Existing comment:
Experimentation & Innovation:
With the growth of aviation came a flurry of inventions, patents and an interest in experimentation. The military was deluged with requests by would-be inventors to test their new ideas on the flying machine. As a result, the Signal Corps decided to publically [sic] announce that anyone with devices for the aeroplane should come by the School to have their equipment tested, if practical.
Many of these experiments resulted in the design of significant aeroplane equipment and inventions such as improved photographic and wireless equipment, an aeroplane bombsight and machine gun and more. Lieut. Milling conducted some of the earliest experiments with night flying when he set up two huge acetylene lights on the ground to illuminate his flight and landing. "Hap" Arnold claimed that he led the army to adopt goggles when he almost lost control of his machine after being hit in the eye by a bug! However, innovation also brings the inevitable contraptions and failures, as characterized by the "Aero Torpedo", the Means "Smoke Signaling Device" which emitted puffs of black smoke as code, and a "Flying Machine Parachute.' Some inventors were simply ahead of their time, but successful or not, this College Park Airfield was there to witness it all. |