The Dark Ages of Flying

Cromwell Argus, Volume LXVIII, Issue 3485, 6 September 1937, Page 6

The Dark Ages of Flying

The history of flying is as old as civilisation itself (wr.Les Elizabeth Munson in the new Children's section of the August "Australian Journal.” Centuries ago, man watched the flight of birds and wished that ho, too, could fly. Egypt, Assyria, and Greece all have iengends which (ell of attempted flights made by men Irving to imitate birds and paying for those attempts with I heir lives. People belie\ed then that God did not mean human beings to fly, and punished them when they tried to do so. Nevertheless, time after time differ cut men fashioned huge wings which 111 «- \ fastened about their arms and bodies ami and flapped, often jumping from a great height to test out their theories. Many died, and many others incurred grave injuries. History tells that for nearly twenty centuries the problem of flight puzzled men until 1903, when two Americans —the Wright brothers—solved it. An English monk, Oliver of Malmesbury, is often mentioned among the. first experimenters. The next serious attempt was made by Daubi, an Italian about the year IbOO. lie constructed some, sort (if gliding apparatus with which he (lew a distance of ‘JbO yards before crushing on to a roof and in juring himself severely. Later, Guidotli constructed a gliding machine of whalebone covered with feathers, which actually made a Might of 100 yards before- giving way. At this time, Veranzio was experimenting with parachutes. In 1678 came a French locksmith, w ho designed an apparatus of rods ami hinged flaps which were worked by the, hands and feet. Mis apparatus was looked upon as an ingenious pieceof work, but of little practical use. For a long while after this, interest in living died, until it was revived again in the eighteenth century. In 1783, the first hot-air balloon, invented by the brothers Montgolfier, went up at Versailles, and for a time the men who considered that flight could be accomplished only by mechanical means felt beaten. They did not realise that ballooning is not I rue flight ; nor did men stop to consider that there is a great difference between a gas-bag, at the mercy of every wind that blows, and a machine capable of conquering the wind and able to shape its own cou rso. Just at the time when the steam engine was invented. Sir George Cayley saw that both vertical and horizontal rudders were necessary to steer aircraft and foresaw that the ideal sup porting surface of a machine must be slightly curved. He set many problems in power-driven flight, although nearly one hundred years were to pass before liis suggestions could be carried out.

Five years after Victoria eame to the throne, W. S. Henson built an aeroplane which much resembled the modern monoplane, and got out designs for a steam engine with wind to drive his machine. Tie was on the right track, but lack of funds prevented him from going further. At the close of the nineteenth century came the ideal power-producing engine, the internal combustion motor. Hetween 1898 and 1907 motor cars developed enormously, perfecting the eu gine in v arious ways and fi I tiny it for aeroplane work, although, the mo-

tor of thirty years ago was a ver crude and heavy tiling compared with the modem aeroplane engine. Finally the Wright brothers, after years of experiment, actually flew successfully by power. In 1906, SantosDumont, who had already achieved fame with dirigible balloons, made a flight in a biplane at Bagatelle, France. Two years later, Orville Wright was able to maintain flying speed for over an hour. Up till the time of the War, slow progress was made. During the War, aviation made progress by leaps and bounds, until the Diesel engines, passenger planes, air liners, etc., of the present day were reached. Even now, to quote a war pilot who is a commercial pilot at Essendon, "living is still in its infancy. We ha\e made tremendous steps forward and will make still more, until the job is not ninety per cent, pilot, but ninety per cent, plane, and flying is made absolutely fool-proof.” AGONISING MO KITES CURED. ‘‘Jt is wonderful to be feeling- well again, and to bo able to go to lied with out dread of painful and sleepless nights,” writes Mrs E. Perry, Masterion. ‘R.U.R. is a marvellous reme'ly- R.U-R. Rheumatic remedy, large size 7s 6d, is sold with a genuine money-back guarantee. Half size without guarantee 4s. Free booklet • rom Cromwell Pharmacy.