1959-11-07 — Page 9

Page

THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1959.

The £50 Sky-Bike comes out and Inflates its wing. Maybe it will crack Leonardo's problem.

T

TARGET

How any words at

O four lettere

MCN

or mure can JUR

from the Inttura is tbb square on the lett 7

41

making

ARS each word,

the Bay Deed

40 only,

the Fattori "la" each of

word must con tain the large letter in the centre square, and there must be at Bast one pion-letter word in the 1. No plurals on foreign worda 100 prope). Game TODAY TARGET: 11 worde good : 43 words, parg good; 2 Words, ernallent Bolatios se Monday,

FESTERDAY'S SOLUTIUNI Ability to sali ahility bail best BIRI INABILITY – IBÍLiniiniky inly ista inity line fiby nal) caf tain this tibial clay.

London Express Service

Mr Beckford: Man

in a hurry

IF Squire Beckford, of

Fonthill Abbey, was one of Britain's wealthi est men, he was also one of its most impatient.

CURIOUS CHARACTERS

One afternoon, near the Hundreds

10

men slaved

next day, there was

beginning of last century, he through the night. And, when gave instructions for workmen Beckford strode forth before to build a road through his ex- tensive private grounds. There was one stipulation. It must be ready by next morning.

A British Crossword Puzzle

ACROSS

3

1 Just what the doctor

ordered (B),

7 Painter secii in copies only

(4).

It may be thin-edged (5).

10 Reception room (5).

11. The wine of Castile (4).

13 Surrender on terms (iv).

16 Fiat club2 (4),

18 Don't miss it! (4),

10 Lexi-Ewinger (10).

22 Horse colour (4).

24 Sacred book (3),

23

DOWN

2

Called to account (3, 2).

3

Old soldier? (5).

4 Building on board (8).

5 Sal, ghty? (8).

0 Dressing (4).

8

Might a model and £ AMM-

cult to answer) (5).

12 Tube description (5),

13 Tossed in sport (5).

14 Ex-Constantinople (8)."

17 All-out (8),

18

They pick at seams (0),..

20 Street Arab (5).

23 The month of military pro- 21 Like a dean? (5).

*TGES? (5).

228 What's oti (4).

27 You'll have to run, for it,

probably! (0),

breakfast his road.

Beckford was also known for hils lavish generosity. This made him the prey of beggars,

One day, when they heard he had sent 1,000 blankets and 50 carloads of wood to neigh- bouring villegers, they flocked to see hlin with tales of woe,

Thrashed

But the eccentric Beckford had them soundly thrashed, and then remorsefully them with guineas.

rewarded

Beckford also had passion for privacy. When building was going on in his grounds, be prevented the public from watching by building #high wall seven miles long zad iwelve feet high.

But entertaining on a lavish scale WDS Beckford's real obsession He had hls dining room built so that a river flowed through

the middle of it. IL was well stocked with fish, and Beckford took them out with fine and rod as they were order. ed. On one bank of the indoor were heaped fruit and flowers; on the other, loads of iment. Behind wore TOWE

FIVET

Jovens,

of

Many of Beckford's schemes were dangerous-such as his 400 ft. tower at Fonthill, First, he had fullsize model run up in wood so that he could see what it would look like. It collapsed almost at once. Re- bullt

collapsed again. Miraculously nobody was killed,

Speed

Once, two days before Chris!- : mas, he decided that his ban- quet should take place in a new: dining hall. Again, an army of workmen was called in and set lo work at lightning speed.

But harte marred efficiency. The beamo were insenLITYS ond the cement between the bricks

29 Do what you're told, you still-wot. The guesia had, just

Turk! (4)..

themselves

scaled

when the whole structure collagenda

After many years at Fonthill Beckford decided to leave... He had spent £2,000,000 on the mis

YESTERDAY'S CROSSWORD, ---- AcroM): 1 Tom - for,tate and in doing so had de- Stops, 7 Ensign, B. Score, 10 Chit, 12 Agitate, 15 Ride, 18 Used, moralised the working-men of 17 Even, 10 next, 20 Respect (spectre), 21 Neat, 23 Divan, the countryside, who worked 24, Struve, 25. Kabel 28 (H6) Brides, Downl 1 Troncher, 1 only as his whims demanded Mistres On Tectum, 8: Paicale, 9 (new) Agenta 11 and lived in the intervals of Tin-plate, 12 Alco, 13 Asterold, 14 Editress, 18 Vent-CIE, 12 Bur!"the proceede

Everybody's

doing it now!

THE LATEST BACK-GARDEN

HOBBY FOR ANYONE

WITH A SPARE BICYCLE ·

London.

You might have thought that an age of jets, and space satellites like ours would be past bother- ing with do-it-yourself flying.

is

Not in the least. The more The Inflatable wing ho powerful the engines of flight pinning his faith, on is M very become the more attractive the sophisticated

To wing indeed. Idea of non-engined fight be put if technically it has CL- comes-fying by muscle-power drag ratio double that of a hor- alone.

mal plan wing.

Mr Perkins made it all for £60, and he made all the parts from everyday

materials, 50 take courage, back-yard enthus!-

The other day we went to have a look at one of the latest attempts. Ladies and gentlemen

meet the Sky-Bike and Lasts. designer, Daniel Peritins,

Basically, what he has made is a pedal tricycle with a 40ft. wing that you pump up with alr before you start.

Mr Perkins believes that By pedalling very fast for about 50 yards he can get himself off the ground. That needs about two horsepower. Once up he should need only a third of a horse power to stay up driving a pro- peller with his pedals.

All for £50

Doesn't sound ilkely, does it? But wait. Mr Perkins is no bee-in-the-bonnet optimist. He la a senior experimental officer at the Ministry of Supply. with several wartime alr inventions to his credit. .

Mr Perkins explained: "My alm to lift myself off the ground without artißcial means. That is what this business in R]} about.

First over

"If I can get up a few feet and keep going for possibly 100 Yards we shall have settled one of the elementary problems of aviation which so far no one has managed." He and his partner Alan Lock hope to make the thing fly in a few weeks. They are cautiously optimistic."

It is believed that if Mr Per- king gets airborne it will be the first genuine wholly man-power- od fight in history--a problem that beat everyone, including Leonardo da Vinci.

-(London Express Service).

An early attempt (1843), launched by running downhill.

called the "Acrostat," it looked all right on paper,

RADO

RADO

RADO

-

RADO

In the cockpit: standard handlebars, a plywood saddle, pedals. Take-of speed should be about 20 miles an hour,

The muscle-power-only-plane, less propeller. Its wing folde up under your ana when deflated. The whole machine weighs less than 10016.

RADO

RADO

Check your Time

RADO

TUNE IN TO H.K. COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING FOR RADO PRECISION TIME EVERY HOUR ON THE HOUR

→

RADO

SWISS-MADE

WATCHES

WEAR A PRECISION-MADE RADO WATCH AND

KEEP ON TIME

ALL THE TIME

RADO

RADO