Number 6 SMITHSONIAN ANNALS OF FLIGHT SMITHSONIAN AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

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Number 6 SMITHSONIAN ANNALS OF FLIGHT
SMITHSONIAN AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM
SERIAL PUBLICATIONS OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
The emphasis upon publications as a means of diffusing knowledge was expressed
by the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. In his formal plan for the Insti
tution, Joseph Henry articulated a program that included the following statement:
"It is proposed to publish a series of reports, giving an account of the new discoveries
in science, and of the changes made from year to year in all branches of knowledge.
This keynote of basic research has been adhered to over the years in the issuance
of thousands of titles in serial publications under the Smithsonian imprint, com
mencing with Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge in 1848 and continuing
with the following active series:
Smithsonian Annals of Flight
Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology
Smithsonian Contributions to Astrophysics
Smithsonian Contributions to Botany
Smithsonian Contributions to the Earth Sciences
Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology
Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology
Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology
In these series, the Institution publishes original articles and monographs dealing
with the research and collections of its several museums and offices and of profes
sional colleagues at other institutions of learning. These papers report newly acquired
facts, synoptic interpretations of data, or original theory in specialized fields. These
publications are distributed by subscription to libraries, laboratories, and other in
terested institutions and specialists throughout the world. Individual copies may be
obtained from the Smithsonian Institution Press as long as stocks are available.
S. DILLON RIPLEY
Secretary
Smithsonian Institution
Langley's Aero Engine of 1903
Charles M. Manly standing in the aviator's car of the partially assembled Langley Aerodrome A
working on its engine. The Aerodrome is poised on its catapult mounted on a specially
designed houseboat located in the vicinity of Quantico, Virginia, sometime during September
1903. Now on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution. (Smithsonian photo A18804.)
S M I T H S O N I AN ANNALS OF FLIGHT • NUMBER 6
Langley's Aero Engine of 1903
Edited by
Robert B. Meyer, Jr.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS
City of Washington • 1971
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1971
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $1.25
Prologue
How many things by season seasoned are
to their right praise and true perfection!
The Merchant of Venice, Act V, Scene 1
At the turn of the century, those who dealt seriously with experi
ments in heavier-than-air "flying machines" were regarded as an eccen
tric fringe element, subject to derision by both the general public and
the press. Thus, it took an extra amount of moral courage and convic
tion for prominent men to jeopardize their professional reputations by
attempting to advance the state of the art. Such a man was Samuel Pier-
pont Langley, third Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, whose ef
forts and dedication gave heart to others to also reach for the sky. How
ever, in spite of his past accomplishments in the fields of astronomy and
meteorology, Langley also could not escape the derision and ridicule of
the press (Figure 1) as noted in the following skeptically flippant edito
rial from the Washington Post of 14 November 1898, regarding the sec
ond unsuccessful attempt to launch his man-carrying aerodrome.
14 November 1898
The Washington Post, Editorial Page
"WAIT FOR THE FLYING-MACHINE—We note the published statement that
the authorities are seriously considering the question of airships for the
army in time of war. General Greely, of the Signal Service, proposed it,
we believe, and now Professor S. P. Langley, of the Smithsonian Institu
tion, the National Museum, the National Astrophysical Observatory,
and perhaps a few other government positions which we haven't time to
remember at the moment, has been called in to cooperate. General
Greely, so far as we know, has never yet built and operated a flying-
machine, but he knows all about them, understands them perfectly, and
besides has rendered illustrious public service such as trying to discover
the north pole, and actually saving our army at Santiago. Professor Lan
gley, however, is not only an expert in aerostatics, he has actually con-
structed an airship. He gave eight years of his time, or about that
much, to the work, and at last he finished it. Furthermore, the ship
really flew when tested. It flew half a mile, and, what is more, it didn't
hurt anything or anybody except itself. Very likely it wouldn't have
done even that if it hadn't stopped so suddenly.
"Both General Greely and Professor Langley are convinced that the
practicable airship is a possibility. Of course, they don't mean a thing
that will fly only half a mile, that cannot carry passengers, and that
alights with too great violence. Professor Langley built that ship merely
as a demonstration of his theories. He never intended it for real use.
