wallow, and over these was a large steering rudder. The wings were
arranged around the glider's body. The whole apparatus weighed about 40
pounds.

Lilienthal's flights, or glides, were made from the top of a
specially-constructed large mound, and in some cases from the summit of
a low tower. The "birdman" would stand on the top of the mound, full
to the wind, and run quickly forward with outstretched wings. When he
thought he had gained sufficient momentum he jumped into the air, and
the wings of the glider bore him through the air to the base of the
mound.

To preserve the balance of his machine--always a most difficult feat--he
swung his legs and hips to one side or the other, as occasion required,
and, after hundreds of glides had been made, he became so skilful in
maintaining the equilibrium of his machine that he was able to cover a
distance, downhill, of 300 yards.

Later on, Lilienthal abandoned the glider, or elementary form of
monoplane, and adopted a system of superposed planes, corresponding
to the modern biplane. The promising career of this clever German was
brought to an untimely end in 1896, when, in attempting to glide from
a height of about 80 yards, his apparatus made a sudden downward swoop,
and he broke his neck.

Now that Lillenthal's experiments had proved conclusively the efficiency
of wings, or planes, as carrying surfaces, other engineers followed in
his footsteps, and tried to improve on his good work.

The first "birdman" to use a glider in this country was Mr. Percy
Pilcher who carried out his experiments at Cardross in Scotland. His
glides were at first made with a form of apparatus very similar to that
employed by Lilienthal, and in time he came to use much larger
machines. So cumbersome, however, was his apparatus--it weighed nearly
4 stones--that with such a great weight upon his shoulders he could not
run forward quickly enough to gain sufficient momentum to "carry off"
from the hillside. To assist him in launching the apparatus the machine
was towed by horses, and when sufficient impetus had been gained the
tow-rope was cast off.

Three years after Lilienthal's death Pilcher met with a similar
accident. While making a flight his glider was overturned, and the
unfortunate "birdman" was dashed to death.

In America there were at this time two or three "human birds", one of
the most famous being M. Octave Chanute. During the years 1895-7 Chanute
made many flights in various types