US1005646A - Airship. - Google Patents

Description

C. V. JOHNSON.

,AIBBHIR Dummies FILED y00T. n. 1909.

1,005,646. i Patented 001.1111911.

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iAIRSHII. APPLIOATION FILED 00T. 2, 1909.

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Patented Oct` 10, 1911.

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A TTOHNE YS C. V. JOHNSON.

AIBSHIR APPLIUATION FILED 00T. 2, 1909.

1,005,646. Patented o1;.10,1911@ TTORNEYS l C. V. JOHNSON.

AIRSHIP. APPLIUATION FILED 00T.2, 1909.

Patented Oct. 10, 1911.

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AIRSHIP.

APrLIoArIoN FILED 00122, 1909.

1,005,646. q Patented oet.10,1911.

MW Y By A TTORNE YS tloats UNITED STATESMPATENT onnicga.

CARL V. JOHNSON, 0F GOIADFIELD, NEVADA.

AIRSHIP.

i Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1911.

Application tiled October 2, 1909. Serial No. 520,620.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CARL V. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Goldeld, in the county of Esmeralda and State of Nevada, have invented a new and Improved Airship, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact desc'ription.

-This invention 'relates to air ships of the heavier-tl1anair type, and an object of the invention is -to produce an air ship having an improved construction rendering it easily manageable, having improved means for maintaining its equilibrium, and for directin the course of the air ship.

A urther 'object 'of the invention is to provide an arrangement whereby the air ship can float and be propelled in Water in case it should alight upon that medium.

A StilL'further object'of the'invention is to improve the #means -for facilitating the launchin of the air ship-into the air. Y

VA s'eclal feature'of the invention is the y means of which the ship is kept afloat when in the water., These floats are collapsible, and when not in use floats theyar maintained in' a stretched condition s'o as to act-as supporting planes The invention consists in the construction and combination of" parts to be more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claims.` l

Reference is to be had to the accompanying 'drawings forming a part of this speciication, in which sim1lar characters of refererice indicate corresponding parts in alla` the` glirs.

Figllre 1 is a side elevation of'an air ship constructedfaccordin 4to my invention, certain partsv 'being bro en away; Fig. 2 is a plan of the air ship shown 1n Fi 1, certain 'parts being broken away; 'Fig'.- 3 is a reary elevation 'of side lvation of the air' ship showing details of the operating mechanism for the forward and rear balance'planes; Fig. 5 is aplan of the' vbottom frame of the ship, and )showing the-floats in a collapsed condition: Fi (l 1s a vertical section on the line 6-6 nfig. Zand upon an enlarged scale, certain parts boing broken away, this View be- .presen ed so as to illustrate partielllary the 'manner' 'in which the propellers may be tilted so as to assist in raising the `transverse direction with 'front'andrear line of the `lower plane 8 is theair ship; Fig.' 4j is a connected with thc compressor and from whichthe air reservoirs or floats are charged.

Referring more particularly to the parts,

and especially to Figs. l, 2, and 3, the ship comprises a main frame l, which is disposed horizontally, 4 and above which a super-frame 2 is secured. Below the frame l, a lower frame 3 is secured. The superframe 2 extends forwardly so as to form a rudimentary bow 4, comprising an upper bar 5 and alower bnr G, which bars are conv nected at an angle, as indicated. The forward part of thisibow is provided with a suitable angular brace frame 7, as shown. Near the middle portion ofI the superframe I provide three planes 8, 9, :1nd 1.0, which are disposed one above the other. as indicated.--hese planes are elongated in a respect to the air ship. The of less length than the upper plane and the middle plane is midway between the other two planes, and its length is intermediate that of the'upper plane and the lower plane. 4 At theI ends of the planes 8, 9, and l0, halance'tips 1l, lill, and 13, are attached by. pivot connections or hinge connectionsV 14. These balance 'tips are of greatest width :1t their forward end,

