HENRY WEYMAN

PHOTO FROM Rosebud's WWI and Early Aviation Image Archive

The Daily Journal and Tribune, Knoxville, Tennessee: September 29, 1912, Transcribed by Bob Davis - 6-11-04      From time to time enthusiastic contemporaries take occasion gently to chide Wilbur Wright for his views as to the future of aviation, particularly with regard to his pessimism on the question of transportation by aeroplane. Mr. Wright's statement that many years must elapse before aerial passenger traffic is firmly established is considered altogether too conservative, and Mr. Wright is even charged with holding a narrow and petulant views about the activities of airmen. We have gone ahead so fast in aviation that we sometimes forget the place which the two brothers have had in the development of the art., we forget that it was the wing warping principle which the Wrights discovered that has made flying possible, and that no aeroplane, of any type, which has not adopted this has been successful. And not only that, but the Wright brothers are going ahead. Their latest machine shows more progress than any other make, native or foreign. All this goes to show that the Wright brothers opinions are still entitled to careful consideration.      To return to the subject of aerial traffic, we hear that, "holding an opinion adverse to the use of these machines for transportation, Mr. Wright maintains, nevertheless, that flying through the air is still no more dangerous than automobile racing was in the early stages, or some other popular sports. If flying is not very dangerous, and is reasonably safe, and two men in an aeroplane have traveled 110 miles and for almost three hours without stopping, there must be a fair prospect that this airship, assuming it to be capable of improvement, may be used for transportation.      The case might have been made even stronger. The flight to which reference is made, we assume, is that of Lieut. Cammerman, of the French army, who on December 23rd, with a passenger, flew straight across the country for 147 miles, remaining in the air for four hours and three minutes, and winning the Lexare-Weller prize for 1910.      Even more significant was the flight last week of Henry Weyman, with three passengers, of approximately fifty miles from Mourmelon to Rheims and return.      But even admitting all this, it does follow that aerial transportation can be immediately realized. Take the case of the automobile today. Speaking of passenger transportation as a commercial proposition - and this is undoubtedly what Mr. Wright means - we should hardly say that motor cars were used for this purpose. Even though the travel by this means is frequently more pleasant, and sometimes quicker, the railroads are not complaining of a loss of business from this cause. The case of the flying machine appears similar. It is likely to be many years before the aeroplane is developed to such an extent as to be independent of wind and weather conditions or until it can carry passengers in comfort at all times. Until we reach this stage, transportation by railway is not likely to be seriously threatened with aerial competition.      Undoubtedly the aeroplane in the case of difficult or inaccessible places will be useful, as Mr. Wright himself says, for carrying one or more persons, or for transporting light freight, such as mails, etc. In fact, the Wright machine itself has carried light freight, consisting of bales of silk, under the guidance of Aviator Philip O. Parmalee, from Dayton to Columbus. These, however, are special cases and affect the case of transportation in general, not at all.      Beyond question the day of flying as a popular pastime is coming soon, but flying as a means of everyday transportation is not yet in sight - Boston Transcript

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Henry Weyman", using the Google search engine, (6-13-04), you will find j24 links, one of which is especially relevant.

 

FLIES 147 MILES IN FRANCE WITH A PASSENGER      On this page of Roy Nagl's website ,you will find the complete text of a newspaper article from 1911 which mentions Weyman's unsuccessful attempt to win the Michelin Prize. He did set a world's record of 136.62 miles. It includes details of two other recordsetting flights. You can access the page by clicking on the title above.

 

I have no information as to the dates of his birth or his death.   Editor's Note: If you have any more information on this pioneer aviator, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper   Back