I knew Sperry invented the first practical autopilot. Here's an excerpt explaining the origin of "George." (I had thought, incorrectly, that Sperry's given name was George):
Quote:
The first man to fly in a Sperry autopilot aircraft, Navy Lt. Patrick N. L. Bellinger, would go on to pilot the Curtiss NC-1 for the world’s first successful trans-Atlantic crossing in 1918. Over the years, Bellinger and many other pilots would take to calling the Sperry Autopilot system “George” — a colloquialism for the seemingly magical, invisible copilot that had joined them in the cockpit of their aircraft. To this day, the term “George” is used unofficially to represent the autopilot system.
Turns out he died a few years later, trying to cross the English Channel on a foggy/overcast day, relying on his autopilot.
Quote:
Sperry took off into the fog for a crossing of the English Channel on December 23, 1923 — no doubt, he planned on relying on his autopilot to get him through. He never arrived in France for his Christmas holiday. It wasn’t until three weeks later, on January 11, 1924, that his remains were found floating in the English Channel. It was a sad end for a truly extraordinary aviator and inventor.
And, a humorous anecdote:
Quote:
Lawrence Sperry was known as quite a ladies’ man and had a penchant for wild parties — he was single, handsome and wealthy, a potent combination. Even there, his autopilot had a role — and one day in November 1916 he demonstrated his trust in the system when he took a married socialite, Mrs. Waldo Polk, for a training flight offshore near Babylon, New York. Turning over the controls to his autopilot, the two proceeded to engage in something of an aerial tryst. Mrs. Polk’s husband was away in France volunteering for France as an ambulance driver during the war, leaving her “unattended” and, with the wealthy Lawrence Sperry close at hand, she decided to take up flying lessons.
The day didn’t end well when Sperry accidentally bumped the gyro platform while “involved” with Mrs. Polk. The seaplane then flew a descending curve dictated by the misaligned gyro instead of staying on course. It crashed into the waters of the bay. Luckily, two duck hunters were nearby and paddled over to rescue the naked pair. Initially, Sperry maintained that the force of impact had ripped off their clothes. However, his reputation as something of a playboy led one tabloid to run the more accurate headline, “AERIAL PETTING – ENDS IN WETTING”. Later, Sperry would confide to a friend that the story was accurate. Mrs. Polk ultimately qualified for her pilot certificate — without any further autopilot incidents.
Some things never change....
03-30-2020
