HOW TO FLY
An aeroplane is supported in the air by its wings. These are placed at a slight angle to the direction in which it goes so that the front edge is slightly higher than the rear edge. This tends to push the air downward and the speed of the aeroplane must be great enough to skim over the air before it has a chance to flow away. You may have had the experience of skating over thin ice which would bend beneath your weight as long as you kept moving, although it would have broken if you remained in one place. This is precisely the same phenomenon, and as the water has not time to flow away underneath from the thin ice so the air is caught under the surfaces of the wings and the machine passes on gathering new air as it goes to support it, faster than the air can flow away. A curved surface is better than a flat one and to find just the proper curve to be most efficient at the speed at which the machine is to fly is a very difficult problem and must be determined by very careful laboratory experiments.
The various flying machines have different ways of accomplishing the control of the rudders for steering to the right or left, and up and down, for a flying machine is different from all other vehicles in this one respect. In addition to the steering, the machine must be balanced, and as the air is the most unstable of all mediums, how to maintain the equilibrium becomes perhaps the most important point in the construction of an aeroplane, as well as the most necessary one for the aviator to master. This is accomplished in various ways and is the characteristic feature of the different machines.
The Curtiss machine is considered one of the simplest of all. When it is remembered that Mr. C. F. Willard, my first pupil, learned to operate a machine with hardly any instruction it would seem that the mere learning to operate should not be a serious obstacle to overcome. If the air is still and there are no wind gusts to strike the machine sideways and upset it, flying is easy, but if the air comes in gusts and is rolling and turbulent even the best and most skilful operator is kept busy manoeuvring the front rudder and endeavouring to keep the machine headed into the wind, and when it tips, moving the side controls to maintain the balance. With all of these movements it is no wonder that the aviator's mind must be active there is no time to think, every movement and act must be absolutely accurate and the body must be under full control.
The operator sits on a small seat just in front of the lower main plane; directly in front of him is a wheel which he can push out or pull back. Pushing the wheel out turns the elevating surfaces so that the machine points down. On the other hand, pulling the wheel toward you points the machine up, causing it to rise higher into the air. Turning the wheel to the right or left steers the machine to the right or left in the same manner as a boat is steered by turning its rudder.
The operator now must consider how to balance the aeroplane. On each side at the extreme outer ends of the machine are placed small horizontal planes so hinged at their front edge that they may be turned up or down. They are connected together in such a manner that when one points up the other points down, thus acting as a "couple"; wires connect these stabilising planes to the movable back of the pilot's seat. This has a yoke which fits over the shoulders of the operator.
When the machine tips to the left the aviator naturally leans to the right or the highest side and the lever is moved to the right by the pressure of the shoulder. This causes the left hand stabilising plane to be pulled down so that it offers its surface at an angle to the wind and exerts a lift on its side while the right hand plane is turned the opposite way, which causes it to exert a depressing effect on its side; this tends to right the machine.
The operator must use his feet also for there is a pedal for the left foot which operates the throttle of the engine, causing it to go faster or slower, and one for the right foot which operates a brake on the front wheel, which helps to stop the aeroplane after it has landed and is running over the ground on its wheels.
THE FIRST STEPS
It is necessary to know every detail of the machine–every bolt, nut and screw, and the purpose each serves in the economy of the whole. It is absolutely essential for the successful aviator to know his motor. The motor is the heart of the aeroplane, and keeping it in good order is just as necessary to the aviator's safety as is the keeping of his own heart strong for any emergency that he may be called to face.