Otto Lilienthal about to Take Flight.
The aëroplane is mounted on two wheels, placed at the front of the frame and a vertical strut at the rear, thus reversing the arrangement of the Antoinette. This adjustment works well in practice, and the Santos Dumont holds the record for rising from the ground in the shortest distance. It has risen in six and a quarter seconds after traveling only 230 feet. The area of its wings is only 110 square feet and its propeller consisting of double wooden blades measures only six feet three inches in diameter. It carries a 30 H. P. motor.
The R. E. P. monoplane, the name being formed by the initials of its inventor, Robert Esnault-Pelterie, is an experiment along new lines. Its inventor believes that the wires and struts of the monoplane in vibrating, offer considerable resistance to the air and seriously retard its forward movement. His monoplane has, therefore, been constructed practically without stays, wires, or rods. The monoplane is graceful in form, light and compact, although somewhat expensive to build.
The main frame of the airship is made of steel girders with a broad surface and tapering to a sharp edge at the bottom. It is covered completely with cloth, thus forming a vertical stability plane of considerable area. The motor and propeller are carried at the front of the frame, while the pilot’s seat is fixed inside the frame, just back of the machinery.
The main planes have a span of thirty-five feet six inches. They extend from either side of the frame, and taper slightly toward their outer edges. Two large rudders are carried at the rear of the frame. The vertical rudder for horizontal steering is attached to an extension of the main frame and the horizontal rudder projects from the end at a higher level. A fixed vertical stability plane or fin extends along the main frame back of the pilot’s seat. The warping of the plane and the control of both rudders is accomplished by levers placed convenient to the pilot’s hand.
The R. E. P. model, alone among the aëroplanes, is equipped with a four blade propeller. It measures six feet six inches in diameter, and is driven at the speed of 1400 revolutions per minute. The speed of the craft is remarkable since it has flown for short distances at the rate of forty-seven miles an hour. Its weight, 780 pounds, is not unusual.
An entirely new idea has been introduced in mounting this model. It rests upon only two wheels, one at the front, the other at the end of the central frame. Wheels are also attached to the outer edges of the main plane. When at rest, the model tilts over to one side or the other and rests on one of these wheels. Once the motor has been started, the machine quickly rights itself, as the speed increases, and runs along on two wheels.
CHAPTER VII
AERIAL WARFARE
THE boys who turn these pages may some day read of aërial battles fought high above the earth, and some may even take part in them. Air-ships are even now included in the navies of nineteen nations. There is great difference of opinion among experts whether the balloon or aëroplane will prove the better fighting machine, but, meanwhile, aëronautical corps and regiments are being recruited, formidable navies of air-ships are being laid down, and special guns are being built to battle against them.