COUNTER CULTURE
First Flight Not W right? (P art 21
Brodbeck later told friends that although "I
demonstrated my model to many prominent
businessmen . .
he was unable to secure
financial backing. The final blow came when,
while in Chicago, "some very important papers
were taken from my briefcase. I later felt that
my plans were used to benefit those who in
later years were successful in flight due to the
invention of a small gasoline motor used for
their motive power." Brodbeck named no
names, but in his great-granddaughter's book
is an artist's drawing of the "Air Ship" and the
Wright Brother's "Aeroboat." While there are
striking similarities, there are also substantial
differences, making it difficult to argue if
anything more than sheer coincidence was at
work.
Brodbeck died in 1897; for many years
afterwards, a model of his "Air Ship" rested in a
wooden cabinet in his deserted workshop. But
according to family members, the model
mysteriously diappeared from its cabinet some
years before a fire "o f unknown origin"
destroyed the workshop in the 193O's.
So -- did Brodbeck really fly his spring-
powered "Air-Ship"
in 1865 and 1874?
Anecdotal evidence says he did; unfortunately
no adequate supporting evidence exists to
prove the fascinating, but hand- me-down tales
his descendants have collected.
But I can't
help wondering what our world would be like
today had heavier-than-air flight truly gotten
o ff the ground in the years immediately
following the Civil War.
© 1 996 by George W. Earley
Commentary by George W. Earley
As you may remember [I hope you remem­
ber'] last December I wrote about a German-
American chap named Gustave Whitehead who,
some folks believe, actually flew a heavier-than-
air craft about 16 months before the famous
Dercember 17. 1903 flights by Orville Wright.
Well, there's another claimant to those
first flight honors, a man whose descendants
believe he actually flew almost 40 years before
Wilbur and Orville made those famous flights at
Kitty Hawk.
The claim about that flight, and a later one,
were made ten years ago by Anita Tatsch who
self-published a little book about her great­
grandfather titled "Jacob Brodbeck 'Reached
for the Sky' in Texas."
According to Mrs. Tatsch, Jacob Brodbeck,
who was one of several thousand Germans who
emigrated to Texas in the mid-1840's, flew in
an aircraft of his own design shortly after the
Civil War ended.
A college-trained music teacher, Brodbeck
emigrated in 1846 from W ürttem berg,
Germany, traveling two months by ship from
Antwerp Harbor to Galveston, Texas.
According to family tradition, Jacob, who
was well known to have an inventive and
inquiring mind, decided there must be a better
way of traveling than by ship. Noting the sea
birds that followed his ship, Jacob began
envisioning an airship.
From vision to reality took many years. It
was not until 1865 that the San Antonio News
was to inform its readers that Jacob Brodbeck
had developed his "Air Ship" plans sufficiently
to begin construction of "a machine which
should enable man to use, like a bird, the
atmospheric region as the medium of his
travels."
Brodbeck issued $5 shares and in a few
weeks collected enough money to finish building
a man-carrying version of the model airships he
had been demonstrating for several years.
That first flight was made in September,
1865 [38 years before the Wrights flew] and
it was both a success and a failure.
In those days, of course, the internal
combustion engine did not yet exist nor were
existing steam engines small enough, light
enough, and powerful enough for use in an
aircraft. Brodbeck had therefore conceived
the idea of a spring motor; his account of that
first flight was as follows:
"I wound up the massive coil spring and cut
loose the rope as I released the lever for
take-off. The take-off was a success and the
'Air Ship' soared majestically over the tree
tops. As the coil spring unwound, suddenly
something happened with the mechanism and I
was unable to rewind the spring fast enough to
remain aloft. I found myself dashing towards
the ground with my spirit shattered. I suffered
only minor injuries, but my 'pride and joy
suffered severe damage."
The damage to the Brodbeck's "Air-Ship"
caused his investors to lose faith in the idea.
Further monies were not forthcoming and nine
years were to pass before the inventor,
scrimping and saving, repaired his plane and
tried again. The results were unfortunately the
same as before: "My ship took off and I sailed
around until the power of the coil spring gave
out again after a few minutes of flight. Then
down into the corn field I crashed . . .
