These seemingly unrelated subjects unerringly draw together the genius, inventiveness and experiences of one man.
Conjure up, if you will, thoughts of spinnaker gibes, “bandits low” and being caught “in flagrante delecti” and you should start to get some clues as to the identity of our subject fellow.
He was the picture of a Gentleman of early last century, a skater, a sailor, an airman, an inventor and a philanderer.
Who could ask for more in the flamboyant lifestyle that wealth could bring?
He was a thinker and a keen observer of life, but more than that, he was a doer and an entrepreneur par excellence.
Any one of his many inventions and innovations may have brought him to the attention of the world at large, but these three, in one form or another are still in daily use somewhere and still make a difference, or cause an oath of gratitude, a curse of blightedness, or the wry smile of memory to pass the lips or cross the countenance of those whom he has touched.
One of his early inventions was to use a simple gyroscope to create an automatic pilot for aircraft - a mundane item in everyday use in planes of all sizes today, but a really out there idea in 1919.
That somebody would want to go to all the trouble of learning how to fly and then not want to pilot his plane, but leave the joy to some gadget was a bizarre idea at this pivotal time in aviation history.
The prominence of this invention and its uses was brought to the public’s attention by a most unfortunate accident. A crash, in fact, from a great height, into the shallows of Chesapeake Bay.
The local chronicle, far from engaging in investigative journalism, reported the incident matter of factly, viz: “When the rescuers had reached the scene by rowing boat it was evident that the force of the impact had been so great as to divest both of the occupants of all of their clothing”
Not a mention of the ill aimed elbow, knee, butt, or stiletto that had pressed the “Off” button of the new invention at the grand height of 574 feet, which had sped the errant and otherwise engaged couple to the waiting swamp below.
None the less, and not to mention the lack of the other 4706 feet of altitude in the explanation, this was the first mention of what was to become known as “The Mile High Club”.
Solving problems was nothing new to our man.
A man of leisure and pleasure, he sought to increase his enjoyment of both.
Out skating on a pond near his home one day, he was amazed that his dog, who had broken his tether and come out onto the ice to playfully chase him, could not only keep up with him but could also manoeuvre without sliding out of control on the slick surface.
Investigation of the dog’s paws and the invention of cutting stripes into gum rubber soles for his famous boat shoes was to start another product and another fortune.
Finally, the iconic and scary “never want to be in there in a wheels up landing” eye ball turret was also the product of this fertile mind.
A boon to the underbelly defence of a B17 bomber, it was the scourge of the attacking Me 109 or Focke Wulfe and its principle is still employed, albeit without an on board operator, in helicopter gunships today.
So if you have ever been forrard in a howler to drop a blown out genoa and blessed your boat shoes for their grip; watched “12 O’Clock High” in black and white or “Memphis Belle” in technicolour and wondered at the courage of the gunners in the eyeball turret, or just cursed your fatal charm as you caught your foot under the flush pedal or your skirt in the soap dispenser plunger in the aft toilet on a darkened 747 bound for Hong Kong
Think of Laurence Sperry
Another man who changed the world.
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