The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-10-06
The AERIAL TRICYCLE..
Novel Air Ship Invented by a
Milwaukee Man.
GOT THE IDEA FROM THE FLY,

Jew Theory Of Aerial Navigation-It
Was Discovered Accidentally, Says
the Inventor-Expects to Win st.
Louis 100000 Prize.
Will Max Coin of Milwaukee sue
coed in lifting the 100000 reward
to be given at the st. Louis Louisiana
Purchase exhibition to the man who
exhibits the most successful air ship?
He and many of his friends believe he
has applied a principle to his proposed
aerial tricycle. that cannot fail to
achieve this enviable success, says the
Milwaukee Sentinel.
1.-THE sailing card" principle Is the
open sesame to the Golfers of the expo
sition corporation, according to many
who have investigated the novel idea,
and Mr.. Cohn is busy these days Or
ganizing this company which is expect
ed to bring more fame to Milwaukee.
The air ship will be about sixty feet
in length and fourteen in diameter. 1t
will be propelled and steered by hui
man energy and have appended to the
balloon a sort of tricycle., on which will
sit the men who furnish the power
and brains necessary to the operation
of the great wingless fier.
The propeller will be affixed to the
stern of the ship, but the rudder will
be in front. This rudder will be in the
form of a disk, as will also a pair Of
planes placed at the sides of the ma
chine. The planes and rudder will all
be kept in rapid revolution while the
air ship is in motion, and here lies the
secret of the inventors idea.
His machine will weigh but a tri1e
more than the air it displaces, and it
is his belief that by running the ma
chine on its wheels along the ground
and starting the propeller sufficient
momentum can be attained to raise the
slight weight from the earth. The pro-
peller will keep the air ship in motion.
while the horizontal disks, tilted up
ward, will raise the machine and the
circular rudder turned either way will
give the desired direction. But it is in
the revolution of the three disks, which
are expected to cut the air as does the
revolving card, that the inventor pins
his faith.
"Just how l came to form the idea
Of attempting to solve this difficult
and fascinating problem l cannot re-
member" MI. Cohn said to a reporter,
"but at the age of sixteen l found my
self at the task of constructing a fly
ing machine, and l assure you l was so
engrossed in it that l neglected my
meals and other boyhood pleasures on
account of it, and even today I can
produce the scroll saw, wood, pieces
Of cigar boxes, glue, ingeniously con-
structed pulleys and other parts of
this, my first attempt of childhood's
fancy, which, as any one can readily
imagine, was patterned after the con-
struction of birds. Wherever the occa-
sion presented itself, but never neg
Letting my duties, l made observations.
mischief led to the discovery of my
theory. Here's how it happened. After
finishing a commercial course at a spen-
cerian business college l secured a po-
sition as bookkeeper in one of Milwau-
kee's leading. dry goods houses. Here
the cash boys, who were perhaps three
or four years my Junior, devoted their
surplus energy and time to all kinds Of
youthful diversions, and among other
things they made some wooden toy pis-
cardboard by force of a trigger re-
leased rubber band. One day one Of
these boys tried to amuse himself by
shooting at me. Although I often
sailed stones or other flat missiles while
at play, their action attracted my
attention as these tiny bits of paste
board did, no doubt because 1 felt quite
a pain when one struck me in the face
or on the hands. While trying to evade
them 1 noticed how gracefully and ac-
curately they would revolve through
the air. and all of a sudden it flashed
through my mind, That's just the thing
for a rudder in a flying machine
"After that 1 secretly made expert
ments with such tiny pieces of card
board by attempting to throw them
with all my might, but always failed to
OOtdlI any SuCA IeSuIlS DIS tue 10y p1S-
toll did by shooting them. Then I con
cluded to make experiments with larger
pieces of pasteboard by twirling them
through the air and was delighted with
their action, which satisfied me that
my theory was correct and that revolv-
ing planes ought to solve the problem
Of aerial fight. From that time until
1896 I experimental and kept my in
vention a secret for fear Of being
known as a crank, and time has dem
onstrated that my fears were well
grounded. By studying and making OBJ
servations Of the fight of birds and the
common house fly, which in my opin-
ion surpasses any bird of fight, l even