REPORT
Experiments with working models which were concluded August 8 last having proved the principles and calculations on which the design of the Langley aerodrome was based to be correct, the next step was to apply these principles to the construction of a machine of sufficient size and power to permit the carrying of a man, who could control the motive power and guide its flight, thus pointing the way to attaining the final goal of producing a machine capable of such extensive and precise aerial flight, under normal atmospheric conditions, as to prove of military or commercial utility.
Mr. C. M. Manly, working under Prof. Langley, had, by the summer of 1903, succeeded in completing an engine-driven machine which under favorable [p277] atmospheric conditions was expected to carry a man for any time up to half an hour, and to be capable of having its flight directed and controlled by him.
The supporting surface of the wings was ample, and experiment showed the engine capable of supplying more than the necessary motive power.
Owing to the necessity of lightness, the weight of the various elements had to be kept at a minimum, and the factor of safety in construction was therefore exceedingly small, so that the machine as a whole was delicate and frail and incapable of sustaining any unusual strain. This defect was to be corrected in later models by utilizing data gathered in future experiments under varied conditions.
One of the most remarkable results attained was the production of a gasoline engine furnishing over fifty continuous horse-power for a weight of one hundred and twenty pounds.
The aerodrome, as completed and prepared for test, is briefly described by Prof. Langley as “built of steel, weighing complete about seven hundred and thirty pounds, supported by one thousand and forty feet of sustaining surface, having two propellers driven by a gas engine developing continuously over fifty brake horse-power.”
The appearance of the machine prepared for flight was exceedingly light and graceful, giving an impression to all observers of being capable of successful flight.
On October 7 last everything was in readiness, and I witnessed the attempted trial on that day at Widewater, Va., on the Potomac. The engine worked well and the machine was launched at about 12.15 p. m. The trial was unsuccessful because the front guy-post caught in its support on the launching car and was not released in time to give free flight, as was intended, but on the contrary, caused the front of the machine to be dragged downward, bending the guy-post and making the machine plunge into the water about 50 yards in front of the house-boat. The machine was subsequently recovered and brought back to the house-boat. The engine was uninjured and the frame only slightly damaged, but the four wings and rudder were practically destroyed by the first plunge and subsequent towing back to the house-boat. This accident necessitated the removal of the house-boat to Washington for the more convenient repair of damages.
On December 8 last, between 4 and 5 p. m., another attempt at a trial was made, this time at the junction of the Anacostia with the Potomac, just below Washington Barracks.