ch it is difficult
to estimate. Where one man, as already explained, flies faster than
another, the one beaten from the speed standpoint has an advantage in
the matter of carrying weight, etc.

The ideas of various well-known aviators as to the correct placing of
motors may be had from the following:

Wrights--In rear of machine and to one side.

Curtiss--Well to rear, about midway between upper and lower planes.

Raich--In rear, above the center.

Brauner-Smith--In exact center of machine.

Van Anden--In center.

Herring-Burgess--Directly behind operator.

Voisin--In rear, and on lower plane.

Bleriot--In front.

R. E. P.--In front.

The One Chief Object.

An even distribution of the load so as to assist in maintaining the
equilibrium of the machine, should be the one chief object in deciding
upon the location of the motor. It matters little what particular spot
is selected so long as the weight does not tend to overbalance the
machine, or to "throw it off an even keel." It is just like loading
a vessel, an operation in which the expert seeks to so distribute
the weight of the cargo as to keep the vessel in a perfectly upright
position, and prevent a "list" or leaning to one side. The more evenly
the cargo is distributed the more perfect will be the equilibrium of the
vessel and the better it can be handled. Sometimes, when not properly
stowed, the cargo shifts, and this at once affects the position of the
craft. When a ship "lists" to starboard or port a preponderating weight
of the cargo has shifted sideways; if bow or stern is unduly depressed
it is a sure indication that the cargo has shifted accordingly. In
either event the handling of the craft becomes not only difficult, but
extremely hazardous. Exactly the same conditions prevail in the handling
of a flying machine.

Shape of Machine a Factor.

In placing the motor you must be governed largely by the shape and
construction of the flying machine frame. If the bulk of the weight
of the machine and auxiliaries is toward the rear, then the natural
location for the motor will be well to the front so as to counterbalance
the excess in rear weight. In the same way if the preponderance of the
weight is forward, then the motor should be placed back of the center.

As the propeller blade is really an integral part of the motor, the
latter being useless without it, its placing naturally depends upon the
location selected for the motor.

Rudders and A