The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-09

numerous, indeed, have been the fail
ures that the general public has lost
faith in flying machines and said man
was not destined to fly. But the san
guine inventors persevere in their fas-
cinating work and frequently proclaim
that all difficulties have been sur
mounted, and in a very short time the
skies will be traversed as easily and
safely as the country roads.
But while the scientists have been
plaguing themselves and the public
with air ships of various kinds a
young man of nineteen has gone out
of the beaten track Of past experience
and devised a simple apparatus which
actually flies. Wheelmen will be inter
ested in the fact, that the main prin-
ciple of this device is taken from the
bicycle. The accompanying iII1lstra-
ton is from q sketch made by the in
ventor, j. G. Ryder of Richmond Hill
l.. l., and gives a good idea Of the
new machine which promises to revo-
lutionize the science" of aerial nav
1gation. Mr.. Ryder has actually flown
on his aerial bicycle from Homestead
to Richmond HILL He rose to an aIti-
tude Of several hundred feet and glided
along as easily as though running an
ordinary safety over asphalt pave
ment The sensation of moving
through the air, he says, is very de-
lightful, and he sees no reason why
his machine should not come into pop-
ulare USE
GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF TRIAL.
Mr.: Ryder's account of his expert
ments and aerial trip is full of inter
est. He said to me yesterday:
Il experimental three years on a
flying apparatus and could not make
any Roadway, but on June 25, after a
months hard labor, made a model.
twenty inches long, with a cylinder of
silk and thick bamboo ribs. When in
hated with gas this cone-shaped thing
had to have fifty pounds of anchorage
to keep 1t from rising / then built
two aluminium sweeps, two feet long
by ten inches wide, with a half-inch
steel bar, twelve inches long, for an
axle, and clamped it to the bottom of
the cone Then I took a piece of alum
mum, twenty inches long, and adjust
ed a handle bar and seat, and attached
sprocket wheel and pedals at the
bottom Of the rod. I fixed a wheel
geared to one hundred to revolve the
sweeps, and chain to propel the gear
wheels, as well as a one-eighth inch
bar for use as piston. After I got
the machine fixed in this way the mo-
mentous question of whether it would
fly or not was still to be settled.
pumped the gas into the cone and
started 1t off. 1t rose steadily, and
then, to my great surprise, it flew in
the teeth of a gale of wind blowing
twenty miles an hour. had an alarm
clock, with an attachment to let out
the gas at a given time, on the ma
chine. When the clock gave out the
gas escaped. and the model came down
to the ground.
81 then built a machine to carry five
hundred pounds. On July 20 I was
ready for my next experiment. I
pumped the gas into the cone, seated
myself in the loop, cut loose from the
anchorage and at once rose two hun
dred feet In the air. Then / worked
the pedals against the wind and start
ed for my home, accompanied by few
friends whom had left on earth be-
low. I cannot explain the delightful
sensation of sailing through the air or
the easy motion of the machine. 1 few