THE NEW GLIDER.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 299, 16 December 1911, Page 17

THE NEW GLIDER.

MYSTEET OB" A STABILISING VANE. With the aid of a large stabilising vane fixed to the front of his aeroplane, Mr Orvllle Wright succeeded on October 27 in performing another of bis series of spectacular mo tor-less flights. Neither Mr Wright nor his assistants will deny or affirm that the vane is the simple stabilising device he recently announced. It was, however, evident to all the spectators that it contributed marvellously to the steadiness of the aeroplane. Altogether Mr Wright made forty glides. At the commencement of each flight a vertical shield 3} feet long and 12 ruches wide was pushed forward a few Inches in front of the machine. Finally it was advanced to its full extent, 6 feet beyond the front of the edges of the lifting surfaces, and this position steadied the aeroplane so that it flew with an even keel, despite the gusty whirlwind eddies that swept from the ocean. The "New York AmeTican" correspondent describes this flight as follows:—"An unsteady twenty-flve-mile wind was blowing when Mr Alec. Ogilvie, the English airman, and bis assistant launched the frail craft, almost on the crest of a giant sanddune. Mr Orvllle Wright, in the seat, directed the gilder into the air with amazing steadiness. Going from side to side like a huge bird scaring, he lifted the aeroplane gradually upward until it hovered motionless over the very top of the hill at a height of 70 feet. "There, sharply outlined against the sky, it remained suspended in space with scarcely a quiver for 60 sees. Vicious currents of air struck it from the side, assailed it from above, and buffeted it back and front, but it hardly shook." Gazing upward like one entranced. Mr Ogllvle exclaimed: "This Is the most marvellous exhibition of control tbe world has ever seen. There is not another man or machine that ever did that." Leisurely Mr Wright brought the glider to the ground with the same bird-like movement. It kept an even keel throughout the flight, which lasted 2mln lOsec. The correspondents believe that the demonstration did not include all the features of the Wrights' stabilising device, which they predict will remove most of the nervous and physical strain from airmen using It. "