as Indicated in Fig. 2,so that 'the axis of the hinge joints on which they more is disposed in an inclined line, as indicated in Fig. 2. At their outer edges .these tips 1?, are connected by links .15 w `ich are at tached'to' the tips by universal connor-tions 16, as shown. Near the ends of 4the planes 8 and 10, guide pulleys 17 and 1S are provided, as shown.` Around the pulleys 18 cords` 19 pass and the ends of these cords are attarhed at 9.0 to the intcrnmlinte lips l2. Similar cords 21 arr 1wwfflvfl 'hirh pass under the guide puf jm il'. r"nel ihrs-o cords also are attached at 2U to ,o middle lips. At the right side of the ship, as indicated in Fig. 3, the cords 19 and Q1 crossed so that the cord fil passes up :silly over a position.

nieuwe 'm Fig. s,

guide pulley 22, whence it passes downwardly around a suitable guide pulley 23, its end being attached to a lever '24, as shown. At the same point on the lever the cord 19 from the left isattached, this cord being suitably'guided on guide pulleys 25 and 2G, as shown. The cord 19 from the right side of the ship passes downwardly in an inclined direction, and passes around guide pulleys 27 and 28, and its end is attached at 29 to the lower end of the lever 24 andon the opposite side of the fulcrum of this lever. At this point 29 the cord 21 from the left side of the ship is attached., said cord passing around suitable guide pulleys 30 and 31, as indicated. Near the lever 24, a seat 32 is provided for the operator. The lever l2&1 is adapted to be moved from side to side, as indicated by the dotted. lines in Fig. 3. On account of the fact that the cords are crossed from one side of the ship to the other, it will be evident thatv when the lever is moved toward the right, as indicated in. Fig. 3, the tips at the left side of the ship will be raised, whereas the tips at the right side will be lowered.

At about the height of the middle tplane 9, and at the rear of the ship, apair o rud ders 33 are attached, both rudders being arranged at the same distance from the central axis of the ship. These rudders are normally held in a front means of springs 34, the ends of which are attached to cords 35; the ends of' the said cords being attached to the said rudders and tending to pull the rear edges thereof wardly, as indicated. On the inner si es brackets or bracket stops 36 are provided, which limit the inward movement of the rudders and hold them in a front and rear The outer edges of the rudders are connected withthe tips 11, 12, and 13, so that when the tips are operated the rudders will also be operated. For this purpose I provide cords 37 which are attached to the rear edges of the rudders, and these cords extend outwardly and `pass around guide pulleys 38 at the ends of the middle plane. From this point` the cords extend downwardly and are attached to the lower links 15.` From this arrangement, when the tips at the right side are depressed, as inthe rudder at the right will be pulled toward the right, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig.`3. It should be understood that by'regulating these tips 11, 12, and 13, and the rudders 323,l the lateral balance of the air ship may be nicely controlled. r i

In order to balance the ship in a front and rear direction, in the bow 4 I provide three balance planes 39, 40, and 41 twhich are all pivotally attached at their lorward edges etween the forward bars These planes 39, 40, and 41, are parallel ywardly around a guide pulley and rear position'by,

6 of the how.V

withv each other. and their rear edges are connected by a link 4:2. On account of the inclined position of the bars (i, it will be noted that these planes 39, (10 and 41 are arranged progressively in an advanced po sition in an upward direction, thatl is, the uppermost plane is the most advanced of all, while the lowest )lane is disposed farthest to the rear. ese planes have the same area. The rear portion of the superframe 2 presents stal'idards 43 to which balance planes 4A, 45, [and 46 are attached.. These planes are arranged vertically one above the other. They are of equal area and their free edges are connected by 'a link or bar 47.

Referring now especially to Fig. '4, the means for .controlling these balance planes will be described: Near the rear end of: the middle plane 40 a cord 48 is'attached, which passes upwardly around guide pulleys 49, 50, and 51, from whence it passes down 52, as shown.

