main planes through
chains and giving the machine a speed of about 30 m.p.h. one of
these chains was crossed so that the propellers revolved in opposite
directions to avoid the torque which it was feared would be set up
if they both revolved the same way. The machine was not fitted with a
wheeled undercarriage but was carried on two skids, which also acted as
outriggers to carry the elevator. Consequently, a mechanical method of
launching had to be evolved and the machine received initial velocity
from a rail, along which it was drawn by the impetus provided by the
falling of a weight from a wooden tower or 'pylon.' As a result of this
the Wright aeroplane in its original form had to be taken back to its
starting rail after each flight, and could not restart from the point of
alighting. Perhaps, in comparison with French machines of more or less
contemporary date (evolved on independent lines in ignorance of the
Americans' work), the chief feature of the Wright biplane of 1905
was that it relied entirely upon the skill of the operator for its
stability; whereas in France some attempt was being made, although
perhaps not very successfully, to make the machine automatically stable
laterally. The performance of the Wrights in carrying a loading of some
60 lbs. per horse-power is one which should not be overlooked. The wing
loading was about 1 1/2 lbs. per square foot.

About the same time that the Wrights were carrying out their
power-driven experiments, a band of pioneers was quite independently
beginning to approach success in France. In practically every case,
however, they started from a somewhat different standpoint and took
as their basic idea the cellular (or box) kite. This form of kite,
consisting of two superposed surfaces connected at each end by a
vertical panel or curtain of fabric, had proved extremely successful for
man-carrying purposes, and, therefore, it was little wonder that several
minds conceived the idea of attempting to fly by fitting a series
of box-kites with an engine. The first to achieve success was M.
Santos-Dumont, the famous Brazilian pioneer-designer of airships, who,
on November 12th, 1906, made several flights, the last of which covered
a little over 700 feet. Santos-Dumont's machine consisted essentially of
two box-kites, forming the main wings, one on each side of the body, in
which the pilot stood, and at the front extremity of which was another
movable box-kite to act as elevator and