Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1910-01-13
BOY BUILDS A|RSHIP
California Youth Makes Success.
fuI Tests with Working Model
Gunzendorfer Machine, It Is Claimed
Has Many Advantages Over Sue
cessfui MonopIanes of Bleriot
and Wright Biplane.

$Ae lulufe MerVyn GunZendOrfer, IL
years old. expects to be flying over
the Preside grounds in an aeroplane
invented and made by himself. He
has built working model of the ma
chine and has made it perform sue
cessful flights
The Gunzendorfer machine, the boy
inventor says, has big advantages over
the successful monoplanes of Bleriot
and Farnum, and over the Wright
brothers biplane.
Mervyn, who is the son of J. Gun.
ssndorfer. of this city. is small boy
With a big round head and big eyes.
He is quiet, even to shyness, and it
u with difficulty that he can be in.
duced to talk of his achievements.
He set the motor of his model working
and 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
the 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
perior 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 ir
falling than would two of equal size
placed one above the other But how
was this arrangement better than thai
of the monoplane, with it's one Ions
stretch of canvas?
tits this way" he said. THE all
hits under here Indicating the under
side of the front plane). So there.
double support to keep it lifted with
the force of the air that hits it from
the front. That's better for glidins
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
-sry time you'd put another plane or
And another. the extra weight would
not be so great as the extra power and
supporting surface.
Il 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 tc
put In strong braces here and there
to make this part of the frame
stronger. There would be no trouble
about the propeller. shaft the way
rye got it now
This wheel arrangement is some
thing new" continued Mervyn. Have
you seen how the steering wheel is
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-piane. 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 a 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
single plane we're 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 in
which the young inventor hopes to
fly over the Preside will begin soon.
1t Is to measure q feet from the tin
Of the rudder to the end of the din.
p6anes in front.
Young Gunzendorfer has written
description of his model. Here it is:
1.-TWO distinct and permanently set
biplanes, placed tandem, each meas.
uring 24x12 inches, set six inches
0PoA~, oA'C wal ouppOlL1IS surface
at 1856 square inches. Located amid
ships of the main planes are two ad.
Unstable planes Sx12 inches, which are
controlled from the aviator's seat and
cause the biplane to arise or descend
at the will of the operator. A steer
ing rudder Axe inches is located at the
rear and same is under the direct man.
tpulation Of the aviator from his seat
It the rear Of the motor.
:"sThe initial thrust is obtained from
= coiled spring operating from a steel
barrel. Of the catapult type, the i'm.
petus thus obtained being sufficient
to get the model into the air, after
which the propelling power is fur
nished by a one-eighth horsepower
electrically driven motor capable Of
1 200 revolutions per minute.
"The motor is set amidship on the
main frame and is coupled by chain
drive to chain shaft driving the two
ten-inch propellers, one forward and
one aft of the front plane. The nower