Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1910-02-03
B. BOY BUILDS A|RsH|P
California Youth Makes Success
(. tut {. Tests with Working Model
6unzendorfer Machine, 1t Is Claimed,
Has Many Advantages over Sue.
eessful MonopIanes Of Bleriot
- and Wright 6ipIane.

years old, expects to be flying over
tne Pres1dio grounds in an aeroplane
invented and made by himself. He
mas built working model of the ma,
cn1ne and has made it perform sue.
cessful flights.
Inc Gunzendorfer machine, the boy
inventor says, has big advantages over
the successful monoplanes Of Bleriot
ana Farnum, and over the Wright
brothers biplane.
Mervyn, who is the son of J. Gun.
zendorfer, of this city, is a small boy
Win a big round head and big eyes.
he Is quiet, even to shyness, and it
ID with difficulty that he can be in
duced to talk of bis achievements.
he set the motor of his model working
ana made the propellers whirl when
asked to show the machine. In un-
easy monosyllables he told how he had
induced the little craft to fly in his
back yard and down the alleyway to
tne street. 1t had flown 80 to 100
feet, and the only thing that had
stopped it from going farther was the
wire by which the power was sup
piled to the electric motor.
The boy began pointing out the SUI
perlor points of his machine.
More supporting surface" he said,
pointing to the arrangement of his
planes, which are placed tandem style,
each tilted upward toward the 'front.'"
That was clear. Two sheets of can
vas placed that way would certainly
offer more resistance to the air in
falling than would two of equal size
placed one above the other. But how
was this arrangement better than that
OF the monoplane, with it's one long
stretch of canvas?
It's this way" he said. "The air
hits under here Indicating the under
side of the front planet So there's
double support to keep it lifted with
| the force of the air that hits it from
the front. That's better for gliding
and for rising, too.
Eyes, you could extend a machine
| of this Sort You could extend it as
much as you wanted to, because ev.
cry time you'd put another plane on
and another, the extra weight would
not be so great as the extra power and
supporting surface.
II reckon this big machine I've
made the plans for would carry two
men. Then, If you extended a ma.
chine like that you could carry more
and more passengers. You'd have to
put in strong braces here and there
| fr {~ 0~& -
stronger. There would be no trouble
about the propeller shaft the way
I've got 1t now.
| "This wheel arrangement is some.
thing new" continued Mervyn. "Have
you seen how the steering wheel ia
arranged on an automobile? There is
one shaft inside another One works
the steering apparatus and the other
opens the throttle. I'm going to try
the same kind of arrangement on my
big machine. One of the shafts will
work the rudder and the other the
dip.plane. This arrangement will save
weight and will be lot easier to man
age than the levers that are now used
"This aeroplane is going to be as
light as any Of those the big men have
made. And I'm going to have Cur
tiss motor, so am sure it'll be able
to carry two passengers. The Bier
lot monoplane has carried three.
But the monoplane could not be ex
tended like my machine could. If 8
single plane were made too big there
would be too much strain on the
framework. Besides, you could not
get enough lift on with one very big
plane as you could with. these planes
one behind the other, each with tilt. ,
The building of the big machine II
which the young inventor hopes tt
j. fly over the Preside will begin soon
It is to measure q feet from the tif
of the rudder to the end of the dip
J. planes in front.
:. Young Gunzendorfer has written 6
description of his model. Here it is
1.-TWO distinct and permanently SCI
biplanes, placed tandem, each meas
uring 24x12 inches, set six inches
apart, give total supporting surfac,
Of ,336 square inches. Located amid
ships of the main planes are two ad
Unstable planes Sx12 inches, which ar
. controlled from the aviators seat ant
cause the biplane to arise or descend
at the will of the operator. A steer
ing rudder 4x6 inches is located at tn
rear and same is under the direct man
ipulation Of the aviator from his sea
at the rear of the motor.
J, "The initial thrust is obtained iron
: 4 coiled spring operating from a stee
!, barrel. of the catapult type, the i'm
!, petus thus obtained being suf1cien
,lt.f the model into the air, ate
). " 44ch the propelling power is ful
nished by one-eighth horsepows
electrically driven motor capable q
I, 1000 revolutions per minute.
, "The motor Is set amidship on th
I main frame and is coupled by chat
drive to q chain shaft driving the tw
ten.inch propellers, one forward an
. one aft Of the front plane. The powe