Dimensions of 1908 Machine.
The 1908 model aeroplane was 40 by 29 feet over all.
The carrying surfaces, that is, the two aerocurves, were
40 by 6 feet, having a parabolical curve of one in twelve.
With about 70 square feet of surface in the rudders, the
total surface given was about 550 square feet. The
engine, which is the invention of the Wright brothers,
weighed, approximately, 200 pounds, and gave about 25
horsepower at 1,400 revolutions per minute. The total
weight of the aeroplane, exclusive of passenger, but
inclusive of engine, was about 1,150 pounds. This result
showed a lift of a fraction over 2 1/4 pounds to the
square
foot of carrying surface. The speed desired was 40
miles an hour, but the machine was found to make only
a scant 39 miles an hour. The upright struts were
about 7/8-inch thick, the skids, 2 1/2 by 1 1/4
inches thick.
