Improvements in Flying Machines.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Nov., 1896
Complete Specification Loft 16th And 1897 Accepted. 2nd Oct. 1897
Improvements in Flying Machines.
I, FREDERICK RICHARD SIMMS, of Amberley House, 12, Norfolk Street, Strand,
in the County of London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in dynamic flying machines.
According to my invention I provide a frame preferably oblong in shape and
made of aluminium tubes or bamboo, the length of the said frame being in
proper proportion to the total weight (inclusive of that of the human body) to be
supported and which is generally about two or three times the length of the
human body.
The frame is covered dome-like with a suitable, material preferably Chinese
silk starched, varnished or otherwise prepared and supported by fine aluminium
wire or the like or my frame may be provided with aeroplanes arranged length-
ways and so as to form a dome-like cover. In some case I may employ a combina-
tion of the Chinese silk and the aeroplanes or I may use any other suitable known
means for compressing air. on one side and forming a vacuum on the other.
To this frame I suspend from a suitable point in the same (that is to say, at
about the point where the wings for controlling the flying machine are attached)
a second frame constructed to support the human body and so as to retain the
same in equilibrium. The suspended frame, which may be provided with a saddle
similar to a cycle saddle, supports the body of the person, propelling the machine,
round the waist and is balanced in such a way by suitable bearings and supports
as to enable the body to assume any position by a slight movement of the head
or arm or any other part of the human body.
The suspended frame is also provided with suitable mechanism, such as pedal
mechanism similar to that employed for actuating cycles, for propelling the wings
by means of the legs. In some cases instead of employing foot-power I utilize
animal or mechanical power for propelling the machine.
The wings are so arranged that they can be moved in any direction and at any
angle. They can be steered by suitable rods and levers by means of the arms
and, even when arranged at an angle, can be actuated by the legs.
In some cases I may utilize the arms to assist the legs in propelling the machine
but I prefer to use the arms mainly for steering the machine.
The main frame of the machine is provided with a kind of rudder tail which
may be turned at any angle and which may be adjusted in size by being unfolded
or folded and is arranged to be actuated by the arms, legs or head of the person
propelling the machine.
When using my machine the method of flying which I adopt is similar to that
of a pigeon, namely, the machine is caused to move in an undulating line and
avoid a perpendicular ascent and descent. The power of the wind is utilized as
a support for the machine by placing the wings at certain angles and the rudder
tail is used both for steering and when descending.

page_text: When descending the wings are used similarly to those of the pigeon, that is
to say, just before landing they are brought up over the head of the person con-
trolling the machine so as to be almost parallel and a few strokes are then made
with the said wings so as to break the sudden fall of the body.
The person using the machine can, when descending, remove his feet from the
pedals of the driving mechanism and use them to counteract the force of impact
with the ground and, to deaden the shock, his boots are advantageously provided
with pneumatic soles.
Dated this 14th day of 1000
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Flying Machines.
I, FREDERICK RICHARD SIMMS, of Amberley House, 12, Norfolk Street, Strand,
in the County of London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in flying machines.
According to my invention I provide a frame preferably oblong in shape. and
made of aluminium tubes or bamboo, the length of the said frame being in proper
proportion to the total weight (inclusive of that of the human body) to be
supported that is to say being generally about two or three times the length of
the human body.
The frame is covered dome-like with a suitable material preferably Chinese
silk starched, varnished or otherwise prepared and supported by fine aluminium
wire, silk cords, horeshair or the like, or my frame may be provided with aero-
planes arranged so as to form a cover or a series of covers. In some cases I may
employ aerostats or a combination of the Chinese silk and the aeroplanes or a
combination of aeroplanes and aerostats or I may use any other suitable known
means giving similar support or balance.
To this frame I suspend from a suitable point in the same (that is to say, at
about the point from which the wings for controlling the flying machine are sus-
pended a second frame or bracket constructed to support the human body and
which may be arranged so as to retain the same in equilibrium. The suspended
frame, which may be provided with a saddle or seat may support the body of the
person, propelling the machine, round the waist or other part of the body and may
be balanced in such a way by suitable bearings and supports as to enable the body
to assume any position by a slight movement of the head or arm or any other
part of the human body. The suspended frame may also be hung on a spring or
springs in order to lessen the shock of descent.
