of inherent stability afforded by the tail, as in the case of
Lilienthal's glider, by altering the position of the body. With
this machine Pilcher made some twelve glides at Eynsford in Kent
in the summer of 1896, and as he progressed he increased the
length of his glides, and also handled the machine more easily,
both in the air and in landing. He was occupied with plans for
fitting an engine and propeller to the 'Hawk,' but, in these
early days of the internal combustion engine, was unable to get
one light enough for his purpose. There were rumours of an
engine weighing 15 lbs. which gave 1 horse-power, and was
reported to be in existence in America, but it could not be
traced.

In the spring of 1897 Pilcher took up his gliding experiments
again, obtaining what was probably the best of his glides on
June 19th, when he alighted after a perfectly balanced glide of
over 250 yards in length, having crossed a valley at a
considerable height. From his various experiments he concluded
that once the machine was launched in the air an engine of, at
most, 3 horse-power would suffice for the maintenance of
horizontal flight, but he had to allow for the additional weight
of the engine and propeller, and taking into account the
comparative inefficiency of the propeller, he planned for an
engine of 4 horse-power. Engine and propeller together were
estimated at under 44 lbs. weight, the engine was to be fitted
in front of the operator, and by means of an overhead shaft was
to operate the propeller situated in rear of the wings. 1898
went by while this engine was under construction. Then in 1899
Pilcher became interested in Lawrence Hargrave's soaring kites,
with which he carried out experiments during the summer of 1899.