Engine troubles are much fewer than they used to be, and a more dependable form of motor relieves the mind of the aviator from such mental disturbance. Some device in the line of a wind-shield would be a real boon, for even in the best weather there is the ceaseless rush of air into one’s face at 45 to 50 miles an hour. The endurance of this for hours is of itself a tax upon the most vigorous physique.
With the passing of the present spectacular stage of the art of flying there will doubtless come a more reliable form of machine, with corresponding relief to the operator. Automatic mechanism will supplant the intense and continual mental attention now demanded; and as this demand decreases, the joys of flying will be considerably enhanced.
If, when pursuing a straight course, the aeroplane is tilted by a sideways wind (b), the action of the pendulum as described above restores it to an even keel, as in (a).
Diagrams showing action of Marmonier gyroscopic pendulum.
Chapter IX.
FLYING MACHINES: HOW TO BUILD.
Santos-Dumont’s gift—La Demoiselle—Mechanical skill required—Preparatory practice—General dimensions—The frame—The motor—The main planes—The rudder-tail—The propeller—Shaping the blades—Maxim’s experience—The running gear—The controls—Scrupulous workmanship.
When Santos-Dumont in 1909 gave to the world the unrestricted privilege of building monoplanes after the plans of his famous No. 20—afterward named La Demoiselle—he gave not only the best he knew, but as much as any one knows about the building of flying machines. Santos-Dumont has chosen the monoplane for himself because his long experience commends it above others, and La Demoiselle was the crowning achievement of years spent in the construction and operation of airships of all types. In view of Santos-Dumont’s notable successes in his chosen field of activity, no one will go astray in following his advice.
Of course, the possession of plans and specifications for an aeroplane does not make any man a skilled mechanic. It is well to understand at the start that a certain degree of mechanical ability is required in building a machine which will be entirely safe. Nor does the possession of a successful machine make one an aeronaut. As in the case of bicycling, there is no substitute for actual experience, while in the airship the art of balancing is of even greater importance than on the bicycle.