Читать книгу The Story of American Aviation - Jim Ray - Страница 8

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The story of the heavier-than-air machines that flew really begins in the United States in the early 1890’s. Octave Chanute, born in France and reared in America, was one of the first men to make a scientific approach to the problem of flying machines. A thorough scientist, he had followed the progress of all flight experiments the world over. He built gliders with one, two, and even five pairs of wings and tested all of them on the sand dunes of Lake Michigan. His most successful glides were made with a biplane glider. In 1894, he published a book called Progress of Flying Machines, which covered all the efforts of men like himself who had experimented with man-carrying gliders and flying machines. This book, without doubt, was responsible for bringing to this country the honor of being the birthplace of the first successful, man-carrying, power-driven, flying machine. A copy of Octave Chanute’s book fell into the hands of two ambitious and enterprising young bicycle makers of Dayton, Ohio—Orville and Wilbur Wright.

At the time when Octave Chanute was experimenting with his gliders on the Michigan sand dunes, another aviation pioneer was hard at work in his laboratory in Washington, D. C. This man was Professor Samuel Pierpont Langley, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. In this position he had the opportunity to pursue his studies in the aëronautical side of physics.

After much study and experimentation, he succeeded in building a tiny, steam-powered model which flew for six seconds. Langley was so much encouraged by the performance of his first model that he built a larger one. This model, weighing 26 pounds and powered with a one-horsepower steam engine, made a flight of three thousand feet in 1896.

After this flight Professor Langley felt that he had proved his theory of flight. The public became interested and the government appropriated $50,000 for Langley’s use in the construction of a full-size airplane.

Langley built his plane without much difficulty, but could not find anyone to make an engine large enough for it. Finally, Charles Manley, an expert engineer, asked for permission to build the engine. Manley’s engine was a five-cylinder, radial gasoline engine that developed 51 horsepower and was far ahead of its time. It was years before American radial engines were used successfully in airplanes.

Professor Langley called his machine the Aerodrome, and by October, 1903, the plane was ready for its test flight, with Manley to guide it. The Aerodrome was to be launched from a catapulting platform built on the roof of a houseboat. The houseboat was anchored on the Potomac River near Washington. As it left the platform the machine crashed into the river, and the trial was a dismal failure. The newspapers and the public ridiculed Langley, but he and Manley, who was unhurt in the crash, repaired the machine for another trial. This test took place on December 8, 1903, and again the Aerodrome crashed into the river. Manley once more escaped injury, but Langley and the government were abused by the public for wasting money. Langley was out of money himself, the government could not furnish funds for further trials, so the experiments were ended. The professor, discouraged and brokenhearted, gave up.