The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-11-28

| L. P. Hunt of Seattle has arrived
i, in Mankato and will be the guest
Of his brother, r. W Hunt, for sew
eral weeks.
Bricelyn Sentinel: Vernon Nc
Chane of Mankato has been added to
the force of statesmen at the Wolf,
Habein store.
Mrs. C. S. Bugbee, Mrs. L. w.
Odds and Bertha Fletcher of Wells
spent yesterday in this city on a
shopping tour.
Mrs. ]. N. Tompkins was called
10 Albert Lea yesterday afternoon
| on account of the serious Illness of
her brother. Eugene Conner.
Otto Peterson, A. J. Partridge,
! Miss Kate Peterson and Rev. Howell
!, of Vernon Center motored to Man
, kato today in Mr.. Peterson's car.
Mr.. and Mrs. w. s. Albrant and
children are visiting at the home
of II. ]. Kuhn, Cherry street. Mr..
Albrant and family are moving from
, Rushford to Minneapolis.
From Saturdays Daily
| Great inventions and rare works
of geni,ises hardly ever come. into
the world in finely furnished rooms
or in quarters that are at all re-
splendent in their surroundings. 1t
is not strange then. that If a flying
machine were to come to light in
this city that it should be found in
as humble a quarter as a barn. The
machine that has fulfilled these con-
ditiOns is not a toy or a small device
h,,k al
chine that will be able to navigate
in the air when the engine is in
stalled
! One thing that is worthy of note
; is the fact that it is the work of
the brain and hands of seventeen
year old boy, the youth being Lyle
Thro, the son of o. A. Thro of
this city. Some months ago Lyle
started work on what is known as
! a glider, machine that is to run
| without an engine and which will
skim a few feet above the ground
! for little distances. This machine
gave fair satisfaction when it was
| tried on the court house lawn and
was able to leave the earth for lit
/ tie short runs. The range of the
work of the machine was limited
| however and Thro decided that he
must make a real one the second
| time so on the next trial he pro-
cured plans for Curtiss headless
{, bi-plane and has worked with that
idea in view. During the construc-
| ton he found that changes were nee
essary in order to get the type of
machine that he wanted so that be-
fore long he had reached place
in the designing of the machine
when it was impossible for him to
use the original plans, so that while
the machine as it now stands is a
Curtiss machine it is in reality an
original pattern. 9.t.
The young man has sent for many
of the parts, such as tho aluminium
castings, the cloth for the wings and
the tension wires. The work of
making it has been done mostly at
night in the barn that Dr. j. W.
Andrews uses for a garage.
Mr.. Thro, who is a very modest
young man, explained the workings
of the machine to a reporter, who
called on him yesterday, and showed
the various kinds of apparatus and
material that are necessary for the
making of a machine of this sort
The brace wire of the machine he
said. is piano wire and is tested to
support a load of 1900 pounds while
the control wire that works the
rudder and controls all of the ad
justments of the machine is a small
wire cable and can support 250C
pounds. Young Thro said that he
knew that the wire was of goot
quality, for he had tested strand
] of it and it had raised the rear enc
of an automobile from the floor.
The cloth covering of the wings
is known to the flying fraternity as
nya, number two aerOplane cloth
and it is stretched to drum head
tightness over the frame work o.
} the wings.
The drivers seat of the machine i!
} in front of the big wings and the
entire control of the machine is
!, at the reach of the driver. Twisting
: the" steering wheel, guides the ma
chine to the right or the left, push
. ing it forward, sends tie machine
on a downward course while pull
ing the wheel to the seat will cause
the machine to rise. Loose canvass
planes at either side of the wings
J keep the machine straight on its
course and prevent it from skid
ding sidewise in the air. When thu
: motor is installed it will be direct
ly in the rear of the driver and the
. big propeller blade will hang behint
, the motor. The big wooden propel
Ter blade that is to rive the ma
chine. is about four feet long ant
was designed by Thro, who took his
, plans for the blade to a woodwork
err who had the tools to make it a:
, he wished The young inventor j:
something of a craftsman and car
lay out mechanical drawing so tha
he can study the thing out from thu
sketch.
The machine as it now stands il
, the barn weighs about $50 pounds
but the weight of the engine will
increase this a good deal. Thrt
has given up much Of his time ant
Z his money in order to bring tn
machine to the state in which i
, now is, but with the ardor tina
comes from man that is in low
: with the thing that he is doinl
Thro does not regret in the leas
| the work or the money that has beef
necessary to make the machine. H,
/ is at present trying to get an engin
; for the flyer at price that will b.
within his reach but added tina
{ if he could not see his way clear t
t get the engine that he had alread