Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Add Reply
Rufus Porter's Magnificient Flying Machine
Topic Started: Jul 7 2010, 06:46 PM (228 Views)
United States of America
Member Avatar
An Empire for Liberty

Posted Image

March 1, 1849

All of New York's papers are abuzz with stories of Mr. Rufus Porter, inventor and publisher of Scientific American, and his latest mechanical contraption. Earlier this year Mr. Porter printed a pamphlet entitled Aerial Navigation: The Practicality of Traveling Pleasantly and Safely from New York to California in Three Days, in which he sketched his plans for an unusual type of balloon equipped with steam propulsion. This "air-ship" would be capable of navigating the countryside like a normal hot air balloon but would not be subject to the vagaries of wind.

A prototype is being constructed in New York City after Porter secured financial backing from unnamed local investors. He intends to begin experimentation by the middle of this year. Porter enthusiastically predicts that one day man will have mastery over the air, just as he now does the land and the seas.
Posted Image Embassy of the United States of America Posted Image
"For more than half a century, during which kingdoms and empires have fallen, this Union has stood unshaken. The patriots who formed it have long since descended to the grave; yet still it remains, the proudest monument to their memory."
- Zachary Taylor
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · American Political News and Domestic Affairs · Next Topic »
Add Reply