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Show AN AIR FLIVVER. Within five years a business man living in a distant suburb may board his one-passenger air flivver, fly to the city and alight on his office roof. Returning at night he may land in his own yard with ease; and safety. Such is the prediction of conservative pilots and engineers. This may happen in less than five years if plans for the commercial com-mercial manufacture of the autogyro are carried out. Invented by Jun de la Cierva, a Spaniard, the autogyro is fitted with an ordinary or-dinary airplane motor and propeller, but in addition lias revolving wings in a sort ofl windmill arrangement which enables it to sustain sus-tain itself in the air at slow speed, thus permitting it td rise qi land in the! space of an ordinary tennis court. The revolving wings are said to give the machine stability in flight, besides making a crash to earth almost impossible, even though the pilot should entirely lose control. It is declared that it "flies likd an airplane but settles to earth like a parachute." An American company is now perfecting a design for commercial com-mercial production. If the claims of its promoters are made good, the autogyro may soon revolutionize short distance passenger traffic. o |