文档介绍：FLYING MACHINES: CONSTRUCTION and OPERATION
FLYING MACHINES:
CONSTRUCTION and
OPERATION
By . Jackman, .
AND THOS. H. RUSSELL, ., . 1912
1
FLYING MACHINES: CONSTRUCTION and OPERATION
CHAPTER I.
EVOLUTION OF TWO-SURFACE FLYING MACHINE.
By Octave Chanute.
I am asked to set forth the development of the "two- surface" type of
flying machine which is now used with modifications by Wright Brothers,
Farman, [1]Delagrange, Herring and others.
[1] Now dead.
This type originated with Mr. F. H. Wenham, who patented it in
England in 1866 (No. 1571), taking out provisional papers only. In the
abridgment of British patent Aeronautical Specifications (1893) it is
described as follows:
"Two or more aeroplanes are arranged one above the other, and
support a framework or car containing the motive power. The aeroplanes
are made of silk or canvas stretched on a frame by wooden rods or steel
ribs. When manual power is employed the body is placed horizontally, and
oars or propellers are actuated by the arms or legs.
"A start may be obtained by lowering the legs and running down hill
or the machine may be started from a moving carriage. One or more screw
propellers may be applied for propelling when steam power is employed.
On June 27, 1866, Mr. Wenham read before the "Aeronautical Society
of Great Britain," then anized, the ablest paper ever presented
to that society, and thereby breathed into it a spirit which has continued to
this day. In this paper he described his observations of birds, discussed the
laws governing flight as to the surfaces and power required both with
wings and screws, and he then gave an account of his own experiments
with models and with aeroplanes of sufficient size to carry the weight of a
man.
Second Wenham Aeroplane.
His second aeroplane was sixteen feet from tip to tip. A trussed spar at
the bottom carried six superposed bands of thin holland fabric fifteen
inches wide, connected with vertical we