Committee an opportunity
to appreciate the motive power in all its details; firebox, boiler,
engine, under perfect control, absolute condensation, automatic fuel
and feed of the liquid to be vaporised, automatic lubrication and
scavenging; everything, in a word, seemed well designed and executed.

The weights in comparison with the power of the engine realised a
considerable advance over anything made to date, since the two engines
weighed together realised 42 kg., the firebox and boiler 60 kg., the
condenser 15 kg., or a total of 117 kg. for approximately 40 horse-power
or a little less than 3 kg. per horse-power.

One of the members summed up the general opinion by saying: 'Whatever
may be the result from an aviation point of view, a result which could
not be foreseen for the moment, it was nevertheless proven that from
a mechanical point of view M. Ader's apparatus was of the greatest
interest and real ingeniosity. He expressed a hope that in any case the
machine would not be lost to science.'

The second experiment in the workshop was made in the presence of the
Chairman, the purpose being to demonstrate that the wings, having a
spread of 17 metres, were sufficiently strong to support the weight of
the apparatus. With this object in view, 14 sliding supports were placed
under each one of these, representing imperfectly the manner in which
the wings would support the machine in the air; by gradually raising the
supports with the slides, the wheels on which the machine rested were
lifted from the ground. It was evident at that time that the members
composing the skeleton of the wings supported the apparatus, and it was
quite evident that when the wings were supported by the air on every
point of their surface, the stress would be better equalised than when
resting on a few supports, and therefore the resistance to breakage
would be considerably greater.

After this last test, the work on the ground being practically finished,
the machine was transported to Satory, assembled and again made ready
for trial.

At first M. Ader was to manoeuvre the machine on the ground at a
moderate speed, then increase this until it was possible to judge
whether there was a tendency for the machine to rise; and it was only
after M. Ader had acquired sufficient practice that a meeting of the
Committee was to be called to be present at the first part of the
trials; namely, volutions of the apparatus on the ground.

The first test to