A similar cord 53 is attached near the rear end of the balance plane 45, and this cord passes downwardly around guide pulleys 54, 55, and 56; This cord is attached at 57 to the cord 4S, and .both of these cords form branches from a lower cord 58 which balance lever 59,which is movable in a from and rear direction for controlling the frontand rear equilibrium of middle plane y45 an upper cord .60 is a.

tached, whichpasses upwardly around guide pulleys 61 and 62, whence itpasses downwardly around a guide pulley G3. A similar lower cord 64 is attached to the mid die plane 40'and passes downwardly around guide pulleys (35 and 66, whence it passes to a guide pulley G7, beyond which it connects with the cord G0 at 68. These `cords unite to form a main or upper cord 69 which is attached to the upper endofthe lever 59. From this arrangement it will be evident that when the lever 59 is moved toward the front the rear balance planes 44, 45, and 4 will be raised, while the forward balance planes will be depressed, as indicated in dotted lines. If the lever is moved in an oppositedirection, an opposite 'elect in the balance planes is produced.

Referring now to Fig. G, the drivin mechanism for the ship will be describe andtalso the peculiar manner in which the driving mechanism is mounted: Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, in connection with Fig. 6, the middle plane 9 is provided near its middle point with a platform 70, which platform is rigidly attached on a. rock shaft 71 which passes transversely of the ship and longitudinally of the. plane 9. This shaft is mounted to rotate on theup er side ofthe lane and in addition to the pllatform 70, it asp/rigidly attached' to it auxiliary the ship. To the wheels 78, and these platforms 72 and 73, The plane is prof' vided with suitable bearings 74 'for this shaft. is mounted, land from the rear side of'thisv motor a center shaft 76 extends rearwardly and projects so as to receive a main propeller wheel or center wheel 77. At the forward end of the motor 75, auxiliary, shafts are provided which carry sprocket sprocket wheels are provided with chains 79 which extend in opposite directions, passing around similar sprocket wheels 80 which are attached to auxiliaryshafts 81 mounted on the platformsI 72, 73. These auxiliary shafts project forwardly and their forward ends are provided with propeller wheels 82, as shown. From this arrangement it should bc understood that if the main platform 70 is tilted, the auxiliary platforms 72, 73 will also be tilted. These platforms may betilted so as to incline the shafts so that the wheels' will have a lifting effect. upon the frame of the ship. As illustrated in Fig. 6, the rear edge of the platform 70 is normall supported on a latch or draw bolt 83, whic holt is adapted to be withdrawn by means of a latch cord 84 which passes around suitable guide pulleys 85, end of the cord being attached to the lower arm of a foot lever S8, as indicated. The forward edge of the platform`70 is normally 'supported on a fixed bracket 89. After the l'ilatform has been unlatched in this mann'er it may be, tilted toany desire angle by means of a pair of cords and 9 the for-i mer of which passes from'the lower lend of a' tilting lever 92 around guide ulleys 9% and 91. the other end of thecor being attached tothe under side ofthe platform toward the rear.l The cord 91 is also attached to the lever 92 near the same point, and passes upwardly around a ide pulley 95 arranged in an opening 96 1n the plat' form.4 From this point it passes upwardly around aguide pulley 97 mounted-on aI fixed bar 98 of the frame. From-the pulley' 97 the cord passes downwardly and is attached to the upper side of the platform 70 opposite to the point of attachment of the cord 90. The lever 92 is provided with a spring 99 which tends to swing the,lever back and return the platform 70 'to its normal position. ratchet sepnnent or quadrant 100, and it is provided with locking mechanism 101. for locking the lever in any adjusted position. In this way the platform 70 can be locked in any inclined position desired. Y

I shall nowf describe the means for floating the air ship in case it alight in water. In this connection, referring es ecially to Figs. l and 5. in the under frame 3, four' cross bars 1Q?, are provided, and on-these cross hars, cross heads 104 are mounted to 0n the main platform-70, a motor 75 v is guided inwardly on dia .a central point, whence t ey all 86, and 87, the other,

