“ One noted aviator who has the reputation of being a most conservative and expert operator, while endeavoring to land within a set space, made too sudden a turn, which resulted in the tail of the machine giving way, precipitating him to the ground. In fact, the number of failures resulting from abrupt turns shows conclusively that there is too small a factor of safety in the construction, not because the added weight could not be carried, but because the extreme lightness alone made possible the stunts for which there is always applause or financial reward. ”

“ ART OF FLYING Knowledge of the science of aeronautics and ability to fly are two totally different things. Long-continued study of the problem from its scientific side enabled the Wright Brothers to learn how to build a machine that would fly, but it did not teach them how to fly with it. That came as the result of persistent attempts at flying itself. A study of the theoretic laws of balancing does not form a good foundation for learning how to ride a bicycle—practice with the actual machine is the only road to success. ”

“ It is an easy matter to lose one's bearings in the air, not only because the vehicle is completely immersed in the medium in which it is traveling, but also because the earth assumes a new aspect from the seat of an aeroplane. ”

“ When turning in a wind, two velocities must be borne in mind, that of the machine relative to the air and that relative to the earth. The former is limited at its lower value to that of the flying speed of the machine, and the latter must be considered on account of the momentum of the machine as a whole. Change of momentum is a matter of horse-power and weight and is the governing factor in flying in a wind on a circular course. Suppose the flying speed of a machine is a minimum of 30 miles an hour relative to the air, and a wind of 20 miles an hour is blowing. ”

“ There is a feeling of exhilaration but very little of motion. Whereas 40 miles an hour over the ground, particularly in an automobile, brings with it a lively appreciation of the speed of travel, the same speed in an aeroplane is a very gentle motion when high above the ground. If there be no objects close at hand, with which to compare the speed, the sense of motion is almost entirely lost.
Center of Gravity. The static balance of a machine should be carefully tried before commencing to fly, and particularly that of a biplane of the Wright type, in which the aviator sits behind the engine. ”

“ In other words, the aviators had not fully complied with the cardinal principle for success in flying upon which the Wright Brothers have always laid so much stress, i.e., you must first learn to fly before you can attempt to go aloft safely. Nothing short of a thorough mastery of the machine can suffice to give the aviator the ability to do the right thing at the right moment, in the great majority of cases. There will always be occasions when even the most skilled aviator will make errors of judgment and frequently they cost him his life. ”

“ Any flying machine without a motor is a glider and the latter is the basis of the successful aeroplane. In the building of an aeroplane the first thing constructed is the glider, i.e. the frame, main planes, stabilizing planes, elevators, rudders, etc. It is only by the installation of motive power that it becomes a flying machine. The biplane will be found the most satisfactory type of glider as it is more compact and therefore more easily handled, which is of great importance for practicing in a wind. ”

“ Although the dihedral angle is considered wasteful of power, it seems to do more to secure inherent stability than any other device. Devices for maintaining stability automatically are to be frowned upon in the present state of the art. The sensitive perception and quick response which come with intimate knowledge of a machine's peculiarities, are at present worth more than gyroscopes and pendulums. To acquire this intimate knowledge, the aviator must familiarize himself thoroughly with the machine; he must become so accustomed to controls that he and the machine are literally one. ”

“ Every exhibition field is obstructed by fences, posts, buildings, and the like, and to avoid coming in contact with these, as well as with the irrepressible spectator, the aviator should certainly have an effective means of bringing the machine to a standstill when it is running along the ground. How much more so is this necessary for cross-country flying when the choice of a landing place is a difficult matter at best. Ability to come to a stop quickly would make it possible to land in restricted places where only a very limited run along the ground could be had. ”

“ If it be your ambition to build a flying machine and you believe that you have discovered something new of value, it will be to your interest to retain a responsible patent attorney to advise you as to the prior art, before expending any money on its construction. You will find it very much more economical in the end. There are probably not more than half a dozen men alive in this country today who "know all the schemes that won't work." ”

“ It is easy to lose one's way in the air. For that reason it is best to follow the Wright idea of starting out with a definite plan, and of landing in some predetermined spot, as aimless wandering about may prove disastrous to the inexperienced aviator, he may forget which way the wind was blowing, or how much fuel he had, or the character of the ground beneath him. Should the motor stop, he may make an all too hasty decision in landing. ”

