Wallace Tillinghast
Encyclopedia
Wallace Tillinghast was a Worcester, Massachusetts
businessman, and the originator of an airplane hoax in the early 1900s.
, New York
, a distance of approximately 300 miles, where Tillinghast and his crew claimed to have circled the Statue of Liberty
at 4,000 feet. At one point, the engines were said to have shut off, and the contraption glided through the air for forty-eight minutes while the mechanics made repairs. After which, they made their way back to Worcester, by way of a route taking them through Boston.
on the night of December 22 was reported nationwide.. The sighting followed claims by inventor Wallace Tillinghast that he had invented an airplane that could fly 120 miles per hour.
Tillinghast never offered his craft for public viewing or inspection, and the media grew more skeptical, explaining the sightings were most likely the planet Venus, or fire balloons.
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
businessman, and the originator of an airplane hoax in the early 1900s.
History
Tillinghast announced the creation of the first, "heavier-than-air" flying craft in 1909. He explained that he had done more than one hundred flights with this machine under the cover of darkness. Tillinghast stated that he began flying under cover of darkness two months prior to his announcement, his first flight being between Worcester, Massachusetts, and New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, a distance of approximately 300 miles, where Tillinghast and his crew claimed to have circled the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
at 4,000 feet. At one point, the engines were said to have shut off, and the contraption glided through the air for forty-eight minutes while the mechanics made repairs. After which, they made their way back to Worcester, by way of a route taking them through Boston.
Sightings
Between December 12, 1909, and February 1910, New England newspapers were filled with "sightings" of the aircraft purportedly designed by Tillinghast and two unnamed mechanics. A sighting over Worcester, MassachusettsWorcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
on the night of December 22 was reported nationwide.. The sighting followed claims by inventor Wallace Tillinghast that he had invented an airplane that could fly 120 miles per hour.
Tillinghast never offered his craft for public viewing or inspection, and the media grew more skeptical, explaining the sightings were most likely the planet Venus, or fire balloons.
Sources
- Whalen, Stephen and Robert E. Bartholomew. "The Great New England Airship Hoax of 1909". The New England Quarterly, Vol. 75, No. 3 (September, 2002), pp. 466–476.