Experiments by the Writer.
In 1896, assisted by Mr. Herring and Mr. Avery, I experimented with
several full sized gliding machines,
Prof. Langley's Aerodome.
[Description: Black and white illustration: what looks like a boat with four
large wing panels.]
Being a builder of bridges, I trussed these surfaces together, in order to obtain strength and stiffness. When tested in gliding flight the lower surface was found too near the ground. It was taken off and the remaining apparatus now consisted of two surfaces connected together by a girder composed of vertical posts and diagonal ties, specifically known as a "Pratt truss." Then Mr. Herring and Mr. Avery together devised and put on an elastic attachment to the tail. This machine proved a success, it being safe and manageable. Over 700 glides were made with it at angles of descent of 8 to 10 degrees, or one in six to one in seven.