The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-10-08
0dom viii Make His Initial
Flights tuesday or We'd
neSday of Next Week
AT TER YEARS OF WORK
HE Is ABOUT TO SUCCEED
Absolutely Confident of Flying He Has
Striven to Build Machine With
Qualities for High
Speed.
BY c. M. STANLEY.


ham has a man who will become famous
within the next few weeks. In this flying
machine age the man who builds an aero
plane that will fly is the man who gets
the ears and eyes of the whole world.
e. T. Odom, a Birmingham man, has
been working for years on plans for an
aeroplane and he has now about COM
pleted machine which will be given its
first trial early next week at the State
! Fair grounds, and experts pronounce ii
superb piece of machinery with every
detail worked out to such a fine point
that it is practically sure to accomplish
what its inventor feels certain 1t will aeS
complish.
Mr.. Odom has been working for weeks
in one of the buildings at the State Fair
grounds assembling the parts and bring
ing to a elimination the dreams and am
billions of years of thought and study
At a cursory glance his machine looks
very like that of the Wright brothers. 1t
has the two great parallel planes the
forward steering planes set horizontally
and the rear rudder planes set perpen-
dicularly. The motor of the Odom ma
chine occupies about the same relative
position as does that on the Wright ma
chine.
But there are some features of the
Odom aeroplane which are entirely alb
sent from the Wright or Curtiss ma
chimes. Odom has movable horizontal
planes at the tips of the large planes
which are controlled by lever and which
will be a great improvement in turning
and in meeting the air currents. Front
and rear extensions of the two main
planes are also movable and give the
aviator much better control of the ma
chine when in motion.
But Odom's most radical departure
from the accepted American type of ma
chine is his helicopter. The helcopter is
devise for aiding the ascending and
descending qualities of the machine
Above the upper and below the lower
plane are contrivances resembling an ordi-
nary ceiling electric fan except that the
blades are concave. The rapid rotation
of these fans assists the car to rise rapid
ly and to descend easily. In its completed
shape the aeroplane will also have two
immense helicopters which are perhaps
10 feet across and are made in spiral
shape. These helicopters moving GOO revo-
lutions a minute are expected to give
the machine great rising power.
Mr.. Odom is modest man. Few peo-
pie In Birmingham have known what he
was doing all these years. But he has
been busy all the time, and he deserves
the success which bids fair soon to be
his. Before starting work on his ma
chine he went into every phase of the
aviation problem. He went to Washing
ton and watched all the flights of the
Wright brothers. studying the good quail
ties of the machine and trying to pick out
their defects. He went to New York and
watched the machine of Glenn Curtiss at
work and picked out the good and bad
points of that machine. In the past three
or four years he has spent $1,000 In rail-
road fare alone travelling about the coun-
try to see different types of airships. He
has visited manufacturing plants to study
various kinds of gasoline motors and
other types of engine. He has made a
careful study of the best kind of wood
and other material to be used. His aero
plane up to the present time has cost him
something over $4,000 and he is as conf
dent he can fly In 1t as that he can walk.
He regards the flying part of the prob
lem as entirely solved. His machine has
been constructed with the idea Of getting
high speed. With this in view he has in
stalled 50 horse power gasoline engine
of the highest possible efficiency.
There will be pretty little bit of SEN
timent develop one of these days in con-
nection with Odom's efforts for he was
unable to finance the undertaking him.
self He was willing to put in every cent
he had in the world. but it was not
enough, and some day 1t will be found
that Birmingham, too, has some men who
recognize and have confidence In and want
to encourage genius.
Odoms aeroplane will undoubtedly be
the greatest attraction of the approach
ing State Fair He will attempt his first
flight on Tuesday Wednesday. People
of Birmingham will not realize what he
has been doing all this time until they see
the big machine in action. There will
undoubtedly be a crowd on hand to see
the first fight. but If the first is sue
cess and further daily flights are made
the grounds will scarcely be able to hold
the people who want to see specimen
Of the modern wonder of the world.
And you can't talk to Odom without
having some of his confidence ooze into
your pores. He somehow impresses you as
a man who does what he sets out to do.
He has had some encouragement already,
but he is sure to have more in the near
future for his name may soon extend
farther than that of any other Birming-
ham citizen.
Marrjaoe Licenses Issued