"A British aeroplane. capable ct vertical Aight has been eonstracted Yor the Air. Ministry" and has. suecessfully passed its frst open-air trials.
The machine has been built in secret by aft. Brennan, the designer, the huge airship shed at South Farnborough, where: the. Gamma, tone of the Ast of the military alr: Ships, was housed, The trial Aight fvas carried out at 8 o'clock ly the Morning in a secluded. spot_om the aerodrome, with only Air Ministry experts present. Extraordinary precautions were taken to" secure the absolute secrecy of the trial, Extra guards were posted all ove the neighbourhood. A complete and earch of all the land in was. made, Hedges were examined, bushes beaten, and itches scoured. Even' trees. "were closely searched to ensure that they Screened no unauthorized person, Hovering at 20ft Only when it, wan satisfactorily ascertained that no one was in hide ing inthe precinets of the aerodrome was the Drennan craft wheeled ott From the closely ghavded hangar.
Te vase straight up_with an ease and certainty that delighted the experts who were looking on toa height of nearly 20ft, "It" hovered for some minutes, and then "safely descented." All "the time. ie was tunder the completest control.
Horizontal Might wan not attempt-ext on this occasion. Mi, Brennan finslous to make certain slight modi fications, revealed by the test Aight as necessary, before the fuller tents fire carried. ovt.'Tvials-will_ mise have to be made in rougher weather than existed at the early morning flight.
"The Brennan helicopter, which is entirely unlike any of the foreign tnachines, it based on the gyroscope principle: The research "and. experimental work has been, going on secret for nome years. The State hax given financial ansistanco the inventor and. the crate la, of course, the property" of the "Ait Ministry, jan Inventor. nan, who is an Irishman, born at Castlebar, West Ireland, is 72 years of age. He had achieved fame as an inventor before he turn= ed his attention seriously to solving the problem of vertical flight.
He produced the Brennan torpedo which, in 1880, was sold to. the British Government for £110,000—more than four times the largest sum ever before paid to an inventor by the Government. He also me vented the mono-rail, a gyroscopic railway, and the research work me volved in that production has been of considerable value to him in the evolution of the helicopter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.