"GYRO"

 

In October of 1917, Princeton student/aviator Thomas "Spot" Dixon Jr., who was 'stationed' at the Knapp Estate airfield along with his future brother in law Joseph F. Knapp, took a little spin in a Curtiss Flying Boat and made a little history. Exactly whose plane it was, Dixon's , Knapp's or someone elses (by summer there were reportedly a dozen hydro-aeroplanes stationed there) is not clear, nor is exactly where it flew, but right over Pattersquash Island would be my reasonable guess because there were witness' on the ground. But one thing I'm fairly sure of is the fact that "Spot" lived to fly another day and eventually marry J.F.'s sister is most likely atributed to who was flying the machine. For what I have learned since is if there ever was anyone who could make a flying boat do what it did that day it would be "Gyro".

 

 

"Gyro" aka Lawrence Burst Sperry

 

Here is brief account of what happened as reported in the Washington Post on October 21, 1917

 

 

Even though I grew up on Long Island where Sperry Gyroscope was a major employer and my brother Butch had a gyroscope top as a toy, I knew very little about Lawrence B. Sperry and even less about his incredible inventions until I read about his involvement with the Third Aero Squadron.

That led me to a great book about him called GYRO by William Wyatt Davenport, published in 1978 by Scribners. I'm not a pilot and my interest in aviation is rudimentary. however my interest in spirited and talented individuals that leave their mark in this world is endless. Why this book hasn't been made into a film yet is as much of a mystery as the way Gyro left this world. However he did go, Mr. Sperry left way too soon in December of 1922. His contributions to aviation both commercial and military probably set it ahead of schedule by twenty years.

Here are a few photos from the book that may give you an idea of what it holds. I first got it in a library, then found a copy of it online at Amazon.com

 

In the summer of 1910, 17 year old Lawrence stayed at home in Brooklyn with his kid brother Elmer, while the rest of the Sperrys went out to their summer place in Bellport. He built a plane in the basement and attic of house and had to dismantle his parents bedroom wall (the Bay window upstairs) to get the wings out into the yard.

 

 

In 1922 When The Red Tape Boys In The Nations Capitol Held Up The Payments To Sperry Aircraft, GYRO Dropped In On Them Literally To See What The Problem Was. He actually taxied his Sperry Messenger Right Up The Capital Steps... When He Took Off For Long Island He Had His Check.

 

 

 

Besides inventing instruments like the automatic stabiliser, pilot, and turnbank indicator that are still used today. One of the top secret things he came up with for the US Military was the aerial torpedo (guided missle). Here is an early experiment in Amityville, LI.

 

HANGIN' AROUND MY OFFICE

I recently obtained an actual letter Gyro wrote dated Jan 6, 1921, thanking his neighbor for allowing him to erect a small hanger on the property That's him with another one of his inventions, a Pack Parachute. I've been a fan of 1930's Gee Bee racing planes since I first saw one in the 1950's. Though Gyro would not be here to see them, I'm betting he would of loved them.

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