Quite possibly one of the ugliest airplanes of the post WWI era, the Zerbe Air Sedan showed that proper aeronautical design was not a prerequisite.
Oddly, this was not his first attempt at building a flying machine. Arkansas native Jerome Zerbe's Quintaplane built for the 1910 Dominguez Air Meet was also less than successful:
"An account from the meet stated that Professor J.S. Zerbe brought out his curious appearing multiplane and attempted to take off. As it clattered down the field amid the cheers of the crowd, a front wheel hit a hole and collapsed throwing the machine to one side and damaging a wing..."
One wonders if the Quintaplane would have become airborne had it missed that gopher hole?
Undeterred by the failure, Zerbe would continue to design aircraft. Assisted by some investors, he started on a new project back in Fayetteville in 1918. This is best described by Carl Jr., Floyd. “A Fayetteville-Built Plane.” Flashback 21 (March 1971): 5–7:
"The plane was an ambitious project with a fully enclosed cockpit and passenger area. Zerbe’s forward-thinking design was flawed by several logistical problems. The plane had multiple louvered wings, and Zerbe used a wing warping system, in which the airplane wings were literally bent in order to control the flow of air over them, rather than the more common elevator system. The rotary engine—a war-surplus engine imported from France—spewed castor oil on the windshield, which impeded the pilot’s vision."
According to Aerofiles, the engine was either a 100hp Gnôme or the 90hp LeRhône rotary as mentioned. It also quite possibly had the first known ejection seat. Test Pilot Tom Flannerty was put to the task of getting the Air Sedan into the air at the 1919 Washington County Fair in front of a curious crowd. Records are conflicting of what actually happend. Some reports state that Flannerty flew it for about 1000' before being damaged on landing. Other reports say it only flew anywhere from 40" to 50' off the ground. Still another eyewitness said it only hopped a couple of times. Whichever the case, hindsight dictates that the Air Sedan deserves mention as a noble if naive effort from Zerbe.
The fate of Professor Zerbe and his fantastic flying contraption are shrouded in mystery as both soon disappeared from record. The Northwest Arkansas Times attempted to track down the Air Sedan in the 1950's & 1960's with no success.
Additional info:
Eckels, Mike. FYV, The Story of Aviation in Fayetteville, Arkansas. N.p.: 2000.
Hatfield, D. D. Dominguez Air Meet. Inglewood, CA: Northrop University Press, 1976.
Jordan, Thomas E. Zerbe Air Project. http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/2905/zerbetoc.htm
Photo courtesy of the Ozark Military Museum.
Oddly, this was not his first attempt at building a flying machine. Arkansas native Jerome Zerbe's Quintaplane built for the 1910 Dominguez Air Meet was also less than successful:
"An account from the meet stated that Professor J.S. Zerbe brought out his curious appearing multiplane and attempted to take off. As it clattered down the field amid the cheers of the crowd, a front wheel hit a hole and collapsed throwing the machine to one side and damaging a wing..."
One wonders if the Quintaplane would have become airborne had it missed that gopher hole?
Undeterred by the failure, Zerbe would continue to design aircraft. Assisted by some investors, he started on a new project back in Fayetteville in 1918. This is best described by Carl Jr., Floyd. “A Fayetteville-Built Plane.” Flashback 21 (March 1971): 5–7:
"The plane was an ambitious project with a fully enclosed cockpit and passenger area. Zerbe’s forward-thinking design was flawed by several logistical problems. The plane had multiple louvered wings, and Zerbe used a wing warping system, in which the airplane wings were literally bent in order to control the flow of air over them, rather than the more common elevator system. The rotary engine—a war-surplus engine imported from France—spewed castor oil on the windshield, which impeded the pilot’s vision."
According to Aerofiles, the engine was either a 100hp Gnôme or the 90hp LeRhône rotary as mentioned. It also quite possibly had the first known ejection seat. Test Pilot Tom Flannerty was put to the task of getting the Air Sedan into the air at the 1919 Washington County Fair in front of a curious crowd. Records are conflicting of what actually happend. Some reports state that Flannerty flew it for about 1000' before being damaged on landing. Other reports say it only flew anywhere from 40" to 50' off the ground. Still another eyewitness said it only hopped a couple of times. Whichever the case, hindsight dictates that the Air Sedan deserves mention as a noble if naive effort from Zerbe.
The fate of Professor Zerbe and his fantastic flying contraption are shrouded in mystery as both soon disappeared from record. The Northwest Arkansas Times attempted to track down the Air Sedan in the 1950's & 1960's with no success.
Additional info:
Eckels, Mike. FYV, The Story of Aviation in Fayetteville, Arkansas. N.p.: 2000.
Hatfield, D. D. Dominguez Air Meet. Inglewood, CA: Northrop University Press, 1976.
Jordan, Thomas E. Zerbe Air Project. http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/2905/zerbetoc.htm
Photo courtesy of the Ozark Military Museum.