The Washington times., 1923-05-01
EXPERTS PROVE
HEL|C0PTER
PRACTICAL
De Bothezat Machine Given
Successful Demonstrations
by Army Pilot.
BY DEAN NORRIS,
Cosmopolitan News Service.

DAYTON, Ohio, May 1.-The
helicopter, the long-sought aerial
achievement which is destined, in
the opinion of scientists, to revolu-
tionize flying for the human race,
is making such successful flights at
McCook Field that it's sponsors to-
day predicted it would prove
practical.
1t was here that the Wright
brothers. twenty years ago, Strug-
gled in poverty to test their ideas
in flying. 1t was here that the
heavier-than-air flying machine
was born.
Near this historic ground today,
American engineers, cooperating
with DR. George De Bothezat, a
Russian refugee hnd aeronautical
student, are apparently bringing
into a living reality the helicopter.
The Wright brothers, after three
years of preliminary testing, flew
their machine for the first time
fifty-nine seconds, Now the en-
durance record, made here only a
few days ago, is more than thirty
six hours.
Has Made 100 Flights.
The De Bothezat helicopter, five
months after being built from the
Russians theories, has made 100
flights; has stayed in the air nearly
two minutes, and has lifted five
men. 1t has reached an altitude
of seventeen and twenty feet on
different occasions. All known
worlds records for machine built
on the helicopter principle were
shattered a few days ago during
tests for lifting and altitude.
When perfected, it is claimed
the helicopter will be able to hover
and how that will revolutionize
the dropping of bombs!
1t can rise straight upward from
an area twice its own size-and how
grounds! Even a roof can be a
helicopter. 1t will be able to fly
forward, sideways as well as up
and down. And 1t will be able to
land slowly-not at SO or 100 miles
an hour as is the case with an
aeroplane today-with the motor
dead. And any spot can be a land
ing ground.
My helicopter will open a new
era in aeronautics, feel conf
dent" DIR. De BotheZat said today.
THE success of my helicopter, de-
signed purely from theories, is due,
first. to the high efficiency of it's
lifting screws. and, second, to it's
inherent stability.
THE helicDpter was constructed
in fifteen months time without any
preliminary test whatever. rhe
machine. has four lifting screws of
my special type, each being 2652
feet in diameter. The machine
weighs $500 pounds. The total
blade area, the blades revolving
above the machine laterally, is
300 square feet, and is sufficient
for securing the descent when the
motor is stopped.
The machine has complete sta
bility. The engine rests in the
center of the. helicopter and trans
mits power to the lifting screws by
novel system of gears, whose
work through all the many tests
has been perfect.
Tests which we made April ~
demonstrated the steadiness of the
behavior of the machine, when four
men CluuS 10 SlFuLS OH the machine
without difficulty and proved its
balance. Our first flight was on
October 10, 1922. Since then we
have made so many flights we have
ceased to count them.
Il believe our present machine
can reach several hundred feet
altitude. A new machine, 1ncorpo.
rating new principles. we have dis.
covered and made stronger as well
as more powerful. could reach sew.
eral thousand foot altitude and fly
sixty miles an hour
Lifted Five Men.
I'm the flights April II. when
five men were lifted from the
ground, the machine took a total
load of some 1000 pounds.
There are no difficulties for
the present helicopter remaining
longer in the air, other than the
natural desire of the pilot not to
fly too long a new type of machine
about which everything has to be
learned"
The man who has been plotting
the helicopter is Major J. H. Bane