The suspended frame is also provided with suitable mechanism, such as pedal
mechanism similar to that employed for actuating cycles, for propelling the wings
by means of the legs. In some cases instead of employing foot-power I utilize
animal or mechanical power for propelling the machine.
The wings are so arranged that they can be moved in any direction and at any
angle. They can be steered by suitable rods and levers by means of the arms
and, even when arranged at an angle, can be actuated by the legs.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe it by reference
to the accompanying drawings, in which:

page_text: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a flying machine constructed according to my
invention:
Figure 2 is a similar view of a modified construction:
Figure 3 is a similar view of another construction of machine:
Figures 4 and 5 are a side and end view respectively of one type of mechanism
for driving and controlling the wings:
Figures 6 and 7 are a front view and an end view respectively drawn to a larger
scale shewing mechanism for raising and lowering the aerostats:
Figures 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 are detail views shewing different forms
and arrangements of aeroplanes and aerostats.
Similar letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all the
figures.
Referring to Figure 1, a is the oblong frame which is jointed at a, a and as
above indicated, is made of aluminium tubes or bamboo and is about two to three
times the length of the human body. b is the dome-like cover to the said frame a
the said cover being preferably made of Chinese silk (or alaminium) properly
pepared by starching, varnishing or by other suitable means and supported by
fine aluminium wire or the like as above described. The cover b, which forms an
aeroplane, is preferably of an egg-shape in plan and semi-elliptical in section
and its front end may be turned upwards or terminate horizontally so as to allow
the air to pass under the plane with greater, facility than would otherwise be the
case. The dome-like cover b may be covered in on the underside by a plane
surface thus providing a space between the said underside and the upper surface
of the cover so as to form an aerostat which may be filled with a light gas such
as hydrogen or may contain a bag or bags of silk or similar material arranged
and constructed so as to form inner chambers for containing the gas. Or, instead
of the simple plane b shewn in the drawing, I may provide the said plane with
suitable valves such, for instance, as those described in my application No. 25,717
of even date herewith. In the figure the aeroplane & is shewn fixed with respect
to the frame a but it will be obvious that it can be pivoted thereto and be pro-
vided with means whereby its position can be controlled by the rider.
b
c, c are the wings which are used to propel the machine, the said wings being
preferably of the kind described in my said application No. 25,717. Each wing e is
hinged at its inner end at d to a hollow bar e which is pivoted by a universal
joint to the frame a of the machine so that the said wings can be moved in any
direction. f is the saddle for supporting the rider, the said saddle being mounted
upon the lower end of a rod g which is pivoted by a universal joint at its upper
end to the frame a of the machine so that the rider on the saddle can always
maintain a vertical position whatever the angle to the horizontal at which the
flying machine is running. The saddle f may be provided with a frame for
preventing the rider from falling off. h is a guide suitably secured to the
frame a of the machine for limiting the amount of movement of the pivoted rod g.
i is the crank-shaft of the driving mechanism, the said crank-shaft having
cranks and pedals of ordinary construction as shewn (or I may use shoes or clips
to keep the feet of the rider in position) and being rotatably mounted in the
frame a of the machine at j, j. The pedals may be allowed lateral movement so
that the rider's feet may always be directly above them. Each projecting end of
the crank-shaft i is provided with a toothed wheel which gears with a toothed
wheel upon a spindle m having a crank n which is connected by a universal
joint to one end of a connecting rod o, the other end of which is connected by a
universal joint to a rocking lever p pivoted to the frame a of the machine around
which it can turn, the said rocking lever communicating the motion of the con-
hecting rod o by a universal joint to a connecting rod q pivotted to a sleeve e' on
he bar e so that the rotation of the crank-shaft i imparts a to-and-fro motion to
ach of the said bars e and oscillates the wing c.
To enable the wings to be set at any angle with respect to the frame a of the
machine I provide handles r, arranged within reach of the rider's hands and

page_text: attached to the inner ends of rods s, s which pass through the hollow bars e, e and
are hinged at their outer ends at ss to the inner ends of rods s2, s the outer
ends of which are hinged to the frame-work of the wings at , as clearly shewn.