Vform the function of The lever 92 is-mounted on a ed to be inflated with air which is led into 108. Each of thesehose onal bars 109 to ass upwardly to an air reservoir, which will be described-more fully hereinafter. I provide means for pulling the cross heads 104 inwardly so as to stretch the bags 106. For this purpose I attach cords 110 to the cross heads and these cords are guided inwardly, passing around guide pulleys 111 and 112 mounted on the frame. From the pulleys 112 these cords pass toward each etheralong the frame, passing around suitable guide pulleys 113, as indicated in Fig. 4.- Beyond the guide vpulleys 113 these cords are lunited them through hose to a main cord 114 which. passes upwardly to the main '(platform' 70 where it passes around a gul e pulley 115, its ends by operating the foot lever 116, and maintaining it locked toits segment'117, the bags will be maintained in a stretched condition. In this way they perplanes when the ship the ship is to alight may be in ated, as sugwill then constitute floats,

is in the air. When in the Water the gested above, andy which give the air shi buoyancy.: The mechanism for.` infiating the flats or bags 106. will now be described: Referring especially to Figs. 6 and 7, on the main shaft 76 of the engine, a belt pulley 118 is provided, around 'which a` belt 119 passes upwardly, the upper end of the belt running on the pulle. The counters aft 121 is further provided with a pulley 122, -omwhich a belt -123 passes' over to a ulley ,124 on a'secondV countershaft 125. his pulley 124 operates a pitman 126 which drives the piston 127 v of an air compressor 1284. The air from the compressor 128 passes into a reservoir or, receiver 129, from which pipes 130 lead, said pipes being connected respectively with the air hoselOB. These pipes' 130 are provided with valves 131for controlling the flow of airf to the different bags. 4The belt 119 norloose, ns indicated by the dot-ted mall han linesyin 1tgs One side -of the belt -is i 'i'. `adapted to Ee stretchedby means `of a belt stretcher 132, said belt stretcher being` in the form lof an arm 133 which is pivotallv attached to a frame bar 134.- The lower enil of thisarm is 'provided with a pulley V135 i being f attached to a foot lever 116. From thisI arrangement,

of a counters'haft 121."

1, the lower ends of the legs extend below the lower faces of the wheels. l/Vhen the ship is to be4 launched into the air the legs extend forwardly in an inclined position, as indicated, and the propellers are adjusted 70 and driven, so that theyV exert an upward and forward thrust upon the frame. This thrust forces the frame upwardly, so that it rises on the legs; as this movement occurs the lower ends of the legs rest upon the 75 ground and the upper parts of the legs swing forwardly, a slight rotation taking place on thepivots of the legs. After the legs pass their Xerticalposition, the ship tends` to fall forward suddenly and launches itself in this g3 way. The legs are normally held in their which engages one side of the belt, as indicated.` I A spring 136 attached to this arm and attached to a bracket 137, tends to pull y this arm inwardly so as to let the belt hang 5 loose. A'cord 138 is provided which passes around suitablel ide pulleys 139and 140, and one end of 's cord is attached to the end of the arm 133, the other end of the cord passing around aguide pulley 141 and being attached to a'lever 142. This lever is adapted to Vbe moved between two parallel guide bars 143, and is held against return by means of a catch or bolt 144 which brid es the space between the hars 143, being gui ed v to slide throu h the left-hand bar as viewed in Fig. 7. ith the reservoir 129, a regulater-'cylinder 146is connected by a suitable pipe 147, and when the pressure reachcswir:

predetermined amount, theplunger 148 of :o this cylinder will move outwardly. -`This plunger 148 is connected with a lever 149, the opposite arm of which is connected by a link 150 with a second lever 151, and theY lever 151 is connected with the latch or catch z5 144. From this arrangement, when the bags 106 have become inlated with air at t e proper pressure, the'regul'ator cylinder 146 operates automatically .to actuate the lever 149. This withdraws the latch 144A so as to B0 release the lever 142. The spring 136 then operates to draw the arm 133 inwardly, and the belt 119 immediately becomes loose and the compressing of a-ii stops. The valves 131 will then be closed so as to retain the .air in the bags.- In Fig. 1 the bags at the.

