Los Angeles herald., 1910-11-13
HONK! LOOK OUT
FOR AIR CYCLES.
Los Angeles inventor Says His
Machine viii Make Flying
Easy for Everybody
TAKES SHOT AT TRUST PRICES
Reynolds Will Only Charge $100
for Apparatus, and Riders
Will Supply the Power

Alva L. Reynolds, q local inventor,
promises that within a few months he
will put on the market flying ma
chine which will be to the air what the
bicycle is to the street and which will
not in any way infringe on existing
patents. Reynolds says that his ma
chine will carry one person safely and
swiftly, and that he will be able to sell
1t at a price not greater than $100
''There will be no motor" Reynolds
explained yesterday. The rider him
self will provide all the power neces-
sary, and there will be no propeller of
the kind commonly used in aeroplanes
or dirigibles. What is more, there will
be no steering apparatus, except that
provided by the wings Most creatures
that fly require no rudder, and when
man learns to fly properly he Will need
none.
'The trouble with the vertical pro-
peller is that it loses in efficiency as
it produces speed. With the horizontal
propeller, or wings, the reverse is true.
Take any of the heavier birds, for in
stance, when they begin their flight
thew appear clumsy and are slow in
getting started, but once fairly
launched they attain wonderful speed
with ease.
SAYS FLYING Is EASY
1.-THE operator in one of my machines
will use both his arms and his legs to
propel himself through space, but the
exercise will not be strenuous nor will
IT be difficult to learn. So far as the
steering of the machine is concerned, it
will be steered Just as the bird steers
his fight. Many persons think birds
use their tails as rudders, but this is
mistake. The tail is merely plane to
support the heaviest part of the birds
body in the air. Bats, flies and many
insects have no tails, yet they eX-
perience no difficulty in accomplishing
the shortest turns at will. If you de-
prive a bird of it's tail the bird will be
able to fly all right, though its body
will sag down where 1t was upright
before.
ct am now tswork on plans for the
mani bird and expect to begin the con-
struction of a machine within short
time. Until my patents are secured
cannot be more explicit regarding the
invention. Once have them, however,
1 shall take my place in the machine
some fine morning and come flying
down town, alighting on any of the
taller buildings I may happen to select.
'I don't ask people to believe this
thing until they see it. I am going to
show them and then l am going to sell
machines at fair price. There will be
no trust methods in the sale of the
man bird. All 1 want is fair profit,
and l will be able to get that at 500,
less than the best makes of bicycles
sold for when they were first placed on
the market.
NOT AFTER THE PRIZES
"I have no use for the spectacular
side of aviation and I am not enthused
by any of the prizes that are being
offered for special achievement, but If
there is any such thing possible as in
dividuaI flight, and l am convinced
there is, purpose to solve that prob
lem. l do not mean that everybody
who has arms and legs shall fly in
stead of walk, but I do believe that
future days will see the air filled with
aerial men and women as our streets
are now filled with cyclists. 1 do not
believe it is either a question of power
or of endurance, but strictly a question
of following the natural law which is
employed by all creatures that travel
the air"
Mr.. Reynolds, whose place of busi-
ness is at COS West Seventh street, in
vented the Man Angel Flying Ma
chine" which attracted much atten-
ton here in 1905 and 1906 and which
Travelled through the air by man
power" only. He also is the inventor of
a wave motor which has demonstrated
its practicability at one of the
beaches. where a full sized plant has
been installed. He was a delegate to
the worlds aeronautical congress in
st, Louis at the time of the Louisiana
Purchase exposition, and always has
been keenly interested in problems of
aerial navigation.