Figure 1.
The peculiar arrangement of the planes of this flying-machine, which is the invention of two Minneapolis men, and for which the press of that city claim a successful midnight flight, has caused it to be called a “butterfly” aeroplane. The inventors are J. Stewart, a retired engineer, and S. Bromwell, a farmer with considerable mechanical skill.
The entire machine, including a special engine that it is claimed will develop between 12 and 15 hp., weighs only 200 lb. The extreme width of the main arm of the frame, which, with the second arm, forms a T-shaped frame, is 24 ft. The second arm is 18 ft. long. The sustaining surface is composed of two large and two small wings, as shown in the illustrations. The propeller blades swing through a circle of 7 ft.
The two inventors are men over 60 years old, but the machine is operated for them by Fred Parker, who has made several flight for Roy Knabenshue and Captain Baldwin. He claims that on its first trial the aeroplane rose to a height of 300 ft. and was kept in the air for 10 minutes. It rises directly from the ground, without assistance from running wheels or launching devices.
Figure 2.
