ÆRIAL NAVIGATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 93, 10 October 1911, Page 8

ÆRIAL NAVIGATION.

THE REAL PLYING MACHINE. The world 1 is in error, it seems, in supposing that the art of flying has been discovered', and that the great aeroplanists of the day—"Beaumont," Vedrines, and the rest of them—arc masters of the art. So at any rate contends Herr Emil Keller in an interesting brouchure on "Artificial Bird-flight in Theory and Practice" just published. Herr Keller urges that though men may travel thousands of miles through the air by aeroplane, he contends', is nothing better than a motordriven kite, and, like the baloon, is at the mercy of wind l and l weather. He admits readily enough that aeroplanists ■have proved up to the hilt that a machine heavier than the air can be used for aerial navigation, but claims that the only true (light is that of a bird, which shows both stability and power to resist and overcome the wind, things no aeroplane yet devised can acquire . Accordingly he has determined to construct a machine which will really fly; that is to say. will propel itself through the air with wings. Ten years ago he made a flying machine with wings and a tail, which was, unfortunately, destroyed by Are, though the experiment had' proceeded far enough to satisfy him of the enormous power of the wings. He is now constructing a second' flying machine, for which he has obtained' a 30-h.p. motor, weighing 851b. The machine, when completed, will be 14 metres long, 4% high, and 15 metres broad when both wings arc spread put. It will weigh about 12, cwt. The framework of steel tubing two wheels instead of feet, and a third wheel under the tail to make movement on the ground possible, The two wheels are geared to the motor so that on the ground the machine can propel itself. The machine is. to carry a driver, sitting i» the breast, and four passengers inside behind him. The motor is just above the shoulders', to which the two wings are attached. The wings are composed of imitation feathers, each of which has its rib .branching off from the main limb of the wing, and the peculiarity of them is that they can he all laid flat so as to form a continuous surface, or can be turned' so as to let the air pass between them. The total surface of the wings, tail, and bearing surfaces token to*

gather is about (SO square yards. The I bearing l surfaces appear to be horizoni tal planes on each side of the head and i shoulders. They and the tail, which is , another flat surface, are to keep the I longitude axis of the machine as near 1 tlie horizontal, on the eross section of the wingsi, which are so arranged that each will automatically diminish its surface whenever the pressure is excessive. Hero Keller has not fully explained the way in which the wings are to Be worked, but he is quite sure of their power, and expects to fly as fast as any bird. One of Ms great points is that as the wings' are fixed to the shoulders of the body the centre of gravity will be well below them, and he has therefore no fear of the machine being upset in the air. The body is water-tight, and shaped like a boat, so that Herr Keller is ready to descend upon the water, when his motor will drive a screw propeller. The world will watch with much interest Herr Keller's experiment with his machine, which is to be at once a road motor, a water motor, and a flying machine. The world is quite ready'for fresh surprises in aerial navigation, and after what has been done in that direction during the last few years few people will be prepared to say off-hand that Herr Keller's ideas are impracticable.