“ Still, the fact that in a city like New York the truck and the trolley car are responsible for an annual death roll more than twice as large as that caused by the automobile, does not call for any particular mention. Horses and wagons, we have always had with us, and the trolley car long since became too commonplace an institution around which to build a sensation. ”

“ Only too often, no effort whatever is made to get beyond theory and the machine is an experiment in every sense of the word. An experience of this nature is costly—far more so than is agreeable for the student, and is likely to result in disgusting him with aviation generally. There are hundreds of schemes and principles in the art that have been tried again and again with the same dismal failure in the end. Refer to the story of the Wright Brothers and note how many things they mention having tried and rejected as worse than useless. ”

“ When an accident happens in the air, it takes place so quickly and the machine is so totally wrecked by falling to the ground, that it is usually difficult to determine the exact nature of the cause through a subsequent examination of the parts, so that it can seldom be stated with certainty just what the initial defection consisted of, though it may be regarded as a foregone conclusion that, in the case of experienced aviators who have previously demonstrated their ability to cope with all ordinary emergencies, nothing short of the failure of some vital part could have caused their fall. ”

“ The inventive mind usually believes itself capable of making improvements in almost anything, and the aeroplane inventor is no exception to the rule. Filled with the confidence born of ignorance, and with only the knowledge he has gleaned from newspaper and magazine accounts of the popular types of machines, he works out a brand new design. ”

“ Since torque is not noticeable in straight flying, straightening out again will always serve the student when he finds himself in trouble on a turn. When the use of the rudders and ailerons has reduced the speed, a downward glide will increase it again, and if the motor should stop on a turn, such a downward glide is immediately imperative. When the machine is thus gliding, a change in the fore-and-aft balance becomes at once apparent, because the blast of the propeller no longer acts on the tail, and the elevator must then be used with greater amplitude to obtain the same effect. ”

“ Somehow, the Wrights seem to have covered all the conceivable working devices for control and stability, and the numerous attempts have accordingly resulted in failure. Undoubtedly, some of these aeroplanes built by amateurs may really be capable of flight; but how is the inventor to know it when he lacks the ability to operate it? To know how to fly an aeroplane is a condition precedent to success in the field of aviation that can not be met by building of a machine. The beginner is thus badly handicapped. ”

“ Fig 12. Plan and Side Elevation of Curtiss Biplane Aeroplane construction doubtless impresses the average observer as being something shrouded in considerable mystery—something about which there is no little secrecy. Quite the contrary is the case in reality. Any man who is fairly proficient as a carpenter and knows how to use the more common machinist's tools, such as taps and dies, drills, hacksaw, and the like, will find no difficulty in constructing the machine of which the details are given here. Having completed its building, he will have to draw upon his capital to supply the motor. ”

“ Many young and inexperienced aviators are not content to thoroughly test out each new part on the ground, or close to it, but must go aloft at once to do their experimenting, with the usual result of such foolhardiness. If in other sports safe conditions were absolutely disregarded in this manner—take football as an instance—the resulting fatalities would not be charged against the sport itself. But aviation is so extremely novel and likewise so mysterious to the uninitiated that this is never taken into consideration. ”

“ The average seeker after knowledge is assuredly not likely to be one of these few, so that until he knows he is working along new and untried lines that give promise of success, it will pay him to stick to those that have proved successful in actual practice. In other words, to confine his efforts in the building line to a machine that experience has demonstrated will fly if properly constructed and, what is of equal importance, skilfully handled. ”

“ A machine should always be started and landed in the teeth of the wind, and no one but the most experienced aviators can afford to disregard this advice, certainly not the novice. The precaution is necessary because in landing the machine should always travel straight ahead without the possibility of lurching and consequently breaking a wing, as frequently happens. Contact with the ground is necessarily made at a time when the machine is traveling over it at a speed of 30 to 40 miles per hour and skidding sideways at 10 to 15 miles per hour, all circumstances which tend to wreck an aeroplane. ”

“ In alighting, the motor is usually stopped by cutting off the ignition—ordinarily by grounding or short-circuiting. Throttling to stop appears to be seldom resorted to, but as several instances have occurred in which the aviator found it impossible to cut off the ignition, resulting in a collision with another machine or a building, it is evident that the control should be arranged so that both methods could be employed. With the increasing use of air-cooled motors that may continue to run through self-ignition after the spark has been cut off, this is more necessary than ever. ”

