More unique and unual aircraft, some successful, some less so, from the Movietone archives. Included in this volume:
00:30 The Waterman Whatsit: Waldo Waterman (1894-1976) designed, built and flew the Waterman Whatsit, a one-person airplane with a pusher prop. Waterman went on to design the Arrowplane and the Arrowbile personal aircraft.
While the Whatsit did fly, there is unfortunately no footage of it in flight in the Movietone archives. In addition the soundtrack to the film has been lost.
01:28 Helen Alberti (1874-1962) was a Boston-area singer and entertainer. In her later years, she developed her own theories of flying based on her understanding of “the ancient Greek laws of cosmic motion.” Using a set of wood-and-cloth wings, she and two of her pupils attempt to take flight, enduring a good deal of ridicule from the newsreel crew.
06:12 Paul Mantz (1903-1965) was an aviator and Hollywood stunt pilot. In the early 1930’s, he acted as spokesman for the Adjustable and Variable-Pitch Propeller Corporation, founded by Seth Hart and Robert Eustis. While variable-pitch propellers are common now, Mr. Mantz's way of demonstrating them are a bit unorthodox. [Reference: Jeremy R. Kinney, Reinventing the Propeller, 2017]
08:42 Danish-born Jacob Sellmer (1869-1968) first built a light plane for his son Walter, a Marin county game warden. In 1929, he started Sellmer’s Sport Planes and Gliders in Stinson Beach. His idea was that it would enable Marin county residents to get to San Francisco quickly and easily. Unfortunately, he didn’t sell any. [Reference: Air & Space magazine, August 2016]
Short takes, after the credits:
14:42 Short Scylla: Short Bros. built just two Scylla passenger airplanes at the request of Imperial Airways. The design was a modified version of their Kent flying boat, hence the high wings and engines.
15:41 Fokker F-32: At the time the Fokker F-32 was built, it was the largest land-based aircraft in the world. The unique fore-and-aft engine configuration led to problems with overheating and lack of power. Just 10 were built.
