A photo from open sources
The beginning of the aviation era is considered December 17, 1903. In that day for the first time ever a biplane with an internal engine combustion built by the Americans, brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright took off from the ground around Kitty Hawk and flew several tens of meters above the sand spit, holding out in 59 seconds in the air! However in the history of american aviation There is a mystery that has not been solved so far. The fact is that for seven years before the mentioned date, in November 1896, residents San Francisco watched in the sky above the city an outlandish flying apparatus. Then over the next seven months hundreds if not thousands of americans from california to maine not only saw this apparatus in the air and on the ground with my own eyes, but also talked with members of his crew, as evidenced by documentary evidence. According to eyewitnesses, it was a huge manned “air a ship unlike any creation of human hands capable of take to the air. “The first contact with the crew of the ship occurred April 19, 1897 in the extreme south of the country. That day young a resident of Lake Charles in Louisiana drove a herd of prairie horses. Suddenly a giant object appeared in the sky above his head, which so frightened the animals that they rushed scattering, knocking off legs of no less frightened herder. Right after that the aircraft stopped and hovered motionless in the air. Way down a rope ladder flew, two down on it to the ground man and helped the bewildered guy to his feet. “I’m with with relief and joy I saw that they were ordinary Americans, the same young guys as me, ”he later said. Aeronauts apologized for the commotion caused by their appearance, introduced themselves as Scott Warren and Mr. Wilson and to finally make amends, suggested the herder to climb ship and inspect it. On board, Wilson and Warren began to explain the youth device and the principle of the ship, but for simple the shepherd’s explanation was too tricky and he didn’t understood and did not remember. The next day the airship landed near the city of Yuwalde, Texas, where local Sheriff X. V. Beyler entered into a conversation with the crew. One of them, introduced himself as Wilson, a resident of Goshen from New York, asked the sheriff how the health of the local resident, captain S. K. Akers? When journalists later asked Akers what he knew. about Wilson, they heard in response the following: – When I was in 1876 and in 1877 lived in Fort Worth, near Dallas, he knew well person with that name. He was from New York State and had penchant for technical creativity. Already in those years he developed a certain device for flying in the air and claimed that when it if it is ready, it will shock the whole world. Then he was 24 years old, he was a very educated young man, and he seems to have had money that allowed him to deal only with his Mr. Wilson must have managed to build his aircraft, and he decided to track me down so I could make sure that his intentions were not an adventure. Around midnight 25 April, a mysterious ship, beaming with numerous lights, appeared in the night sky above the city of San Antonio, where dozens of people saw him. Here’s how the San Antonio newspaper described the episode the next day. Daily Express “:” Thick clouds covered the sky. On this gloomy dazzling white rays cutting through the darkness stood out sharply spotlights in front of the aircraft and bright lights, sparkling on its sides. However, such lighting did not give opportunities to consider the airship itself. When he maneuvering in the air, approached the group of townspeople watching him, became less bright light sources are visible on the ship’s hull, including some green lights on one side of it and some red lights on friend. All these spotlights, lights, as well as complex maneuvers, committed by the aircraft, of course, pointed to it artificial origin. “Further, the newspaper wrote that “the inventors and builders of the amazing airship were Hyerem Wilson, son of Willard B. Wilson, assistant principal New York Central Railways mechanics, and electrical engineer C.J. Walsh from San Francisco. Aircraft suddenly appeared near various cities and towns of the United States and so it suddenly disappeared. It turned out that he possessed ability to cover distances of hundreds in a matter of hours and even thousands of miles. Last time outlandish aircraft seen in the summer of 1897, and after that he disappeared from the field forever view, what was this mysterious airship and who was actually his inventor and owner, calling yourself Mr. Wilson? We do not answer these questions still know. A recent thorough study of all surviving reports of this ship allows suggest that mr wilson was even more mysterious figure than it might seem at first glance. One of researchers of this mysterious event, writer Daniel Cohen, in his book “The Secret of the Airship” claims that “the story with Wilson and his aircraft abound in obscurity and contradictions. For example, it is not possible to trace a flight route ship over Texas in April 1897. According to eyewitnesses, it turns out that he suddenly appeared in several places in almost one and same time. This would require two or even three identical ships simultaneously circling over Texas at the most intimidated routes. Also in messages besides the name Wilson, names are given and other crew members, but in different messages they do not match. The number of crew members doesn’t coincide, it ranges from two to eight. Another researcher, Jerome Clark discovered yet another oddity regarding Mr. Wilson: “According to Captain Akers, 20 years ago, Wilson was 24 years old. During a meeting with him near the city of Lake Charles, the drover horses called him a “young guy.” Even now that we live much longer than they lived a hundred years ago, no one will name 45 year old man a young guy. And in those years at that age he would be called at least a middle-aged man. “Some the researchers even believe that this whole case was not at all what introduced himself to his eyewitnesses. In their opinion, and air the ship, and its crew, exactly like humans, were the product of some extraterrestrial civilization. Knowing the cultural and the intellectual level of the most advanced nation of that time aliens pretended to be humans to minimize the inevitable complications in direct contact with the inhabitants of the Earth – planets, which they studied.
Time
