As boys throw stones from slingshots whirled around their heads, so a rotating catapult just patented will enable aircraft to take off from restricted areas, like the roofs of buildings. To a vertical pole that rotates at high speed is attached a long lever. This is pivoted to the pole at its top, while a plane is fixed to its lower end by an automatic releasing gear. Then the pole is set in motion. As the speed increases the plane rises on the end of the long lever, swung out from the pole by centrifugal force. It is then going around and around like cars of “flying swings.” As the speed of the launching device approximates the plane’s flying speed, it is automatically released and the plane is flung into the air. The inventor says planes can be landed by a reversal of this method. The diagram makes the launching process clear.
