“Can Men Fly?” – 1891

Pall Mall Gazette – 29 September 1891

Icarus began it.  Great things have been done since his time, quaint illustrations of which may be found here and there in musty old volumes.  But the real evolution of the aerial machine has been made only during the second half of the nineteenth century, and there is, at all events, one scientific aeronaut who prophesises that long before the dawn of that mystic year, 2000 AD, the problem will be solved, and men will be able to fly.  This prophet is no less an authority that Mr Hiram S. Maxim, of the ‘Maxim gun’.  He says, in a suggestive and highly interesting article in the October number of the ‘Century‘, that the motor has been discovered which has sufficient energy in proportion to its weight.  The power of this motor has been tested, and its weight is known:

“It would therefore appear (says Mr Maxim) that we are within measurable distance of a successful machine for navigating the air, and I believe it is certain to come within the next ten years.”

It is Mr Maxim himself who has discovered this motor, and who has also constructed the whole apparatus on which he hopes to navigate the air.  Mr Maxim is modest.  He admits that it is just possible he may be wrong:

“Of course I hope to succeed, and from the data obtained from experiments, and from the information I have obtained from other sources, it seems almost certain that I shall do so; still, I may not.”

But, whether he succeeds or not, he is convinced that someone will succeed, and continues:

“Many ask what use it will be put to in case it does succeed.  To this I would reply: certainly not for carrying freight, and not, for a considerable time at least, for carrying passengers.  When the first flying-machine succeeds, its first great use will be for military purposes.  It will at once become an engine for war, not only to reconnoitre the enemy’s positions, as has been with so-called dirigible balloons, but also for carrying and dropping into the enemy’s lines and country large bombs charged with high explosives.  It does not require a prophet to foresee that successful machines of this character would at once make it possible for a nation possessing them to paralyze completely an enemy by destroying in a few hours the important bridges, armouries, arsenals, gas and water works, railway stations, public buildings, &c, and that all modern means of defence both by land and sea which have cost untold millions would at once be rendered worthless.”

With regard to the appearance and construction of Mr Maxim’s flying-machine, it is interesting to observe that it will be altogether unlike the only approach to a flying-machine at present in use – namely, the balloon…Mr Maxim points out that in all nature we do not find any bird or insect which navigates the air after the manner of a balloon, and then goes on to give a detailed description, with illustrations, of his flying-machine, of which the following is a summary:

“The wings of a bird in flying perform a twofold function.  They form primarily an aeroplane which supports the body after the manner of a kite, and secondarily, a propeller for driving the aeroplane forward.  I think all scientists are agreed that if we are ever able to navigate the air it must be on the aeroplane system – that is, the weight of the machine and passenger or passengers must be carried by a large plane driven at a high velocity through the air.”

In conclusion, Mr Maxim summarizes the case for the flying machine thus:

“Flying machines of the future will of necessity be of a complicated and delicate nature, and will require the very highest order of scientific and mechanical skill to construct and operate them.  France is today the only country in the world which has the plant, and in which it would be possible to manufacture all the material and to construct a machine such as I am now experimenting with.  Flying machines will therefore be employed only by the rich and highly civilized nations.  Small nations and half-civilized tribes will still have to content themselves with their present mode of warfare.”