This apparently took place while at sea; later on Le Bris, returning to
France, designed and constructed an artificial albatross of sufficient
size to bear his own weight. The fact that he followed the bird outline
as closely as he did attests his lack of scientific training for his
task, while at the same time the success of the experiment was proof
of his genius. The body of his artificial bird, boat-shaped, was 13½
ft. in length, with a breadth of 4 ft. at the widest part. The material
was cloth stretched over a wooden framework; in front was a small mast
rigged after the manner of a ship’s masts to which were attached poles
and cords with which Le Bris intended to work the wings. Each wing
was 23 ft. in length, giving a total supporting surface of nearly 220
sq. ft.; the weight of the whole apparatus was only 92 pounds. For
steering, both vertical and horizontal, a hinged tail was provided,
and the leading edge of each wing was made flexible. In construction
throughout, and especially in that of the wings, Le Bris adhered as
closely as possible to the original albatross.
He designed an ingenious kind of mechanism which he termed ‘Rotules,’
which by means of two levers gave a rotary motion to the front edge
of the wings, and also permitted of their adjustment to various
angles. The inventor’s idea was to stand upright in the body of the
contrivance, working the levers and cords with his hands, and with his
feet on a pedal by means of which the steering tail was to be worked.
He anticipated that, given a strong wind, he could rise into the air
after the manner of an albatross, without any need for flapping his
wings, and the account of his first experiment forms one of the most
interesting incidents in the history of flight. It is related in full
in Chanute’s work, from which the present account is summarised.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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