'front of the air ship are represented as in Hated, while those toward thereai are represented deiated.

' I provide means for propelling the air ship through the water. For this purpose,

on the main shaft 76 Il provide a belt puiiev 152, around which a belt 153 passes.

This construction is shown in Fig. 6.' The belt 153 passes downwardly, as indicated in Fig. 1, and passes around a belt pulley 154,

attached to the forward end of a propeller shaft 156. This propeller shaft 156 -is mounted in a frame 157 which is attached in the` under frame 3, as indicated. In the rear part ofthe frame 157 a water rudder 158 is mounted, which may be controlled by an suitable means, not shown.

lyshall no w describe the means for launch` ing the airship into the air. Referring especially to Figs. 1V and 4, in the under side ,ofi the underfraine 3, Wheel' forks 159 are provided, each of which carries a wheel 160,

so that four wheels are provided, which may support the air ship on a level track or fiel 6 On the under side of the u per frame, four legs 161 are ivotally attac ed. Thse' legs normally-fine ine forwardly, as indicated 4in Fi -1, thede on the sam Side of 'the'- een:

tra' .sfxi's ot e machine being' :onnectedy linie 162; .is 'shownein `liig.- gid forwardlyeextcnded position by means of a bifurcated cord 163 which is attached to the rear end of the links 162, as shown in Fig.

pulleys 164, 165 and 166. From this point the cord passes upwardly to the platform 70, where it is attached to an erin 167. This -arm is pivotally attached at 16S to the plat- 'as shown, and is formed so as to present a shoulder 170, -upon which normally rests the edge of a treadle or foot lever 171. li'heii the opposite lend of this foot lever is detension in the cord 1b?) and the weight of the arm will swing the arm downwardly so as to release the end of this cord. The legs may then swing freely to permit the ship to be aunclied, as described above.

may be` drawn into a rearwardlyinclined position, as indicated in the dotted lines in Fig. 4; this may be accomplished by means near the. lower ends of the legs 161. This cord passes rearwardly and around guide Vpulleys 173, 174 and 175; thence it passes upwardly alonn the freinet() a Guide pulley and is attached to a lever 177. 'By moving the lever 17 7 forwardly, the slack ofthe cord can be taken up and the legs will be pulled'4 the ship has alighted these stay-bars may be removed, so as toy permit the legs to swing further toward therear, allowing the wheels g th come upon the ground.

lateral uil-ibrium is controlled by the lever 24, 'and-t is leveralso controls the direction ,o f advance of the shim ingving #the to the right, 'as in ic 4. This cord passes upwardly around guide 35 forni 70. This ariii 16T is bent upwardly, 9o

pressed the arm 16T-will be released. The 95 After the aidship has risen from the earth, the legsl of a bifuroated cord 172 which is attached 105 176, from which point-it'passes horizontally 11D into their rear position. This is the position in which the legs are held when the ship to form rests for the legs in alighting. After In the modeV of operationfofthehshp the 4 ated" by 4the mes in 3, the riglit-hand rubbeifjse 'all' 33 will be moved to the ri ht, as indicated by the. dotted lines, and at t c same time the right Wings will be depressed. This will increase the resistance on the right side of the ship and tend to move it toward the right. lf the ship should tend to tip toward the left, the movement of the lever toward the right will raise the tips at the left of the ship toward the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, and they will then offer greater resistance to the air as this end of the ship descends, and this n'ill tend to right the ship. W'Vhen the motor is scf in operation the propellers all move at the same time and will advance the ship. The fact that the forward ends of the tips present the greatest. width, has the effect of bringing' the `center of pressure on the tips slightly toward the front of the ship, which gives a better eq'e.-.ibri;

Special attention is called tothe distance between the rudders 33 and the central axis of the ship. The fact that these rudders are disposed ata reat distance apart, as shown, gives them increased effect in steering1 the ship.

he equilibrium of the ship in a front and rear direction is controlled by the lever 59, which raisesand lowers the front and rear balance planes, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4. If it is desired that the for ward. end of the ship should rise, the lever moved so as to depress the foi-ward planes, as indicated in dotted lines, `and al the sanne time the rear planes will be raised. This will tend to raise the forward end of the ship and depressV the rear end.

