University of Virginia Library

Comparison With Aeroplanes.

If we compare the bird figures with those made possible by the development of the aeroplane it will be readily seen that man has made a wonderful advance in imitating the results produced by nature. Here are the figures:

        

Machine	Weight in lbs.	Surface in sq. feet	Horse power	Supporting area per lb.
Santos-Dumont	350	110.00	30	0.314
Bleriot	700	150.00	25	0.214
Antoinette	1,200	538.00	50	0.448
Curtiss	700	258.00	60	0.368
Wright	[1]1,100	538.00	25	0.489
Farman	1,200	430.00	50	0.358
Voisin	1,200	538.00	50	0.448

While the average supporting surface is in favor of

the aeroplane, this is more than overbalanced by the greater amount of horsepower required for the weight lifted. The average supporting surface in birds is about three-quarters of a square foot per pound. In the average aeroplane it is about one-half square foot per pound. On the other hand the average aeroplane has a lifting capacity of 24 pounds per horsepower, while the buzzard, for instance, lifts 5 pounds with 15-100 of a horsepower. If the Wright machine—which has a lifting power of 50

Other Parts of Huffaker's Bird Model.

[Description: Black and white illustration: Parts of model bird.]

pounds per horsepower—should be alone considered the showing would be much more favorable to the aeroplane, but it would not be a fair comparison.