Three years after Lilienthal's death Pilcher met with a similar
accident. While making a flight his glider was overturned, and
the unfortunate "birdman " was dashed to death.

In America there were at this time two or three "human birds",
one of the most famous being M. Octave Chanute. During the years
1895-7 Chanute made many flights in various types of gliding
machines, some of which had as many as half a dozen planes
arranged one above another. His best results, however, were
obtained by the two-plane machine, resembling to a remarkable
extent the modern biplane.



CHAPTER XVII
The Aeroplane and the Bird

We have seen that the inventors of flying machines in the early
days of aviation modelled their various craft somewhat in the
form of a bird, and that many of them believed that if the
conquest of the air was to be achieved man must copy nature and
provide himself with wings.

Let us closely examine a modern monoplane and discover in what
way it resembles the body of a bird in build.

First, there is the long and comparatively narrow body, or
FUSELAGE, at the end of which is the rudder, corresponding to the
bird's tail. The chassis, or under carriage, consisting of
wheels, skids, &c., may well be compared with the legs of a bird,