When it is convenient to alight on a body of Water, the ship can be kept a oat by the. floats or bags 106, which will e inflated with air, as described. While iii the water the ship can be propelled by means of the water propeller. When it is desired to-rise from the water,.the air propellers and the Water propeller will all be operated so as to give the ship the greatest possible speed, and the platform will be unlocked and adjusted into an inclined position so that the ropellers will exert their thrust downwar l and toward the rear, fand the ship will t en riseout of the water and can be gradually brought toa horizontal position. The floats 106 will then be deflated andv stretched by means of the foot lever 116,so that they will operateur-supporting planes. If the airshi is not expected to alight in .the water, t e lower frame 3 can be removed, together with the water propeller, and the wheels 160 can be attached by means of their forks 159 directly to the frame Special attention` is called to the position of the main propeller 77 with respect to the iear balance planes 44, 45 and 46, and to the fact that these planes are disposed direct-ly behind this propeller. This gives them an .a frame secure increased efficiency in directing the ship up or down. f

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent,--

1. An air shi comprising a main frame, above the main'frame and having a forward and a rearward extension, the said upper frame being provided near its middle portion with supporting plane-selongated transversely with respect to the direction-of advance of the ship and increasing in length the ends thereof and constituting extensions of said pl aries,` said air ship having rudders, means for normally holding said rudders in a front and rear direction, means for limiting the inward movement of the rudders, and means for simultaneously regulating said tips and saidlrudders.

2. An air shi comprising a main frame, a frame securerrabove the main frame and having planes disposed one above the other and elongated transversely of the ship, the uppermost of. said planes being of greatest length, movable tips attached to the ends of said planes, means for simultaneously naising and lowering'the tips at one sideof said ship, i'udders extending rearwardly means for normally holding said rudders in a front and rear direction, stops for limiting the .inivard movement. of the rudders, and means for displacing said rudders actuated simultaneously with said tips.

3. An air ship having three planes dis,-

posed one above the other, elongated trans- Vance of the ship, the uppermost f Said planes being of greatest length, tips joint-ed to the 'ends of said planes, links connecting the tips at each side of the, ship together to maintain said tipsin a parallelrelation, a lever, flexible connections between the tips and the lever for simultaneously raising the tips at one side of' the ship and depressing the vtips at the other side,'rudders dis. posed respectively on opposite sides of the central axis of the ship and on the rear side thereof, spring devices connected with' the rudders for normally holding said rud'ders in a front and rear direction, stops for limiting the inward movement of therudders, and flexible connections between the rudders and the tips for automatically moving said ruddeis outwardly when the tips on the side adjacent thereto are depressed.

4. An air shiphaving a plane elongated transversely thereof, a fra extendin in a front. and rear directipn, the forwar portio of the frame forming a Vbow and comprising upper and `lower bars connected at an angle, a plurality of forward balance planes pivotally attached at their forward edges between 4the-lower inclined bars of the progressively upwardly, -said planes having movable tips attached to -versely with respect to the directionl of ad other at an angle, a supporting connected at an angle, a plurality of forward Ation at the front of said ship, the said planes of the frame, the uppermost of said balance and means for raising and lowering said "a frame above the main frame and having forward part of said frame, a link connect ing the rearedges of said planes to .heh'll said planes in a parallel positiomarfd'means for raising and lowering said balance planes. 5. An air ship having a plane elongated transversely thereof and having a frame extending in a front and rear direction, the forward portion of the frame forming a bow and comprising upper and lower bars balance planes mounted m a parallel relabeing disposed one aboye the other, and pivotally attached at their forward edges between the lower inclined bars of the frontl planes being disposed forwardly with respect to the other, means for maintaining said balance planes in a parallel relation,

balance planes.

