Low Auchensail

Image: © Lairich Rig Taken: 3 Sep 2010

The farmhouse is shown here in its situation alongside Image; see that link for further context. For the various items visible in front of the building, see Image - - • - - For those interested in the history of aviation, Low Auchensail is a site of particular interest. It was here that Percy Pilcher made experiments with a "soaring machine of his own invention". One of his early efforts with such a machine is described as follows in a contemporary account: "the principal feature of the machine is a pair of widely extended wings, shaped and ribbed like those of a bat. ... They seem to have a spread of about 30 feet. ... He has been able after a run against the wind to rise and keep afloat for half a minute at a time. ... Sometimes when standing with the wings extended on the ground at Cardross a puff of wind has raised him 12 feet in the air, letting him down gently on the same spot". The account added that Pilcher "plans the addition of some machine power" ["Dumbarton Herald", 1st of April, 1896]. The reported wingspan of the machine had simply been estimated from a picture that appeared in "Nature" magazine, and may not be very accurate. The "Dumbarton Herald" issue of the 1st of December, 1909, gives an account of later developments. As related by Archibald Denny, Pilcher had seen [Otto] Lilianthal, pioneer of gliding, in Berlin in 1896, when the Naval Architects were invited to Germany. Mr Pilcher induced some of the group to visit Herr Lilianthal's place; there, Lilianthal had created a mound of earth about 40 feet high, from which he glided in a machine that was in the form of a biplane. Professor Biles of Glasgow University, taking up the account, gives an overview of Pilcher's early career. Sixteen years earlier (than the occasion of Professor Biles' address), Percy Pilcher had been a midshipman in the navy. He had then entered Glasgow University to take up engineering as a pursuit. He went on to make several "soaring machines", as he called them, about 12 or 15 feet square. They consisted only of wings, and a framework in which Pilcher stood. In his trials at Cardross, he would attach himself to such a machine, and run downhill. With sufficient lift, he could glide across to the hill on the other side of the valley. When in Glasgow, Pilcher had tried to interest others in his work; in particular, he had tried to engage the interest of Lord Kelvin. However, Lord Kelvin reportedly said of Pilcher's work "The thing is too soon. Do not encourage him; he will kill himself". If Kelvin did indeed say this, then, unfortunately, his words proved to be prophetic: while Pilcher was exhibiting one of his machines to friends at Rugby, a part of it broke, and he was killed. See Image / Image for a memorial to him at that site. As noted earlier, Pilcher had desired to use machine power. He designed several engines, but did not succeed in making them light enough. He lacked the funds to produce a machine large enough for his purposes. If it had been otherwise, then, it has been said, the honour of producing the first flying machine might have been his. - - • - - There has been a farm here for a long time. The Pont/Blaeu map of the Lennox, published in 1654, but based on surveys carried out in the 1580s-90s, shows an "Achinsaill" here. It appears as "Auchinseal" on a 1777 map of the shire of Dumbarton by Charles Ross; not much later, the Farm Horse Tax Rolls (1797-98) give the name of the occupant as William Davie. An 1821 map by John Ainslie shows a High and a Low Auchensale, corresponding, with only a slight difference in spelling, to the present-day situation; for the other farm of the pair, see Image

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