It was there that Langley proved to be a resourceful manager. While at the observatory he originated the practice of selling the exact time to the Pennsylvania Railway twice a day. When combined with the instantaneous communication of the telegraph, exact time allowed the maintenance of precise schedules at all stations along the line. During the next 20 years, Langley's administration realized more than $60,000 from that idea-funds that were used exclusively for the observatory.

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Between 1870 and 1887, Langley's devotion to the study of solar physics produced valuable information concerning the sun's radiation spectrum. He also established the unit for measuring solar radiation that still bears his name-the langley. Colleges and universities around the world recognized the value of his research, awarding him honorary degrees, while his peers lauded his achievements. Langley's new career was a splendid success, but he was not happy-he felt unfulfilled and intellectually isolated from mainstream science.

In an article published in the Aeronautical Annual for 1897, Langley revealed his lifelong curiosity about flight: 'The subject of flight interested me as long as I can remember anything, but it was a communication from Mr. Lancaster, read at the Buffalo [N.Y.] meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in 1886, which aroused my then dormant attention to the subject….' Israel Lancaster, an amateur naturalist and aeronautical experimenter, presented a paper containing so many theoretical errors that it drew roars of laughter from the assembly of professionals. Since he gave no demonstrations, few believed Lancaster's crude wooden flying models could'soar without internal power for up to fifteen minutes.' Octave Chanute, who had planned the program, was disappointed, but his most prominent guest, Langley, left Buffalo enthusiastic about the new challenge. Was powered, heavier-than-air flight possible? A series of experiments would be required to discover the secrets of flight. New and original measuring equipment had to be invented. At 52, Langley felt invigorated-it was like starting his solar project all over again.

Langley's large 'whirling table' apparatus was constructed at Western University of Pennsylvania in 1887. He masked his intentions from the public by referring to the research program as 'experiments in pneumatics.' The steam-powered device measured the lift and drift (drag) of flat surfaces set at various angles to air blowing at velocities up to 70 mph. About the same time, anemometers (wind gauges) and small lifting surfaces were hoisted to the top of tall poles to study wind currents and updrafts.

After launching those experiments, Langley was named the assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution by the then current secretary, who died within the year. Langley, the natural choice as successor, was officially elected to the position toward the end of 1887. He moved to Washington, D.C., where he held the most influential and prestigious scientific position in the United States.

Langley supervised the continuing whirling table research from Washington, giving his assistants directions by letter and telegraph. Additional experiments, conducted in the spacious laboratories and shops of the Smithsonian, provided Langley with the necessary data to write his paper of 1891, 'Experiments in Aerodynamics.' Perhaps his most significant conclusion was that 'mechanical flight was possible with engines we could then build.'

In his paper of 1893, 'The Internal Work of the Wind,' he arrived at startling conclusions concerning air currents and the power required to fly. Because of problems with apparatus and methods, some of Langley's data was faulty, leading him to conclude that less power was required to fly fast than slow. Because of his scientific reputation, 'Langley's Law' was accepted-although tentatively-but would later be disproved.

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