The closer the bird is to the surface of the water, the firmer and more inelastic is the uplift of the rising air. The bird appears to almost feel the surface with the tip of its weather wing.

He accepted a place on the Ellesmere and circumnavigated Australia. Work on the rotary engine which powered many early aircraft up until about 1920. His development of the rotary engine was frustrated by the weight of materials and quality of machining available at the time and he was unable to get sufficient lift from his engines to build an independent flying machine.