us. The body of his artificial bird, boat-shaped, was 13 1/2 ft.
in length, with a breadth of 4 ft. at the widest part. The material
was cloth stretched over a wooden framework; in front was a small mast
rigged after the manner of a ship's masts to which were attached poles
and cords with which Le Bris intended to work the wings. Each wing was
23 ft. in length, giving a total supporting surface of nearly 220 sq.
ft.; the weight of the whole apparatus was only 92 pounds. For steering,
both vertical and horizontal, a hinged tail was provided, and the
leading edge of each wing was made flexible. In construction throughout,
and especially in that of the wings, Le Bris adhered as closely as
possible to the original albatross.

He designed an ingenious kind of mechanism which he termed 'Rotules,'
which by means of two levers gave a rotary motion to the front edge of
the wings, and also permitted of their adjustment to various angles.
The inventor's idea was to stand upright in the body of the contrivance,
working the levers and cords with his hands, and with his feet on
a pedal by means of which the steering tail was to be worked. He
anticipated that, given a strong wind, he could rise into the air after
the manner of an albatross, without any need for flapping his wings, and
the account of his first experiment forms one of the most interesting
incidents in the history of flight. It is related in full in Chanute's
work, from which the present account is summarised.

Le Bris made his first experiment on a main road near Douarnenez, at
Trefeuntec. From his observation of the albatross Le Bris concluded
that it was necessary to get some initial velocity in order to make the
machine rise; consequently on a Sunday morning, with a breeze of about
12 miles an hour blowing down the road, he had his albatross placed on a
cart and set off, with a peasant driver, against the wind. At the outset
the machine was fastened to the cart by a rope running through the rails
on which the machine rested, and secured by a slip knot on Le Bris's own
wrist, so that only a jerk on his part was necessary to loosen the rope
and set the machine free. On each side walked an assistant holding the
wings, and when a turn of the road brought the machine full into the
wind these men were instructed to let go, while the driver increased the
pace from a walk to a trot. Le Bris, by pressure on the levers of the
machine, raised the front edges of his wings slight