But now that the government has agreed to consider the proposition in
earnest, and General Greely has given it his official sanction, and Pro
fessor Langley has promised to contribute to the project all the results
of his experiments and adumbrations, the enterprise takes on a very
hopeful aspect. As far as the Post is concerned, we are in a state of
pleasurable excitement. The flying-machine has always been a favorite
dream of ours. For years past we have been looking forward to a time
when we should see other people flying about in airships and going
from place to place without dust or heat or any other discomforts of
travel. We have never taken a vivid interest in flying-machines that
carried no passengers. The mere abstract demonstrations of science
possess no charms for us. But an airship in which the inventor travels
is our idea of a spectacular performance, and we anticipate it with an
anxiety and a fervor far beyond all words.
"We are not yet in a position to state the time at which the Greely-
Langley flying-machine will make its trial trip. We know only that the
enterprise is in most capable and experienced hands, and we believe
that, early in the next century, it will materialize. We shall do our best
to be at the launching. We intend to practice longevity with most indus
trious enthusiasm in the meanwhile. We should never forgive ourselves
were we so careless as to die before the ceremony."
Discouragement and failure haunt all pioneering efforts and Langley
was no exception. After the second unsuccessful attempt alluded to in
Figure 1, the machine was never launched again and when he died in
1906, Langley was convinced that his efforts had been in vain.
Author David Fairchild indicates Langley's reaction to the failure
of his dreams.1
"Professor Langley's discouragement, after the plunge which wrecked
his only large-scale machine, is reflected in an account given me by
1 The World Was My Garden (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1939), pp. 332-
VI
FIGURE 1.—"The Birds Chorus: 'Wonder Which of Us Was the Model!'" The
Evening Star, Washington, D.C, 9 December 1903. (Smithsonian photo A4411.)
Doctor John Brashear, a noted astronomer who was for many years the
best-loved citizen of Pittsburgh. Doctor Brashear said that he was in
Washington shortly after the disastrous plunge into the Potomac, and
Professor Langley sent word that he would like to see him. They had
been very warm friends when Professor Langley was at the Allegheny
Observatory in Pittsburgh.
vn
" 'As I entered his office in the Smithsonian,' Doctor Brashear said,
'Professor Langley met me and grasped me by both hands and said,
'Brashear, I'm ruined, my life is a failure.' He took me to the desk
and showed me two bits of steel. They were the two triggers which had
failed to release his machine as it slid down the ways to get its start in
the air. Instead they had caught and held it, with the result that the
machine dived into the water.
" 'He cried like a child,' continued Doctor Brashear. 'You may not
know it, but he was a very emotional man. I tried to comfort him. I
reminded him of his discoveries in astrophysics, but he would not be con
soled. I believe,' said Doctor Brashear, 'that he died a bitterly disap
pointed man.' "
Fitting recognition of Langley's aeronautical contributions came in
1908, two years after he died, when the Smithsonian Regents estab
lished the Langley Medal for Aerodromics which was awarded for sig
nificant aeronautical accomplishments. The fifth recipient of this award
was Langley's "aide in aerodromics," Charles Matthews Manly on 12
December 1929. "The exceptional action was taken in recognition of
the fact that the outstanding merit of Mr. Manly's invention and con
struction of the light, radial, gasoline airplane engine has become
more and more apparent in the last years." 2
2 Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution, 1931, pp. 7-8. The recipients of
the Langley Medal for Aerodromics, to date, are: Wilbur and Orville Wright, 1909;
Glenn H. Curtiss and Gustave Eiffel, 1913; Charles A. Lindbergh, 1927; Charles
Matthews Manly (posthumously) and Richard Evelyn Byrd, 1929; Joseph Sweetman
Ames, 1935; Jerome C. Hunsaker, 1955; Robert H. Goddard (posthumously) , 1960;
Hugh Latimer Dryden, 1962; Alan B. Shepard, Jr., 1964; Wernher von Braun, 1967.
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