In the Wright aeroplane the lifting power is obtained by two parallel horizontal planes of canvas stretched over retaining-frames, placed with their long diameters transversely to the direction of flight, as in the case of the wings of a bird. At a little distance, in front of these, are placed two horizontal parallel rudders, and at the back two parallel vertical rudders. The machine is mounted on huge skids, which resemble giant sled-runners in shape, but lighter and more flexible, and is driven by two wooden-bladed propellers not unlike some of the types of ship-propellers. For stability in flight under all kinds of atmospheric conditions this machine has shown itself to be a true flying-machine, capable of navigating the air in any direction at the will of the operator, and remaining in flight a length of time dependent entirely upon the amount of fuel carried. The stability of this machine, particularly in a transverse direction, has proved far greater than that of any of its predecessors or contemporaries. The two horizontal rudder-planes mounted in front maintain the fore-and-aft stability; while keeping the machine on an even keel is accomplished by varying the angle of incidence by warping the two main planes,--this being, indeed, a vitally important feature of the mechanism. In this manner a greater lift on the low side and a diminished lift on the high side is obtained, this being maintained manually, as is the fore-and-aft stability. Since the warping of the wings of the machine would tend to deflect it from its course, the apparatus is so arranged that a single lever controls the flexible portion of the wings and the vertical rudder, the motion of the latter counteracting the disturbing influence that would otherwise result from the twisting of the wing-tips. The discovery of this combination gave the finishing touches to the aeroplane, and made it a manageable mechanism. In other words, it made the flying machine a machine in which man could fly. [Illustration: MR. WILBUR WRIGHT PREPARING TO ASCEND IN HIS AEROPLANE WITH HIS PUPIL M. CASSANDIER.] This mechanism was patented in 1906, and the patent office specifications then became accessible to other experimenters. The French scientific workers had for some time recognized the success of the Wright brothers' efforts, even when most Americans were still skeptical. Now that the manner in which this success had been obtained was disclosed, numerous experimenters began copying the Wright brothers' successful machine, making sundry modifications, while still adhering to the main principles through which success had been obtained. The first of these experimenters to win conspicuous success was Mr. Henry Farman, an Englishman residing in Paris, who on the 13th of January, 1908, aroused the enthusiasm of the entire world, and won a £2000 prize, by flying in a heavier-than-air machine in a prescribed circle, covering about sixteen hundred yards, and alighting at the starting-point.