Vertaplane

In Philadelphia one day last week a pilot named George Townson took off from an airport in a plane that resembled an ordinary biplane. He circled the field, landed normally, few minutes later took off again. While he was in midair, watchers on the ground saw the upper wing begin to revolve like the vanes of a gyro. This time George Townson landed in the steep, space-saving drop characteristic of a gyro, came to earth gently.

Christened the "Vertaplane" by its inventor, Gerard Post Herrick (distant kin of onetime Ambassador to France Myron T. Herrick) of New York City, the craft has a strong pylon with a vertical mast which holds the top wing firmly in place for ordinary flying, and when released allows it to revolve on a bearing for a gyro landing. By virtue of a starting mechanism in the wing which starts rotation on the ground, the Vertaplane can make a gyro takeoff as well as a gyro landing. It weighs 1,700 lb., has a 125-h.p. motor. Said happy Inventor Herrick after the demonstration: "For ten years we have been searching for the missing link of safety in aviation. We hope that it is the Vertaplane. By flying as an airplane and landing as a windmill plane it would seem to combine the advantages of both." A group of Government scouts, newshawks and tradepaper reporters felicitated the inventor, expressed keen interest, hoped the ship's inventor could design it for greater payload. It is now designed as a two-place plane.

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