Two Connecticut Men Invent A Glider – 1909

Two Connecticut Men Invent A Glider – 1909

By Jim Ignasher

     “Darius was clearly of the opinion, that the sky was also man’s dominion.”  A line from the poem, Darius Green and His flying Machine, by John Trobridge, 1869.

     Darius Green was a mythical boy who built his own flying machine, yet he may have been the inspiration for two young inventors from Hartford, Connecticut, to do the same.  Ruben Bassett, and Arvid Carlson, both 18, had been friends since childhood, and as Ruben told a reporter of the Hartford Courant, “We have always been making something or other, but we never finished anything.  We started to make an automobile once, and we built some boats, trying to see how small we could make a boat and still have it carry anyone.”  It therefore seemed logical that after trying their hand at auto and boat building, that an aircraft of some sort would come next.

     They began building their aircraft in early April of 1909 in the basement of Ruben’s home at 1273 Main Street.  The design consisted of two wings, each twenty feet long and four feet wide, framed with ribs of spruce wood and covered with white cambric cloth.  The wings were set about four feet apart, one atop the other, with wires and struts to support them.  A spruce and cambric-cloth rudder was attached to the rear of the craft.  Despite its size, the entire machine reportedly weighed only 40 pounds.   

     The aircraft didn’t have a motor, and was actually what one might refer to as a “hang-glider” today.  There was no place for a pilot to sit.  The aviator would simply hold on from underneath for the duration of the flight.

     The glider had been built in sections which were then brought to the Hartford Electric Light Company where both men were employed.  The management had agreed to allow them use of a work area where the glider could be fully assembled.  By mid-May it was ready for its inaugural flight.  

     In the early morning hours of May 16, the men maneuvered their glider through the sleeping streets of Hartford and up to Prospect Hill.  On their way they encountered a policeman who inquired as to what they were up to, but not being one to stand in the way of aeronautical progress, the officer allowed them to continue on their way.  Once atop the hill they waited for a good breeze, but only the faintest movement of air could be detected.  Undaunted, Ruben decided to test their invention anyway, and after a running start he leaped into the air.  A gentle wind caught the wings, and lifted him to about fifteen feet as he sailed for a distance of approximately seventy feet before landing back on terra firma. Unfortunately one of the wings struck the ground and the glider flipped over thereby breaking one of the spruce ribs and putting a halt to any further experiments.  

     This was reported to be the first glider flight to ever take place in Hartford, but unfortunately the entire event was only witnessed by a handful of people, two of which included milkmen who’s stopped their horse-drawn wagons and delayed their deliveries to watch.   

     On May 23, after making repairs to their glider, the men once again brought it to Prospect Hill for another test-flight.  This time members of the press were present.  Unfortunately that flight ended like the first.  Despite the setback, the inventors vowed to continue their experiments after repairs were made.

     Meanwhile, both Bassett and Carlson were granted a few days off by their employer, the Hartford Electric Light Company, to travel to Washington, D.C. to meet with the Wright brothers. 

     What ultimately became of the glider is unknown, but two years later Ruben Bassett made the news with another invention that he called the “water cycle”, which was in effect a human powered craft designed to be ridden upon the water.  On May 23, 1911, he demonstrated his invention on the Connecticut River  about 150 feet upriver from the dock of the Hartford & New York Transportation Company.  At first the “water-cycle” appeared to be a success, until it suddenly flipped over.  After being towed to shore Bassett made a second attempt with the same results.  It was reported that the cause of the mishaps was due to the center of gravity being offset by the operator’s positioning on the craft.        

Sources:

     Hartford Courant, “An Aeroplane In Hartford”, May 17, 1909, page 6.

     Hartford Courant, “Young Aeronauts Try A Glider”, May 24, 1909, page 7.      

     Hartford Courant, “Water Cycle Has Lots To Learn”, May 22, 1911, page 10.          

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