Page 15 - Demo

In the 1920s and 30s, Colonel Frank S. Faulkner, and his older brother Jimmy, worked for Pitcairn Airlines, where they helped develop an autogiro flying machine. Although more expensive than a conventional airplane, over 40 were produced by Pitcairn for both civilian and military use. One was delivered by Jimmy Faulkner to the Detroit News for use in capturing photographs for the paper.A predecessor of the modern helicopter, and often called a %u201cwindmill plane,%u201d an autogiro was kept aloft by four rotor blades%u2014which were not connected to the engine. They rotated and provided lift as the nose-mounted propeller moved the plane forward.Famed aviatrix, Amelia Earhart, made three promotional tours in an autogiro sponsored by the Beech Nut Packing Company. With the words Beech Nut Gum emblazoned on its side, she took her autogiro on a grueling cross-country excursion. Unfortunately, she crashed it several times during the trips, and vowed never to fly one again.In 1931, Col. Faulkner made his own autogiro promotional tour for Beech Nut through several Midwestern states, also with the words Beech Nut Gum its side. In Indiana, he stopped at many cities and towns, including Indianapolis, Brazil, Tipton, Jeffersonville, Valparaiso, and Greencastle. At each stop, Faulkner demonstrated taking off and landing with very little runway. He climbed steeply, and flew as slow as 20 miles-per-hour, and as fast as 120 mph. During his week-long stopover in Fort Wayne, he flew to several nearby towns. Faulkner regularly touted the autogiro%u2019s safety by pointing out that it would not go into spins or nose dives%u2014although he himself crashed in one in 1934. At a special Baer Field demonstration, he showed the local police how an autogiro could be used in law enforcement. He also spoke before the Fort Wayne Model Airplane League at the YMCA and the weekly meeting of the Lions Club. The Fort Wayne chapter of the American Air Mail Society prepared cacheted covers to celebrate Faulkner%u2019s visit.