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Captive Flying Machines (100 Years): Maxim Biography
In
the early 1890s, Maxim was in a position to begin work on
a subject that had fascinated scientists and inventors for
many years, the creation of a manned flying machine*. He
had had an interest in the subject for many years, and the
move to Crayford finally allowed him the chance to design
and build a machine of his own. He estimated it would take
five years and £3,000 to design and build, and include
the creation of a specialised steam engine to power the
contraption. He would be able to build the machine at
Crayford, and test it at Baldwyn’s Park, a forty-acre
site that he hired specially.
[* To avoid confusion, it should be pointed out that the phrase “flying machine” refers to a primitive aircraft. The amusement ride, such as the Blackpool one, was always referred the “Captive Flying Machines”, for reasons that will be explained later]
The flying
machine project was careful not to set its aims too high,
in any sense of the word. The idea was solely for the
machine to generate enough lift to raise itself by a few
inches, and then run along the underside of a specially
built track. He predicted that, once this was achieved,
“Within a few years, someone – if not myself, someone
else – will have made a machine which can be guided
through the air, will travel with considerable velocity
and will be sufficiently under control to be used for
military purposes”. It is worth noting that Maxim’s
first thoughts were for how the machine could be used in
wartime, rather than for any peaceful purpose.
One thing
for which Maxim had a considerable talent was exhibiting
his inventions, and making them exciting to the layman.
From making spectacular use of his arc lamps to light
grand buildings, to using his gun to blast the initials
"FJ" into a target in order to impress Austrian
emperor Franz Josef with its speed and accuracy, he had
always found a way of making a show of his creations. In
the case of the flying machine, he was always willing to
welcome VIPs including the Prince of Wales (King Edward
VII to be) and his son Prince George (later George V), for
whom he would perform private demonstrations of both his flying
machine and machine gun. The publicity from these visits
would no doubt be very influential in persuading potential backers to support
the project.
On July
31st
1894, he gave the first public demonstration of the flying
machine at Baldwyn’s Park, improving the spectacle by extending the length of the
guide rails, and by “piloting” the machine himself. Both he and
the crowd got more than they expected when the machine
broke free of the rails and briefly achieved free flight.
Despite the crew being thrown off their feet, Maxim was
able to shut off the power, and the machine crashed back
to the ground, causing substantial damage. Maxim could now
claim, with some justification, that he was the designer
of the first machine to take off unaided (i.e. without the
use of ramps or other accessories), and achieve
self-powered free flight – even if he hadn’t meant it
to. The machine was repaired and strengthened, and in
November 1894, he invited the public to another exhibition
at Baldwyn's Park, at which visitors were able to take
part in what could be called the first ever “pleasure
flight”, paying five shillings each for ride on the
pilot's platform during the short trip.
After a
further demonstration the following year, backers became
disillusioned with the relatively limited scope of the
flying machine project, and pulled out. Furthermore,
London County Council ordered him to vacate Baldwyn’s
Park, as it had been chosen as the site of their new
lunatic asylum. Meanwhile, the Maxim Gun Company was also
in difficulty, as the British Government had invoked a law
enabling them to use Maxim’s designs to make the gun in
their own factories, paying him only a very small royalty.
At the turn of the century, the Maxim Gun Company merged
with Vickers Sons and Company, and was duly renamed
“Vickers Sons and Maxim”.
One of the
few things that might have brought a smile to Maxim’s
face during this difficult time was the success of the
Maxim Gun in Sudan. In 1898, the Daily Telegraph paid
homage to Maxim’s success, declaring, “In most of our
wars, it has been the dash, the skill and the bravery of
our officers and men that have won the day, but in this
case the battle was won by a quiet scientific gentlemen
living down in Kent”. Having become so well respected in
Britain, he adopted British citizenship in 1899, and was
knighted by Queen Victoria in the 1901 New Year Honours.
Victoria died in January of that year, and so the newly
crowned Edward VII, by now a good friend of Maxim’s,
conducted the ceremony.