Evening star., 1928-12-30
FIRST
INTRIGUED MAN
Tests of Machine Made Dur
ing Civil War Failed
to MateriaIize.

Celebration last week of the twenty
fifth anniversary of the first airplane
flight made by man has served to focus
attention on other early efforts in this
country to satisfy mans yearning to
fly.
The Wright brothers, whose expert
mentS led to the first successful air.
plane flight at Kitty Hawk N. c., De-
cember II, 1903, have said that their
personal interest in aviation dates from
1878, when their gather gave them a
toy helicopter. They later began max
ing these helicopters for themselves,
but, disappointed with the results,
turned to kite flying.
The helicopter seems to have been
the first type of flying machine with
which serious experiments were made.
Sir George Cayley. during the early
part of the last century, won the title
of 1.-The father of British aeronauticS'
by his experiments with helicOpterS
He is the first man, according to his
tory, to make flying toy beyond any
possibility of question. In 1896 Cayley
made a small helicopter of two corks
with four feathers stuck in each like
fan blades, vertical shaft connecting
the two "propellers' and a bow and
string to spin the shaft and propellers.
Predicted Aviation in 1909.
In his famous paper of 1909 on aerial
navigation Cayley proposed to substi-
tute large planes for the feathers and
to install an engine to provide power.
Cayley was the first, SO far as can be
learned, to definitely propheSy aerial
navigation as it is known today.
The helicopter as machine for mill
tary reconnaissance excited the interest
of Army officers and scientists in the
United States during the Civil War.
The first such proposal on record was
made November Z, 1861, to Gen.
Mitchell. in command at Port Royal,
S. C. There was exhibited to him a
tin model wound up with string,
which would fly into the air hundred
feet or higher and would carry bullet
or two if the string were pulled hard
enough.
1t was argued that big device of the
same sort, with air screws for horizontal
propulsion, could be made to carry an
observer. Mitchell fell victim to yell
low fever, however, and nothing further
was done.
Captive balloons were used during
the Civil War, but with little success.
During the siege of Charleston. in the
Summer of 1863, attention again turned
to the helicopter and there were long
discussions between Maj. Richard Butt
and Capt. James E. Place, of the En-
gineers, and Edward Wellman Serrell,
who had experimental with models.
During the siege of Petersburg, in 1864,
the problem of learning enemy move
ments became one of concern to the
Engineers, and Serrell went to work
with energy.
He flew a four-inch fan to height of
more than 100 feet and Maj. Gen. B. F.
Butler, commanding the Army Of the
James, expressed the belief that man.
carrying helicopter could be made. He
ordered Serrell to submit an official re-
port. Serrell devised four-fan hell
copter, to be driven by steam engine.
with two lifting fans above the engine
and two pushers below. Two fans were
provided to propel and steer the device
horizontally with system of gliding
planes and balancing bars on either
side.
Experiment is Unsuccessful.
The body was to contain fuel and
water and a high-presSure boiler and
steam engine. The machine was to be
So feet high and about the same width
across the wings. Gen. Butler was
much impressed and ordered Serrell to
Superintend the building OF the ma
chine at once. There were no funds,
no tools and no engine, however, and
delays resulted. Funds were provided
by private subscription, tools made and
New York firm was commissioned to
make the engine.
A sheet-iron air screw 80 feet in di-
ameter was built and it was found to
be capable of lifting 600 pounds, or
more than the weight of the screw it
self, Serrell reported. 1t was found
upon experimentation in closed build
ing, however, that the device would
drop after rising few feet, due, as
Serrell put it, Ito the downward cur
rent of air that soon became nearly
or quite as fast as the pitch of the
screw; hence it would lift nothing" The
New York firm was unfortunate in its
experiments and the close of the war
at Appamattox also was the end Of the
helicopter.