“In the spring of 1904, through the kindness of Mr. Torrence Huffman of Dayton, Ohio, we were permitted to erect a shed, and to continue experiments, on what is known as the Huffman Prairie, at Simms Station, eight miles east of Dayton. The new machine was heavier and stronger, but similar to the one flown at Kitty Hawk. When preparations had been completed, a wind of three or four miles was blowing,—insufficient for starting on so short a track,—but since many had come a long way to see the machine in action an attempt was made. To add to the other difficulty, the engine refused to work properly. The machine, after running the length of the track, slid off the end without rising in the air at all. Several of the newspaper men returned the next day, but were again disappointed. The engine performed badly, and after a glide of only sixty feet, the machine came to the ground. Further trial was postponed till the motor could be put in better running condition.
“We had not been flying long in 1904 before we found that the problem of equilibrium had not as yet been entirely solved. Sometimes, in making a circle, the machine would turn over sidewise despite anything the operator could do, although, under the same conditions in ordinary flight, it could have been righted in an instant. In one flight, in 1905, while circling about a honey-locust tree at a height of about fifty feet, the machine suddenly began to turn up on one wing, and took a course toward the tree. The operator, not relishing the idea of landing in a thorn tree, attempted to reach the ground. The left wing, however, struck the tree at a height of ten or twelve feet from the ground, and carried away several branches; but the flight, which had covered a distance of six miles, was continued to the starting point.
“The causes of these troubles—too technical for explanation here—were not entirely overcome till the end of September, 1905. The flights then rapidly increased in length, till experiments were discontinued after the 5th of October.
“A practical flyer having been finally realized, we spent the years 1906 and 1907 in constructing new machines and in business negotiations. It was not till May of this year (1908) that experiments were resumed at Kill Devil Hill, North Carolina. The recent flights were made to test the ability of our machines to meet the requirements of a contract with the United States Government to furnish a flier capable of carrying two men and sufficient fuel supplies for a flight of 125 miles, with a speed of forty miles an hour. The machine used in these tests was the one with which the flights were made at Simms Station in 1905, though several changes had been made to meet present requirements. The operator assumed a sitting position, instead of lying prone, as in 1905, and a seat was added for a passenger. A larger motor was installed, and radiators and gasolene reservoirs of larger capacity replaced those previously used.”
PLATE XXI.
A Complicated Model Capable of Long Flights.
Let us now take a short air journey with one of the Wright Brothers as pilot. He describes the experience as follows, “Let us fancy ourselves ready for the start. The machine is placed on a single rail track facing the wind and is securely fastened with a cable. The engine is put in motion, and the propellers in the rear whirr. You take your seat at the center of the machine beside the operator. He slips the cable, and you shoot forward. An assistant who has been holding the machine in balance on the rail, starts forward with you, but before you have gone fifty feet the speed is too great for him, and he lets go. Before reaching the end of the track the operator moves the front rudder, and the machine lifts from the rail like a kite supported by the pressure of the air underneath. The ground under you is at first a perfect blur, but as you rise the objects become clearer. At a height of one hundred feet you feel hardly any motion at all, except for the wind which strikes your face. If you did not take the precaution to fasten your hat before starting, you have probably lost it by this time. The operator moves a lever; the right wing rises and the machine swings about to the left. You make a very short turn, yet you do not feel the sensation of being thrown from your seat, so often experienced in automobile and railway travel. You find yourself facing toward the point from which you started. The objects on the ground seem to be moving at much higher speed, though you perceive no change in the pressure of wind in your face. You know then that you are traveling with the wind. When you near the starting point, the operator stops the motor while still high in the air. The machine coasts down at an oblique angle to the ground, and after sliding fifty or a hundred feet, comes to rest. Although the machine often lands when traveling at a speed of a mile a minute, you feel no shock whatever, and cannot in fact, tell the exact moment at which it first touched the ground. The motor close beside you kept up an almost deafening roar during the whole flight, yet in your excitement, you did not notice it till it stopped.”
On his return from Le Mans Mr. Wilbur Wright estimated that during a single year he had flown upwards of 3000 miles. With the memory of these marvellous flights in his mind he described his sensations to the present writer with enthusiasm.
“Flying is the greatest sport in the world,” says Mr. Wilbur Wright. “I can’t describe the sensation, I can only define it by comparison with more familiar experiences. It is like sledding, like motoring, like sailing, but with increased exhilaration and freedom.