The rods, & can move longitudinally in the bars e but are prevented from rotating
therein by keys and the bars e are free to rotate in the sleeves e¹, e¹. With
this construction it will be obvious that by moving the rods s in a
horizontal plane by means of the handles r, the angles which the wings e make
with the frame a in a horizontal plane can be varied as desired, and that by
turning the handles in the hollow bars e' it will be obvious that the wings can be
rotated on their axes so as to alter the angles of their planes with the frame of
the machine and also that by sliding the bars s outwards in the hollow bars e' the
wings are lifted on their pivots and by sliding the said bars inwards by means of
the handles, the wings are caused to drop on their pivots d. Further by swinging
the body into a horizontal position the lower part of the frame a which as above
described is jointed to the upper part at a" will be displaced from the vertical,
thereby altering to the same extent the plane of the movement of the wing c.
It will thus he seen that every possible adjustment can be given to the wings
which would be required in practice and it is obvious that if desired I can provide
means for locking the wings in any position.
In the construction of my machine shewn in Figure 2, I employ two lateral
aerostats b, instead of the central 'aeroplane or aerostat, shewn in Figure 1.
These two aerostats & are preferably made trapezoidal in plan and are so mounted
in the frame a of the machine that they can be moved around their horizontal
axes either automatically or by the rider through the medium of suitable
mechanism hereinafter described.
In this figure, I have represented the machine as provided with concave-convex
wings e, e the said wings being driven and controlled by the mechanism shewn
to a larger scale in Figures 4 and 5. In this construction of mechanism the
crank-shaft i is provided with bevel wheels in lieu of the spur wheels k shewn
in the arrangement illustrated in Figure 1, the said bevel wheels gearing with
the bevel wheels , mounted loose upon the frame a of the machine and having
cast in one with it a bevel wheel which gears with a bevel wheel keyed upon
the end of the spindle m, the said spindle m being mounted in a frame a' which
is fitted to the frame a in such a manner that it can swivel thereon and carry with
it the whole of the controlling gear for the wings. The said wings c, e are pivoted
at d to the hollow bars e pivoted to the frame a and adapted to be operated by
the connecting rod q' from the crank n upon the spindle m in the manner described
with reference to the constraction shewn in Figure 1. The said hollow bar e,
however, passes through a slot b in a guide which can slide between curved
guide-hars 6, fixed to the frame a' so that by turning the said guide by the
means hereinafter described, the outer end of the bar e will be compelled to move
in a plane set at a fixed angle with regard to the machine. The means which I
employ for moving the guide 2 between the guide-bars comprise a
rack fixed to the said guide and arranged to gear with a toothed
sector mounted upon a shaft or rod which is secured to a sleeve 67 sliding
on the frame of the machine and normally held in its lowermost position by the
spring . The said rod is provided with a handle 6 by means of which it can
rotate the toothed sector 6. 610 is an additional handle by means of which pins
can be engaged with or disengaged from the notched boss b fixed to the sleeve b
so as to lock the rod in any desired position. 6 is a locking disc by means of
which the whole of the frame a¹ can be locked at any desired angle by means of a
tongue 13 secured to the sleeve 67 which tongue engages in notches in the disc 613
the said frame being released by raising the handle so as to release the
tongue from the said locking disc 6, The rods s in this construction raise
and lower the wings by means of the gear which is rigidly connected to the
wings, is an auxiliary rod which is provided with a handler and with means
whereby when the two handles r and r₁ are pressed together the rod s is free to

page_text: move in the bar e and when the handles are released the said rod s is locked in
position.
In the complete machine shewn in Figure 2, I have shewn the driving mechanism
provided with means whereby each pedal can be separately and independently
disconnected from the wing it actuates. The said means consist of clutch
gear m provided on each spindle m, the two halves of each clutch being normally
held in engagement with one another by the spring m coiled upon the spindle m.
In the construction shewn in Figure 3, my machine is shewn provided with
two flat or approximately flat aeroplanes b, b held in a rigid position at a suitable
angle to one another and to the machine and supporting between them an
aerostat 6° of ordinary construction and preferably cigar shaped in plan so as to
provide as little resistance to the passage of the machine through the air as
possible. The aeroplanes 6 can, if desired, be arranged so as to be movable about
their horizontal axes as described with reference to Figure 2, or they may be
provided with valves as stated with reference to the construction shewn in
Figure 1. The aerostat & is not necessarily fixed in the position shewn but may
be above or below the planes and I can employ two or more aerostats instead of
the one shewn, or I may rely on the speed of the machine floating on the principle
of the kite thus dispensing entirely with the aerostat.
