In view of the disasters from trials in the field, due to inability to obtain automatic equilibrium in flight and to the flexure of the large wings rather than to defects of the engines, the conditions at this time, after three years of failure, seemed so nearly hopeless, that without abandoning the work on these steam aerodromes, I again had recourse to the early plan of constructing smaller models driven by India rubber, in which the small wings employed could be made of the requisite stiffness. Instead of employing twisted rubber, however, the defects of which had been amply proved in previous trials, these new constructions were meant to employ rubber directly stretched and pulling. In this condition the rubber exercises nearly six times the power in proportion to weight that it does when twisted, but on the other hand it requires a very strong frame and subordinate parts. I spent an inordinate amount of time and labor during this year in attempting to employ this latter form of construction and finally got a few useful results from it, but none in proportion to the labor expended. During March, Aerodrome No. 5, the frame of which had proved on test to be radically weak, was completely refinished except for the wings. The propellers had hitherto been made of wood, but in May, I commenced a new construction of steel, wood and cloth, on a plan giving a figure which, though not rigorously helicoidal, was practically near enough to the theoretical form and was also both lighter and more elastic than the wooden construction. On May 8 and June 7 Aerodrome No. 5 was again tried at Quantico, and although the tests were unsuccessful, in that the aerodrome failed to fly, partly because of the fact that so much time was spent in raising steam that practically the entire supply of fuel and water was exhausted before the aerodrome was actually launched, yet it had come so much nearer flying than any machine had previously done, that it was felt that if either the power could be increased or the weight decreased even a slight amount, the aerodrome would probably fly. In view of the great care that had been exercised in keeping down the weight, it seemed almost hopeless to attempt to reduce it, and it also seemed equally hopeless to attempt to get more power without increasing the weight. However, something had to be done to increase the ratio of power to weight, and as it was seen that this would involve extensive changes in No. 5, it was decided to entirely rebuild No. 4 with this idea in view, though it was evident that it involved a plan of construction even lighter than the dangerously light plan on which No. 4 had already been constructed.