Flying Machine (Oscar Robert Cassell, No. 1,406,341)
The patent by Oscar Robert Cassell of New York, N. Y., describes a Flying Machine (Patent No. 1,406,341, 1922). This invention is a “composite” aircraft, meaning it combines the buoyancy of an airship with the dynamic lift of an airplane. Cassell’s primary objective was to create a rigid, large-scale passenger vessel that offered multiple layers of safety. By utilizing sectional gas bags, stepped wing planes, and a water-navigable hull, he designed a craft capable of staying aloft even with engine failure and surviving a landing on either land or sea.
Inventor Background: Oscar Robert Cassell
Oscar Robert Cassell was an African American inventor and architect based in New York City during the “Golden Age” of aviation. His 1922 patent reflects the transition from early experimental flight to the dream of commercial passenger service. Cassell’s design was remarkably prescient, addressing the two biggest fears of early flight: fire (via sectional bags) and engine failure (via buoyant lift). His background in architecture is evident in the rigid truss-frame construction, treating the aircraft like a bridge in the sky designed to support heavy passenger cabins.
Key Mechanical & Aerodynamic Systems
The machine is built around a cigar-shaped rigid skeleton that houses both lifting gas and passenger accommodations.
1. The Rigid Truss Frame (1, 2, 24)
- Structure: The frame consists of longitudinal stringers (1) connected by a series of vertical and transverse rings (2).
- Bracing: The entire skeleton is reinforced with truss-forming elements (24) pivotally secured at the joints (25).
- Function: This creates a lightweight but incredibly strong “exoskeleton,” similar to the construction of a Zeppelin, allowing the craft to maintain its shape under the immense pressures of flight and water navigation.
2. The Sectional Aerostat and Ballonettes (5, 6, 6′)
- Independent Gas Bags (6): The upper three-fourths of the frame is filled with separate hydrogen bags, each with its own filling nipple (7).
- Safety Logic: If one bag leaks, the others remain inflated, preventing a catastrophic drop.
- Air Ballonettes (6′): Each gas bag contains an internal air bag (ballonette).
- Function: These serve two roles: they help regulate the internal pressure of the gas bags as the craft changes altitude, and they provide a “belt” of buoyancy for flotation if the craft lands on water.
3. Composite Lift: Planes and Static Buoyancy (5, 8) (Key Innovation)
- The Flat-Bottom Aerostat (5): The flotation body is flattened at the bottom.
- Dynamic Lift: While the gas provides “static” lift, the flat bottom acts as a massive wing surface, providing “dynamic” reaction lift as the craft moves forward.
- Stepped Planes (8): Beneath the aerostat are stepped planes (8) inclined upward.
- Function: These wings provide additional stability and lift, allowing the craft to fly more like a heavy airplane than a drifting balloon.
4. The Multi-Environment Propulsion System (10, 11, 13)
- Tractor and Pusher Propellers: The forward car has a tractor propeller (11) and the rear car a pusher propeller (10).
- Water Propeller: A central car (10) is equipped with a specific propeller for water navigation.
- Land Drive: The forward wheels (16) are connected to the motor via a belt (21).
- Function: This makes the craft a true “amphibian,” capable of taxiing on land, navigating like a boat, and flying through the air.
Safety Features and Navigation
| Feature | Hazard Addressed | Cassell’s Engineering Solution |
| Sectional Gas Bags | Mid-air leakage/fire. | Only one section is lost; efficiency remains unimpaired. |
| Pivoted Fins (3) | Ascent/Descent control. | Lateral vanes operated by ropes (13, 14) for precise pitch control. |
| Resilient Gear (18) | Hard landings. | Double-spring cord (18) prevents the wheel supports from breaking off. |
| Observation Platform | Flooding/Submersion. | A central ladder (22) allows passengers to reach a platform (23) above the water line. |
Significance to Aeronautical Engineering
Oscar Robert Cassell’s flying machine influenced the development of hybrid airships and amphibious transport.
- The Hybrid-Lift Principle: Cassell’s combination of buoyant gas and aerodynamic planes is the foundational logic behind modern hybrid heavy-lift airships used for transporting cargo to remote areas.
- Structural Redundancy: The use of sectional bags within a rigid frame is a core safety standard in modern lighter-than-air (LTA) craft, ensuring that a single point of failure does not lead to total loss.
- Landing Gear Dampening: His use of secondary resilient cords (18) to “lessen the breaking off effect” is an early form of multi-stage shock absorption, now standard in heavy aircraft landing gear.
- All-Domain Navigation: By designing a craft that could be “steered” like a car on land and “driven” like a boat on water, Cassell anticipated the amphibious rescue vehicles and multi-modal transport systems of the late 20th century.
