An airplane that rises straight up in the air and descends slowly the same way, instead of requiring a large landing field!
Such an invention, the long-sought goal of aviators, is said to have been perfected by Louis Brennan, English, assisted by the British air ministry.
Brennan’s airplane, of the helicopter type, can stand still in the air 30 minutes, in a wind up to 20 miles an hour. So claim persons who saw it tested out.
Such an invention would revolutionize flying.
You now can buy a good airplane, one that is reasonably safe, as cheaply as you can buy a good auto.
The obstacle that has kept the airplane from coming into general use is the necessity of having a big landing field to glide over before rising into the air or when descending.
For instance, you would keep your ‘plane in a garage with a roof opening like a trapdoor. Climb into your machine, soar straight up, go where you want to, come back, descend slowly in a straight line, setting gently back into the garage.
Even if Brennan’s invention does not turn out as expected, it is only a question of time until such a device will be perfected. Experiments by other helicopter operators make this certain.
Hansch, the German, over a year ago, exhibited in Holland, a helicopter expected to travel 312 miles an hour. Nothing has been heard of him since, so his machine apparently needed more tinkering before placing it on the market.
A helicopter, by the way, has special propeller blades above and below the airplane, parallel with the ground. Thus, in rising, the upper blades create a vacuum in the air, into which the ‘plane rises.
With a helicopter ‘plane, you could land on the flat roofs of buildings or even settle slowly into the street.
With a marvel like that, man would be a better flyer than a bird, for a bird glides outward when soaring into the air.
From page 4, editorial page of the Durham Morning Herald, Sunday, June 22, 1924
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