V6. 4An air ship having a frame extendin in a front and rear direction, the forward portion of the frame comprising upper and lower inclined bars connected wlth each plane, a plurality of balance planes pivota ly attached at their forward edges to the lower inclined bars of said frame,and adapted to be raised and lowered at their rear ed s,a link 4connecting the rear edges of sai balance lanes to maintain the same in ara'llel re ation, rear balance planes pivotalll;r attached to the rear portion of said frame,rmeans for main- Ataining said rear balance-planes in a parallel relation, means for raising or lowering said forward balance planes, and connections between said means and the rear balance lanes for simultaneously lowering or rais-"g,

lng said rear balance planes.

7. An air ship comprising a lmam frame,Y

forward and rearward,v extensions, aA frame belowl the main frame, supporting planes carried-by the upper frame at about the een ter thereof and elongated transversely of the shi the said planes having movable tips ru ders projectm rearwardly at the rear.- o the su porting p anes'and located on each side o thecentral axis of the ship, a plu'- ralit of forward balance planes, mounted, in the orward part of the said u per .frame, rear balance planes mounted in t e rear portion of Vsaid upper plane, and inflatable lloats carriedby the lower frame. Y

8. An air shi having a frame, su porting planesl mounte on said frame, a p atform. mounted on one ofsaid planes to swing on a transverse horizontal axis, a driving mechanism carried by said platform, means for regulatin the position of the platform, a latch for olding said platform normally in a horizontal posltion, and means for releasing said latch.

9. An air ship having a'frame, a supportingp plane elongated transversely of the snip, a main platform mounted to swing on a horizontal axis disposed transversely of the ship, auxiliary platforms mounted to swing on the same axis. the said platforms carrying the driving mechanism, means for regulating the position of said platforms, and means for holding .said main platform normally in a horizontal position.

10. An air ship comprising a frame, supporting planes disposed one above the other and elongated transversely with respect to the direction of the ship, a shaft mounted to turn on one of said planes, and platforms carried by said shaft and supporting the driving mechanism.

11. An air ship, Icomprising a frame, three supporting planes disposed one above the other andelongated transversely with respect to the direction of advance of the ship, a shaft mounted vto rotate on the upperside of the middle plane, a main platform attached to said shaft near the middle point of said plane, auxiliary platforms carried by said shaft, and adapted to move with the main platform, the platforms carrying the `driving mechanism, means for holding the main platform normally in a horizontal position, means for releasing the holding means, means for tilting the main platform when released from the holding means, and means forV locking the main platform in an inclined position.

12. An air ship, com rising a frame, a supporting plane, exten ing transversely of `the ship, balance planes .at the-forward part of said frame, rear balance lanes, the said planes being adapted to e raised and lowered, a main platform located about the central axislof the ship -and infront of tlie105 rear balance planes, the said platform being mounted to swing on a horizontalaxis ex-A tending transversely of the ship, and auxiliary 4platforms also mounted to swing on said axis and located at opposite sides of the central aisof-the ship, the saidpit forms carrying the driving mechanism.

13. Anair ship having a frame, a supporting plane for maintaining the shi aloft in the air, iniatable floats carrie fby said frame,mearf1 s for normally stretching said may act assupporting planes,lmeans for mfl'ating said floats to support the ship in water, a water-propeller supported on` said frame, and means for drivinor said waterpropeller.

14. n air ship aving a frame, aA supporting plane for maintaining said ship aloft in the air, a plurality of bags, means for normally stretching said ba s so that 125 they may act as supporting p anes, and .4 means Ifor inflating said ba s to form Heats to give the shi buoyancy w en in water.,

1.5. An airs ip having a frame com rising an under frame, a plurality of ags 13 mounted in said under frame, means attached to the edges of said bags for stretching the same to form supporting planes, while the air ship is aloft in the air, and' means for inlating said bags to forni ioats to give the ship buoyancy while in water.

