Ad00341 05 047a/eng
Degen's Flugmaschine
Beschreibungstext eng
Miscell. Subj. XCVI. VoI. VI. No. 45, THE FLYING MACHINE OF MR. DEGEN., A here is no doubt, that the man, whose ingenuity did so many things contrive, has often conceiv'd the thought of imitating the flight of birds by artificial wings, in order to soar with easinefs into the immense spaces of the air. Now a skilful watch maker at Vienna, Mr. James Dcgen has latelymade lucky attempts to rise up to the air by means of artificial wings. This artificer with his flying machine we see here (Fig.. I.) imaged. Mr. Drgcn namely construed to himself two wings in the form of a heart (of which Fig.. 2. gives the sight from above) of fine paper imbih'd with varnish, that have a surface of [16 square- feet ; and a length of 10 feet. For elasticity's sake the artificer ran ihrough the whole with itreaki of reed, combin'd by silken strings. The body of the fl\ing man standi tiprigh-, as we see, between the wings, being by several bamboos (aa) united with the machine. The hands (bh) are moving the crooked pole, by which the clap of the wings in horizontal direction up and down is brought about. The first attempt was made by Mr. Dcgen in the spring 1808. in lhe ridinghouse at Vienna, where he by means of a counter-balance, fasten'd by a string (d) rose to a height ol 54 feet. In order to repeat his experiments in the free air, Mr. Degen combin'd a small air-balloon with his machine, and thus on the 12'1' and 15th of Nuvhr. he took his flight in the Prater near Vienna repeatedly in different directions in the air 10 the surprise ol all the Ctatort, and came tnhuit back again. These experiments yielded to the artificer j.it of IO,(XiO imperial florins.
