Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-06-30

Washington, D. c., June 27.-The
heavier-than-air machine that will as
cend and descend vertically, and move
forward when called upon to do so,
may not have arrived, but it is in the
offing. Henry A. Berliner, a Wash
ington inventor, has been making dem
onstrations with a machine of this
kind that have attracted widespread
attention.
Helicopter is the name given this
be the next big development in the
flying game, and experimenting has
| been stimulated by a. big money prize
that has been offered in England for
the first machine that will meet GER
tain fundamental requirements. Mr..
Berliner is modest about what he has
accomplished, and has not gone after
the prize money as vet, but it is pos
sible that he has solved at least one
Of the big problems presented by the
theory of the %helicopter,
There are three Of these problems
first, getting the machine into the
air; second. flying it horizontally; and,
third, bringing it down again. The
first has not been SO difficult of solu-
ton and many machines have been
constructed that will rise from the
ground vertically. although it cannot
be said that in any one of them this
phase of helicopter flight has been
perfected. Mr.. Berliner's efforts have
been directed largely toward horizon
tai flight.
OF course any helicopter that goes
lup in the air will come down. The
great difficulty lies in bringing it
down. rather than letting it fall down,
and it is said that this is the greatest
of the three problems mentioned.
Theoretically the. %helicopter can &c
straight up in the air, fly in any d.
rection, hover in the air, and then
come down safely Power lifts them,
and moves them and holds them. but
power is difficult Of application in
making a descent. The machines have
no wings and when the motor is cut
out there is a marked tendency toward
a rock like fall that spells disaster.
If there were an engine of extreme
nicely of adjustment and absolute GER
tainty Of action descent might be ac-
complished by simply throttling down
the propeller speed gradually. But
there is no engine of such dependable
ity as yet. .~
Propeliers at Cross Purposes
The Berliner machine which has
been constructed primarily for ex'
Fermentation in horizontal flight, re
sembles an airplane, except that it has
no wings. The fuselage and rudder are
the same and the motor is ountec
forward as in the airplane. On each
side of the fuseiage is an upright car
carrying a 14-foot propeller, and
these propellers whirl in opposite d.
rections, forcing the air downwards
and giving the lift required to bring
the 1900 pound machine n pho
straight up into the air.
Aviators point out that getting
helicopter off the ground is compar'
atively an easy matter. for the an
that is forced downward forms a cush-
ion that helps sustain the machine
However, when the machine gets some
distance above the ground there is nc
such air cushion and there is a gyro'
scopic action caused by the big rotat'
ing propellers which frequently causes
the h%elicopter to turn turtle. Lieut.
Stefan van Perosczy, of the Austrian
hal Joon service. is said to have as
cended TO feet in a machine of this
tyne and it is claimed that the Eng
lishman. Louis Brennan, has been ur
DO feet inside a hangar, but Mr.. Ber'
liner has never taken his helicoptel
more than 10 or Il feet above ground
That is ample for experimental pur'
poses. he says.
The Washington inventor In ad.
dressing himself to the problem OF
horizontal motion hit upon the plan OF
fitting the helicopter. This is done BY
means of a small propeller near the
to;I Of tho machine which is geared tC