16. An air ship having a frame, a supporting plane for maintaining the ship aloft in the air, inilatable floats carried by said frame and normally acting as supporting planes while the, air ship is afloat in the air, means for infiating said floats to support the airshipin water, a water propeller, an airpropeller, means for mounting said air propeller so as to exert its thrust downwardly in anv inclined direction, and means for driving said water propeller.

17. An air ship having a frame, a supporting plane for maintaining said ship aloft in the air, inflatable floats carried by said frame and normally acting as supporting planes while the air ship is afloat in the air, means for inflating said floats to suport said frame in water, a water propeller, 2'5" a'plurality of air propellers, means for ad justing said air propellers so as to exert thrust in a downwardly inclined direction and toward the rear, and means for operating all of said ropellers simultaneously so l0 as to raise the siii from the water.'

18. An airship aving a sup orting plane for `maintaining the same alo t in the air, an under frame having guide bars, cross heads slidably mounted on said guide bars,I

85`inlatable bags mounted in said under frame and connected with said-cross heads, means for moving said cross heads to stretch said bags, and means for inflating said bags to form floats to support the airship in water. 1B. An air ship comprising a: main frame, a frame abovethe main frame and having su porting planes for maintaining the ship adldat in the air, e. frame below the main frame and having guide bars, cross heads slidably mounted on said guide bars, inllatable Heats connected with the side bars of said frame and with said cross heads, a lever, and flexible connections between the lever and the cross heads for moving said cross heads to stretch the said floats.

20. An airship having a frame, a supportingv plane for maintaining the ship aloft, wheels for supporting theframe'above the ground line, ropellers tending to advance said frame, egs ivotally attached to said frame and norma ly extending downwardly end forwardly, the le s being arranged in pairs at each side o the central axis of the shiy and a link connectin the `legs at each sidb with each other, sei legs affording meansfor raising said frame un kder the action of said propellers;

21. An airship having a mainframe hori-` zontally disposed, a frame secured above the main frame and rovided with. a supporting plane for maintaining the ship aloft, a-v lower horizental frame secured below the main frame, wheels for sup orting the frame above the ground line,for socu'redto the vunderside of the lower flame and carrying said wheels, legs pivotally attached to the underside of said main frame, a horizontal l link connecting the legs at each side of the central axis of the ship, means for normall yholding said legs ina forwardly and downwardly inclined position, and means for drawin said legs upwardly after the shi is laune ed in the air, into a rearwardly and downwardly inclined position.

22. An airship having a frame,'support ing planes, wheels for supporting said frame above the round line, legs pivotallv at" tached to said frame, the lower ends of said legs extending below said wheels, means for normally supporting said legs so that they incline forwardly and downwardly, and means for releasing said legs so that they may swing rearwardly on their pivots, means for drawing said `legs in a rearwardly inclined position for alighting, and remov-` able stay bars forming rests for the legs in alighting, the said'legs being adapted to swing farther toward the rear when the stay bars are removed, to permit the said wheels to rest upon the ground.`

23. An air shi having a frame, a su porting' plane or maintainin the ship aloft, wheels for supporting the graineabove the ground line, legs pivotally attached to said frame and arranged in pairs atleach side of the central axis of the ship, a platform carried by the frame, an. arm pivotally attached to said latform, a iexible Aconnection between sai arm and the legs, the arm bein normally in position to hold the legs in a orwardly and downwardly inclined position, 'means for releasing' said arm 'to permit the legs to swing rearwardly on their pivots, a lever, and a lleitible connection between the lever and the legs for drawing the legs into a rearwardly inclined position. v

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CARL v. JOHNSON.

reo

Witnesses t C. C. McKnNzm,

JN0. T. WAL'rnns.

'Gopies of this patent may be obtained tor ilve cents euh, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, I.' U.

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