In this arrangement the wings e, e which are shewn flat or approximately so,
are rigidly secured to the hars e, e and the said bars are pivoted to lengths a, a
of the frame a which lengths a telescope or slide in the said frame a so that the
pivots about which the wings move can be raised or lowered by sliding the said
lengths a up or down by hand. This up and down movement of the pivots alters
the angle of the wings to the horizontal hy lowering or raising their outer
extremities, the inner extremities forming the fulcrums about which they turn.
The bars e pass through guides be which work in the fixed frame a¹ and are each
provided with a rack 6 which gears with a toothed sector 65 mounted on the
rod having a handle by means of which the said rod and consequently the
sector 65 rack b and guide 62 can be rotated so as to alter the angle of the stroke
of the wing with the horizontal. These several mechanisms may be used as shewn
or any combination of the different parts thereof may be used as found necessary.
In Figures 6 and 7 I have illustrated mechanism by means of which the angles
of the aerostats or planes or aeroplanes 6 pivoted to the frame a of the machine
can be altered as required. In the arrangement shewn in these figures each
aerostat is provided at its lower end with a bar el pivoted to a bar ca pivotally
mounted upon the upper end of the suspension rod g of the saddle f
aerostat is also supported at any desired angle with the horizontal by means of
rods e pivoted by universal joints to the said aerostats and also to the upper end
of a sliding rod which moves in guides e, e secured to the said suspension
rod y which in this arrangement is fixed to the frame a and not pivoted as in the
arrangements hereinbefore described. The rod can be raised and lowered in
the guides e, by means of the screwed rod 7 working in a nut fixed to the
said rod e, the said screwed rod e passing down so that its lower end which is
provided with a hand wheel or handle is within reach of the rider. The bar
is provided with arms clo, c10 connected together by a rod ell having a guide ca
which is internally screwed to receive a screwed rod es which extends downwards
so that its lower end, which is provided with a hand wheel or handle c is within
reach of the rider. By rotating the rod ela by means of the hand wheel e" it will
be obvious that the aerostats can be turned so that the angle which the horizontal
plane of each aerostat makes with the vertical plane of the machine can be adjusted
to suit requirements.
Each
Figures 8 to 15 are detail views shewing different forms of planes which can be
employed with my flying machine. In Figure 8 I have shewn a plane con-
structed of a number of hinged shutters t, t adapted to be operated by levers t
through the medium of a bar t2, bell-crank lever to and controlling rod t, by means
of which mechanism they can be caused to open more or less on the principle of a

page_text: wind-mill sail to give less or more resistance to the passage of the plane through
the air as required.
In Figure 9 I have shewn a series of aerostatic planes b, b, b which can be
simultaneously operated by means of a worm u which gears with quadrants u¹, u¹.
Figures 10 and 11 (of which Figure 11 is a section on the line 11-11 Figure 10)
represent expanding planes which are simultaneously operated on the lazy tongs
principle.
In Figures 12 and 13 there is shewn an arrangement of combined planes similar
to those shewn in Figures 10 and 11, but placed in pairs at right angles to one
another as shewn. In this case the line of direction in which the machine moves
coincides with the centre line of a pair of planes or with the diagonal of the
parallelogram formed by the said planes as shewn by the arrows and y and z in
Figure 13. In Figure 14 I have shewn the combination with planes of the kind
described with reference to Figure 12 of a series of flat planes which may or may
not be provided with valves. Figure 15 shews a similar arrangement to that
illustrated in Figure 14 except that aerostats are employed in lieu of the aero-
planes, the said aerostats being shewn slightly curved.
The aerostats used with my flying machines are not intended to entirely raise
the machine and rider from the ground but are designed to practically counter-
balance (that is to say to rather less than counterbalance) the weight of the
machine and rider so as to ensure a gradual and easy descent without necessitating
the escape of gas and also in order that the rider shall not have to exert the force
required for overcoming the effect of gravity on himself and the machine so that
he has the applied power at his disposal for propulsion or for other purposes.
