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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 1908.PDF
25 JUNE 1954 FLIGHT 37 A page from THE ESSO HISTOIRE OF AERIAL LOCOMOTION Adapted from the French de P. Crochet- Damais. Illustrated par Philippe Fety avec permission. SAMUEL MUSGRAVE AND HIS GLIDER TO avoid the vengeance of his formidable opponent, The Knight of Eon, Doctor Samuel Musgrave decided to flee from England; and to improve his chances of a quick getaway he devised a flying machine of striking form and features. The doctor was, no doubt, inspired by the theories and aero nautical memoirs of Pere Galien which were published in 1740, but his " planeur " was an original work of art and perhaps of science. A drawing of the machine is still in existence: it shows a small hinged platform set in the middle of a large sheet of canvas, well waxed and tarred and supported by flexible whalebone struts. An auxiliary motor is mounted in the centre of the platform just behind the cockpit. The engine is a primitive jet or jet-type, producing a powerful stream of air and creating a reactive thrust capable of inducing flight. We do not know exactly what happened to old Musgrave. He disappeared at the very moment when an engraving of the astonishing machine appeared in the papers. It is possible that he flew away—or that he didn't. But he was certainly successful in throwing his pursuer right off the scent. Today genius gets results by remembering that it pays to say Esso, AVIATION FUELS & LUBRICANTS ESSO PETROLEUM COMPANY, LIMITED, 36 QUEEN ANNE'S GATE, LONDON, S.W.I
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