The times., 1901-06-10
A NEW FLYING MACHINE.
This Air Ship Can Also he Used ns
Automobile

/ BRIDGEPORT, Conn, June 9-Gustaye
| Whitehead, who lives in Pine Street this
| city, has a flying machine Mr. White
| head is an enthusiast on flying ma
| chimes. He became infatuated witS the
/ subject while d boy living with his pa
rents in Germany. subsequently he be-
| came an assistant and pupil OF L.ienthal.
/ who fell to his death from one of his
aeroplane machines in 1896. Mr.. White
head afterward studied the flying machine
! problem in England and this country.
About year ago he came to Bridge
port and got employment as a watchman.
so that he might have some part of the
| light Of each day in which to work on the
! problem of the flying machine Last No
vcmber he began work on the present
machine, which was completed several
weeks ago. and is now undergoing re-
! pairs made necessary by an accident at
| the machines trial flight The machine
| will soon be tested again. but where or
when the inventor will not say
Wherein Mr.. Whitehead believes he has
| advanced further toward solving the prob
lem of the airship than have Langley and
| Maxim in the matter of motor and main
tcnance of equilibrium he does not say.
| The trouble of all the flying machines
! that have flown is that they have habit
of turning b; ckward in midnight.
4 curious feature Of Mr. Whitehead 5
contrivance is that, as it stands now, it
is combination of an automobile and a
flying machine. When the experiments
were made on May 3. which resulted in the
accident Mr.. Whitehead says. the flying
machine travelled along the road with its
own power from in front of his house
in Pine Street to a place out near Fair
field, several miles away. In addition to
Mr. Whitehead, 1t carried another man
the entire distance. The general model
of the machine is that of a bird or bat
There is a body sixteen feet long ON
each side are bat-like wings. measuring
thirty-six feet from tip to tip. What still
more heightens the bird-like appearance
of the craft is the movable muslin and
bamboo tail. which can be Topped up and
down to direct, and aid in ascent or de-
scent, as in the case Of the bird There
are two motors, one of which drives the
machine over the road as an automobile
The othvr or upper motor works the two
air propellers on each side of the craft.
1t is the idea TO run the machine on the
ground by means of the lower engine un-
iii sufficient momentum has been obtain
ed to enable the machine 20 rise easily
from the ground Then the two air pro-
DelIerS are set IN Ilotiplit anu eiS tA'S i1-e
chine rises. the lower engine is shut off
and all the force directed to the propel-
lers. which viii drive it through the air
with the widely OutstTetched wings on
either side as aeroplGnes.
Describing his first attempt at flying.
the inventor said:
1--WE started the machine on the crest Of
a hill, and from right in the middle Of the
road With the under motor it got good
momentum, and began TO rise from the
effect of the aer0plane wings. 1 did not
ride in the machine which has not
reached a sufficient stage Of perfection for
that. I put in 22G pounds of sand ballast.
and it would have carried a good deal
more When the machine begins to rise
the upper engine is started and the lower
engine automatically stops
1T worked perfectly. The machine
sailed up into the air to a height. should
think. of forty or more feet II cleared
the tops of the trees, at all events 1t
went the first time about an eighth of
mile; then it took a slant down to the
ground, because there was no living in
teIligence on board to control it and to
keep it horizontally stable. 1t was not
hurt b. the fall, and We tried it again.
The second time it rose and went farther
It went a full half milefthis trip, I should
think. Then again the lack Of an intel
ligent hand 10 guide it brought it to grief
II slanted downward and dashed against
tree This ended the experiments