Flying Machine

Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)

in aerial navigation, a machine constructed on the principle of a soaring bird. Flying machines are of two sorts, monoplanes and biplanes. A monoplane is a flying machine of one plane. In this it resembles a bird with outstretched wings. The wings of the monoplane are rigid. The machine skates or soars on the air. It is driven forward by a propeller. Incessant motion is the secret of flight. A moment's pause and down crashes the machine like a kite when the wind fails. The biplane is constructed on the same principle, save that it is two decked--has two planes. The machine in which Bleriot crossed the English Channel was a monoplane. The Latham machine is a monoplane. The monoplane is lighter, cheaper, and swifter. In 1909 Santos-Dumont attained a speed of fifty-five miles an hour with the Demoiselle, a monoplane. With Santos-Dumont on board, the machine weighed but 260 pounds. It cost but $1,000. A biplane is heavier than a monoplane; it presents a greater sustaining surface, and can carry a heavier load. The two planes and the connecting rods and braces meet greater head-on resistance from the air and retard the motion of the machine. The machines of Farnum, Curtiss, and the Wright brothers are biplanes. The extent of flight, like the cruise of a steamship or the run of an automobile, is dependent upon the size of the gasoline tank. See Airship ; Bleriot 2026 Editor's Note: A 'flying machine' entry written while the ink on Kitty Hawk was barely dry. Everything this article calls experimental became ordinary within its readers' lifetimes; see the history of aviation . (Ed: BR 2026-06-07)