Viewing page 11 of 15

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

4 h.p, 2 cylinder opposed French built Dutheil-Chalmers engine driving a 54-inch-diameter pusher propeller. The complete weight of the airplane was 100lb. With this machine he made his first successful straightway hop on December 28, 1908. Fifteen more hops followed that day and he soon learned he could fly but not climb nor make a turn. After drilling auxiliary exhaust port holes in the cylinders and main [[making]] other engine changes he was able to obtain 5 h.p., which was helpful, but his plane was still underpowered. 
   In May, 1910, Sellers installed an 8-10 h.p, Chicago-built Bates, 2-cylinder engine driving a 66-inch diameter pushed propeller. With this engine he could climb and turn successfully. He reportedly made over two hundred flights, experimenting with various control and stability arrangements. His plane was most unusual in that it probably was the first plane in the world that carried over twice its own weight on such low power. It would also fly at 20 m.p.h in still air without losing altitude. These tests continued into 1911 when suddenly his loyal assistant and close friend was killed [[suddenly]] when he was struck by the propeller. 
   Sellers was so grief stricken by this tragedy that he stopped his tests and left Kentucky, vowing never to return. He soon realized he could not dismiss his aviation interest and in January 1912, he became a technical editor for Aeronautics magazine in New York. In that capacity he was a frequent contributor of valuable articles on propellers, aerodynamics, control, and stability problems. 
   In early 1914 Sellers started flying his quadraplane again at Oakwood Heights Flying Field on Staten Island. There he had a serious accident on August 14, 1914, while taxiing at dusk. He hit a deep rut jolting him into the propeller, nearly severing an arm. He did regain the use of it but never attempted to fly again.
   During 1915 Sellers became a technical assistant to Thomas A. Edison on the U.S. Navy Consulting Board at Washington, D. C., where he remained through World War I.
   

Transcription Notes:
I wasn't sure if whether or not to remove the periods in m.p.h as the correction of the document didn't specify a replacement for them or to just remove them.