Copyright, 1911, by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.
The Monoplane Model Complete
"A Model Aeroplane, Decorated with Silk Flags Would Give a Great Deal More Pleasure Than Firing off All the Fire Crackers in the State"
On the following evening, Jessie did not forget to remind her father of his promise to tell them all about "air-ships and things," as she put it.
"All right, my dear," said Mr. Gregg, "I'll take you all into the 'lion's den' shortly after tea. But tell me, why is it you are so anxious to know all about 'air-ships and things'?"
"Oh! that's all right, papa; Fred is going to build a great big ship, as soon as he knows how, and he has promised to take me up to the clouds in it for a ride."
"Well, my dear, it will take some time to tell you all about these things but I will make an attempt. For ages man has wanted to fly, and the Greeks tell us of a mythical personage named Icarius, and another named Dædalus, who flew to the sun. There have been many attempts to fly, both with and without mechanical aid, but history gives us nothing definite on the subject until about the year 1785, when two Frenchmen, named Montgolfiers, built a balloon sixty feet high and forty-three feet in diameter, and filled it with heated air. Attached to the bottom was a light cage made of wicker-work, into which were placed a lamb, a duck, and a rooster. The balloon was cut from its moorings and rose to a height of over 1,400 feet so that these animals were the first that ever went up in a machine made by hands.
"The Montgolfiers attained considerable notoriety, and out of their experiments grew the present dirigible Zeppelin, which measures 446 feet in length, over 42 feet in diameter, and is capable of carrying eight able-bodied men a distance of over 900 miles. This great machine is charged with gas, and driven by four three-bladed propellers, which are run by two gas engines of 110 horse-power. This is simply a monster balloon, suspended in the air by 529 to 700 cubic feet of hydrogen, or coal gas, which is much lighter than ordinary air.
"It may be said there are four distinct kinds of flying machines, each unlike the other in construction and in principle. The first is the old-fashioned balloon which has an envelope or covering of some air-tight fabric, and is inflated with a light gas. To it is attached a framework of some kind called a Nacelle, that carries the aviator, the steering gear, and the necessary engines to operate the propeller or propellers.