Jacob clearly had control problems.
Despite the brevity of his accounts of his two
flights, it seems embarrassingly clear that once
the spring motor ran down, his craft became
uncontrollable. It didn’t glide, it plunged to the
ground like a wounded bird, breaking many of
its structural members and bruising its intrepid
inventor.
The contrast between Brodbeck's short
hops - they can't really be called true flights,
given his control problems and the short
working life of his spring motor - contrast
sharply with the flights claimed by Whitehead
and the documented, sustained and controlled
flights made by the Wrights a few decades
later.
That second flight was apparently Jacob's
last. Later that year he journeyed to Michigan
and met with Octave Chanute who was then
testing gliders.
While Chanute evidenced
considerable interest in Brodbeck's designs and
a flying model he had brought with him, he was
unable to help him further his plans.
ictory
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We will hereafter believe less history than
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LEWIS AND CLARK BICENTENNIAL
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The Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Association seeks
community participation in the design of its logo which will
be used to promote and support the celebration of the 200th
anniversary of the arrival of the Lewis and Clark expedition at
the "end of the trail" in Clatsop County in the year 1805.
The competion is open to all interested designers including
students and professionals, alike
The design should convey Lewis and Clark s connection to
the Northwest and the "End of the Trail" and should be
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All entries must be submitted by May 1st,
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The selected logo will be announced in June.
Entries will be the property of the Lewis and Clark
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Sasquatch Sighted; Released earlier this
month, this 1995 photo by retired professor
Josiah Carberry was taken in eastern Oregon
while the professor was testing an ultra-light
aircraft of his own design. It was released by
the American Academy of Scientists Seriously
Seeking Sasquatch [AASSSS] whose president,
Dr. George Burns Jr., announced that the
AASSSS was planning a major summer expedition
to the location where the photo was taken.
Attention Business Owners!
Call soon to reserve your display advertising spot
in the following popular regional publications:
Spring 1996: annual publications of 100,000 copies
Seaside Oregon Information Guide
Upper Left Edge
Regular readers will have noticed that Seaside does not
generate much coverage in the Upper Lett Edge. 1 hat could be
because Seaside is to Clatsop County what Pluto is to Oregon
— somewhat removed lrom the mainstream.
Those of us who live here know there are actually two
Seasides: One where locals and friendly visitors mingle (with
reservations), and, the other, where the Chamber ol t onunerce
shills this poor little burg as the V egas/Disneyland/Mecca ol
the northwest Seaside’s truest attractions do not lie in the
candy shops or arcades downtown, but rather, in its beach,
rivers, wetlands and its people.
I spend a lot of time downtown. 1 see it all. from delightful
tourists to yuppie trash, from disgruntled locals, to the ladies
who make sure everyone gets a piece of homemade cake; from
fellas who are short on a place to stay and long on the fine art
of hanging out, to the real estate barons, sneaking a few
minutes of rest between contracts and closings 1 like them
all.
There’s a kid who conies in a couple of times a year He’s
about ten, thin, with short brown hair and gray eyes so intense
they can nail you to the door. He seeks me out, to share out
mutual obsession -- shells. Hiis is no ordinary child visiting
a beach town: He expects me to know where to find them,
common names, Latin names, classification, and even the
temperature of water in which they normally can be found. He
stands on the other side ol the counter and drills me like a
biology professor in tight shoes. No casual collector, this
guy. I imagine him discovering lossils, ¡uid hope that he linds
someone more knowledgeable than I to help him explore that
field.
Last fall he promised to come in the following day, so I
brought in an envelope ol miniature sand dollars and clam
shells for him, but he didn’t show. It’s March now, and the
envelope is still under the counter.
On the beach, with my faithful companion, Maggie and
Chappie, I drink of him for a bright second as I bend to pick
up a skate egg case in the aftermath ol a good north coast rain.
He would like tlus. 1 better read up on diem, be ready. He’ll
be back, he likes Seaside, too.
BIRKENSTOCK
COAST GRAPHIC ARTS
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by Sandy Rea
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