AN APPARATUS FOR NAVIGATING THE AIR
Year: 1885

page_text: I, WILLIAM HENRY PRESTWICH, photographer of Denholme Villa, Hornsey
Park, Hornsey London N. do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
AN APPARATUS FOR NAVIGATING THE AIR to be as follows:-
My apparatus is for the purpose of navigating the air, enabling me to rise from
the ground and to propel myself and machine in. any given direction. This
I accomplish by means of revolving fans or wings, which are mounted on each
end of a horizontal shaft, the said wings feathering automatically, and driven by
manual or other power; in the case of being driven by the weight and muscular
power of the rider, it is applied in the same way as is commonly used in the
working of bicycles and tricycles.
Rising above and attached to my machine I have a cigar-, or by preference a
fish-shaped balloon which by suitably attached cords or ropes I am enabled to
guide in the desired direction.
The use of the balloon, is for the purpose of lessening the exertion required in
rising, when the wings alone, are used.
The ascension is made by working and revolving the wings, and by decreasing
the revolution the descent is made.

page_text: I, WILLIAM HENRY PRESTWICH of Denholme Villa, Hornsey Park Hornsey,
London N. Photographer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for AN
APPARATUS FOR NAVIGATING THE AIR 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 an apparatus for navigating the air and preventing
gyration in a balloon for which purpose I provide an apparatus as below described
Description of drawings:-Fig. 1. sh. 1. represents an end view of the apparatus
with a balloon Q attached; Fig. 2. sh. 1. is a side view of the apparatus with
balloon attached.
Fig. 3 sh. 1. is a plan of the bottom shewing pedals.
Fig. 4 sh. 1. is an enlarged view of the fixed cam and striker.
Fig. 5 sh. 1. is a cross section of the balloon shewing lappets closed.
;
Fig. 1. sh. 2 is a diagram of the balloon shewing rudder and the position of the
steering apparatus Fig. 4 sh. 1. is drawn to a larger scale than Figs. 1 2. 3, and 5
sh. 1 and Fig. 1 sh. 2 and the same letters of reference indicate identical parts in
all the figures:-By this apparatus I am enabled to from the ground and
propel myself when in the air, I accomplish this by revolving the fans or wings a,
a, a, a, shewn in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. sh. 1 feathering automatically by means of the
fixed cams and strikers b and c, and the barrel d¸fixed to the shaft r by which the
motion is transmitted to the arms and wings by manual or other power if by
manual it is driven in a somewhat similar manner to the Merlin tricycle viz; by
means of pedals q, q, connected to clutches m, m, actuated by the rider or riders
sitting on the saddle g, by these means the shaft r, and the attached arms e, e, are
revolved by the weight and muscular power of the rider acting upon the pedals q, q,
The method of feathering the fans or wings is shewn on Fig. 4 in which the
wing a³ has started on its downward stroke being kept in its proper position by
means of the striker c, passing over the fixed cam b till it has lost its effective
lifting or elevating power it then feathers by means of the striker c¹ coming into
contact with the fixed cam b, at the same time, bringing the wing a, into action
the arm e, being allowed to make a quarter turn in the barrel d;-d being securely
fastened to the driving shaft r; the fans or wings are fixed in each end of the
shaft in opposite planes, above and attached to the steering apparatus by the
upright shaft and bar h'.
I employ a cigar or fish shaped balloon Q filled with hydrogen or ordinary
coal gas; the ascent is made by working the fans or wings, and by ceasing to work
I slowly descend.
The great difficulty bitherto experienced in aerial navigation, has been the
inability to prevent gyration this has arisen from having no fulcrum of resistance,
it has been repeatedly proved by many failures that in all cases when the weight
of the car and steering apparatus are attached in such manner that they become
part and parcel of the whole, this gyration must take place; in my arrangement
it is shown that I get the necessary fulcrum by my plan of attaching the balloon Q

page_text: to the bar w and shaft ¹ shs. 1 & 2 out of centre, by this means the balloon
always maintains itself "head to wind "acting in this respect precisely in the same
manner as a vane the part v having a much smaller surface to be acted upon by
the wind; I call the head, this enables me, by the fulcrum thus obtained to give
varying direction to the action of the steering part, viz., the fans or wings and
necessary attached apparatus, by turning the handle h, fixed to the upright shaft
and bar h¹, which are attached to the balloon Q by means of the horizontal rod w,
at its end, At the end of the longitudinal rod or bar I have attached the rudder 8,
hinged at t, to the cross bar w to which the rudder is connected is operated upon
and deflected as required by the two cords u, u, running along the bar under the
command and regulated by the rider.
The upright shaft h¹ is attached to the steering apparatus by the bearings n, n,
Figs. 1 and 2 sh. 1 in which it turns or swivels, so that when the handle h, is moved,
the apparatus with the rider (not the balloon) will turn in the required direction,
the balloon by its shape and arrangement being kept in one direction by the wind
together with the great advantage of offering the least possible resistance to its
action by reason of its being cigar or fish shaped. To prevent sudden descent in
case of accident to the steering part of the apparatus or to the rider or riders,
I fix longitudinally on the whole or part of the length of the balloon Q lappets x, x
as shewn on Figs. 1 2 and 5 sh. 1 attached in such manner by cords y, y, that in
ascending, the air presses down the lappets as shewn on Fig. 5 sh. 1 to the sides of
the balloon Q but on descending, the air gathers underneath lifting them into the
position as shewn on Fig. 1, sh. 1, the lappets being held by cords y, y, y, as shewn
on Figs. 1 and 2 sh. 1 causing them to act after the manner of a parachute, thus
rendering the descent gradual and safe.
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. The apparatus as shewn on the drawings for the purpose of rising into and
navigating the air.
2. The plan and method of having the balloon fixed or attached out of centre
as described and shewn.
3. The method of having the fans or wings fixed on each end of the shaft in
opposite planes and plan of feathering the same as before described and shewn.
4. The method of turning the apparatus carrying the fans or wings in any
required direction as before described and shewn on accompanying drawings.
5. The plan and method of preventing sudden descent by the lappets as before
described.
6. The above apparatus or any mere modification of the same as before described
and shewn on accompaning drawings.