| The Aeronautic Society of New York |
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Eagle, the biggest that has yet been constructed in America. John A. Riggs and Joel T. Rice joined the Society from Hot Springs, Ark., to build their machine at Morris Park. The new principle involved was the invention of Mr. Rice, and its idea ws dependence entirely upon propellers for steering. Three propellers were used. One of them, placed at the nose of the car, could be worked in an arc horizontally, and was for steering left to right. The others, placed 7 ft. behind the front one, worked in a similar arc vertically to give up and down steering. All three were used for propulsion. The bag, 105 ft. in length, was made by A. Leo Stevens, had a capacity of 35,000 cubic feet, and was found to give a lift of over 1,600 lbs. The car was of steel tubing 100 ft. long, 10 ft. wide across the top, 2 ft. at the bottom, and 5 ft. high, and weighed with engine and gearing 1,040 lbs. |
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Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers |
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Early in November the bag was inflated. One trial was made, but darkness prevented any test of the actual steering principle. The next day a strong gale destroyed the tent in which it was housed, and the bag was only saved by quick deflation. The cost of the tent was $1,200, and the experiments ran into a total of something like $5,000. Riggs and Rice stored the apparatus at the Park, and left with the determination to return to New York in the Spring and continue the work. The most recent worker to take up quarters at the Park was Louis Rosenbaum, who at the opening of December began assembling a monoplane of very striking design and workmanship. Yet, as another example of the courteous accuracy with which the doings of the Society have been reported in some of the newspapers, just by way of encouragement possibly, it may be mentioned that the New York Herald declared on November 21st that no machine owned by members of The Aeronautic Society had flown except that brought from Glenn H. Curtiss! Probably the Herald is now limiting its definition of a flight to a tour around Greely square. |
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