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The first trial flight of the "Harvard I," the Aeronautical Society's biplane, has been scheduled for 4 o'clock this morning, weather permitting. J. V. Martin uC., manager of the society and under whose supervision the machine was built, is the aviator.
Yesterday morning the aeroplane was taken from the garage to Soldiers Field, where it will be housed under a tent erected behind the baseball stands. Though some difficulty was experienced during the moving owing to the narrowness of the Boylston street bridge, the field was reached without accident. It was decided, therefore, to make a trial of the engine, and with Martin in the pilot's seat the machine went four times the length of the field under its own power.
The aeroplane got under way faster than an automobile, and though the longest distance covered was not over 400 yards, it attained the speed of 20 miles an hour within 100 yards, in spite of the fact that, owing to the restricted area, it was necessary to shut off power before the machine got fairly started. The engine, which is a four-cylinder, 30-horse power Cameron, behaved well, driving the propeller at 1200 revolutions per minute and developing a thrust of 180 pounds, which is much more than enough to drive the machine.
The aeroplane has been under construction for over two months. It is a biplane of the Wright type, but with new devices of its own. It has no rear planes. Up and down motion as well as transverse stability is governed by two transverse planes on the front of the machine; and a small triangular plane, also in front, gives lateral direction. The levers for control of elevation are held in either hand of the operator, and the rope governing the lateral plane is controlled by the movements of his body.
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