lr passenger service from Ios Los Angeles to Seattle u a distance negotiated In 11 u ball hours In the Middle West regular dally daily passenger er service ervice Is provided pro between the Twin Cities and Chicago O l argo o and the Twin Cities o and Cleveland Cle Chicago and aM St. St t Louis and Chi Detroit ago alo Cleveland and Chicago to Omaha motored Trl l 1 passenger planes plane ne ate now v Ing lag from San an I Iran isco to Chico Chicago go a flight of ot CO 20 hours Uy lIy June 1920 1929 HJ It will with be he pom to fly In larl large motored tri planes equipped with null pull man berths from New ew York Vork to the Pacific co const coast t Such Is ls the record to which this lusty youth American Aviation A can ran point on en Ith Ih tk twenty fifth birthday And all of ot this amazing development elo grew out of ot a II 12 second 1 foot toot foot flight ht by Oreille and Wilbur Wright at Kitty Hawk N N. C en cn December Do- Do cember 17 11 |