In some cases I may utilize the arms to assist the legs in propelling the machine
but I prefer to use the arms mainly for steering the machine.
The main frame of the machine may be provided with a kind of rudder tail
formed of two aeroplanes cutting one another at right angles to their horizontal
or longitudinal axes which may be turned at any angle and which may be adjusted
in size by being unfolded or folded and is arranged to be actuated by the arms,
legs or head or body of the person propelling the machine by suitable mechanism.
As above stated the wings which I advantageously employ in my flying machine
are of the kind described and illustrated in the Specification of my application
No. 25,717 of even date herewith.
When using my machine the method of flying which I adopt is similar to that
of a pigeon, namely, the machine is caused to move in an undulating line and
avoid a perpendicular ascent and descent. The power of the wind is utilized as
a support for the machine by placing the wings at certain angles and in some
cases a rudder tail is used both for steering and when ascending or descending.
When descending the wings are used similarly to those of the pigeon, that is
to say, just before landing they are brought up over the head of the person con-
trolling the machine so as to be almost parallel and a few strokes are then made
with the said wings so as to break the sudden fall of the body.
The person using the machine can, when descending, remove his feet from
the pedals of the driving mechanism and use them to counteract the force of 4
impact with the ground and, to deaden the shock, his boots are advantageously
provided with pneumatic soles or the machine is provided with a frame pneumati-
cally supported.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. A flying machine consisting of a main frame having one or more aeroplanes,
of a saddle frame for supporting a rider, the said frame being suspended to the
main frame, of wings pivoted to the main frame, of suitable means such as pedal
mechanism for communicating a to-and-fro motion to the wings and of means for 5

page_text: adjusting the angle of the wings to the machine, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
2. A flying machine consisting of a main frame having one or more aerostats
designed to nearly balance the machine and rider against the action of gravity
and so constructed to assist in maintaining equilibrium of a saddle for supporting
the rider, the said frame being suspended to the main frame, of wings pivoted to
the main frame, of suitable means such as pedal mechanism for communicating
a to-and-fro motion to the wings and of means for adjusting the angle of the
wings to the machine substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. In a flying machine of the kind described in Claims 1 and 2 the employment,
for driving and controlling the wings, of mechanism comprising pedal gear
adapted to operate crank-shafts mounted in frames, which can swivel on the main
frame, and adapted to oscillate arms to which the wings are hinged and which
are pivoted to the main frame and pass through guide slots in guides adapted to
be set at any desired angle between guides fixed to the said swivel frames by
suitable means such as by racks and toothed sectors operated by handles within
reach of the rider, substantially as described and illustrated in Figures 4 and 5
of the accompanying drawings.
4. In a flying machine of the kind described in Claims 1 and 2 the employment,
for driving and controlling the wings, of mechanism comprising pedal gear
adapted to operate a crank shaft mounted in the frame of the machine and
arranged to communicate a to-and-fro motion to the wings rigidly fixed to bars
which are pivoted to the frame of the machine and pass through slotted guides
provided with means, such as racks and toothed sectors operated by handles, for
adjusting their position, the said mechanism also comprising means for raising
or lowering the pivots by which the bars are secured to the frame, substantially
as herein before described and illustrated in Figure 3 of the accompanying
drawings.
5. In a flying machine of the kind described in Claims 1 and 2 the employment,
for adjusting the angle at which the aeroplanes or aerostats are set, of mechanism
consisting of a rotatable bar to which the lower ends of the aerostats or aeroplanes
are pivoted, of a sliding rod connected by means of pivoted rods to the said
aerostats or aeroplanes and of two screwed rods in connection with the rotatable rod
and the sliding rod and provided with hand wheels whereby they can be rotated,
ubstantially as, and for the purpose described and as illustrated in Figures 6
and 7 of the accompanying drawings.
6. In a flying machine of the kind described in Claims 1 and 2, the employment
of aeroplanes or aerostats constructed as herein before described and as illustrated
respectively in Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11, 12 and 13, and 14 and 15 of the accom-
panying drawings.
7. The improved flying machine hereinbefore described and illustrated respec-
tively in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
Tatth: 10
1005
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.