“ All control movements must, therefore, be very gentle, as the behavior of an aeroplane is more like that of a boat than that of an automobile. The action of the elevator has already been described, and it is, perhaps, the most difficult of all the controls to manipulate, in that it requires the exercise of a new sense. The direction rudder is naturally a more familiar type of control, and in action is similar to the rudder of a boat. ”

“ He can not engage an expert to fly his machine for him, as the expert's time per minute figures out a price that makes him gasp, and even at that the expert professional's time is pretty much all taken. Furthermore, very few would run the risk of attempting to fly an untried aeroplane—they have more to lose through accidental injury than the builder has through the failure of his theories. ”

“ So many things are necessary to the control of an aeroplane that thinking becomes entirely too slow a process—the aviator must be endowed with something approaching the instinct of the bird; he must be so familiar with his machine and its peculiarities that a large part of the work of controlling it is the result of subconscious movement. The control levers of many machines are so arranged that this subconscious movement on the part of the aviator directly operates the balancing mechanism. ”

“ Striving after records has undoubtedly proved one of the most prolific causes of accident. What is wanted to make the aeroplane of the greatest practical use is that it should be safe and reliable. The tendency of record-breaking machines is the exact opposite of this, as the weights of all the most essential parts must be cut down to the finest limits possible in order to provide sufficient power and fuel-carrying capacity for the record flight. ”

“ The structure of each wing is, in fact, very much like the rigging of a sailboat, the main spars taking the place of the mast while the wire stays take that of the shrouds, with this very important difference, that the mast of the boat is provided with a forestay to take the longitudinal pressure when going head to the wind, while the wing of an aeroplane often has no such provision, the longitudinal pressure due to air resistance being taken entirely by the spar. ”

“ It may seem strange to the man whose only interest in aeronautics is that of an observer, that so many should be willing to take such unheard-of chances; that an aeronaut will rise to great heights, knowing in advance that a vital part of his machine has been deranged, or is only temporarily repaired ”

“ The simplest stage, of course, is that of model building and there is a great deal to be learned from the construction and flying of experimental models. This has become quite a popular pastime in the public schools and some very creditable examples of work have been turned out. The apparent limitations of these rubber-band driven models need not discourage the student, as some of the school-boy builders have succeeded in constructing models capable of flying a quarter mile in still air and their action in the air is wonderfully like the full-sized machines. ”

“ For example, if the aviator is rounding a curve of 300 feet radius at 60 miles per hour, the centripetal force is 0.55 of the total weight. At the excessively high speed of 100 miles per hour and the extremely short radius of 100 feet, the centripetal force would be 4.55 times the weight of the moving mass. The pilot would then feel heavier on his seat than he would sitting still with a man of his own weight on either shoulder. For speeds below 60 miles per hour and radii of curvature above 500 feet, the centripetal force is less than one third of the weight. ”

“ As men are not all of the same weight, in cases in which the aviator only partly balances the engine about the center line, his weight being insufficient for the purpose, extra weights should be placed on the wing tip at the lightest end until the true balance is secured, otherwise a permanent warping, or gauchissement as the French term it, is required at this side in order to keep the machine on an even keel. ”

“ The torque of the motor renders it advisable for a novice to turn his machine to the right, if a right-hand propeller be used, and vice versa. If two propellers, turning in opposite directions, are employed, as in the Wright biplane, there is no inequality from the torque of the motor. ”

“ BUILDING A BLERIOT MONOPLANE As mentioned in connection with the description of its construction, the Curtiss biplane was selected as a standard of this type of aeroplane after which the student could safely pattern for a number of reasons. It is not only remarkably simple in construction, easily built by anyone with moderate facilities and at a slight outlay, but it is likewise the easiest machine to learn to drive. The monoplane is far more difficult and expensive to build. ”

“ The wheels on most machines are placed too near the center and too close together. When an attempt is made to land with the wind on the quarter or side, although the machine may strike the ground safely, owing to the accuracy with which it may be controlled in the air while at speed, it is apt to turn after rolling a short distance and the wind will then easily capsize it, breaking a wing, smashing a propeller, and sometimes injuring the motor or the aviator. ”