THE ART OF FLYING.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2644, 28 October 1909, Page 7

THE ART OF FLYING.

EARLY HISTORY OF THE AERO-

PLANE

Leonardo da Vinci, who was born in 1452 and died in 1519, seems to have been the first to enunciate the true principles of flight. Before his day there are, however, more or less doubtful records of experiments, probably of the “gliding” type. Usually the inventors ended by breaking their legs, if nothing worse happened to them, and they retired in discouragement. As a result the problem was not seriously taken up until the beginning of the nineteenth century; but ever since then' the efforts to solve it has been unceasing. Sir George Cayley in 1809 made a machine with a surface of 300 square feet, and he seems to have had an excellent insight into the theory of flight. Unluckily no motor was available, and though he invented an explosion engine and a new form of steam engine he was doomed to failure at this point. Another inventor, Henson, in 1814 took out a patent for a large canvas aeroplane, with a surface of 4500 square feet, exclusive of a spreading tail. He .intended to use a 25-h.p. engine. The machine, however, was neyer completed, and the models proved unsatisfactory. Wenliam in 1866 made a practical .glide, not unlike that used by the Wrights in their e‘arly work. Betwoon 1884 and 1893 Phillips did a lot of useful work with an aeroplane of peculair construction, the machine being like a huge Venetian blind, with the slats open. Sir Hiram Maxim’s principal experiments came betweeen 1890 and 1893. About the same time Lawrence Hargreaves was adding a great deal to our knowledge of aeroplane construction. Lilienthal had contrived a double decked glide by 1895. In France Ader started practical experiments in 1892 and in 1897 made the first known flight in Europe. His machine, however, could not struggle with a strong wind.