Lyman Wiswell Gilmore, Jr. (June 11, 1874 – February 18, 1951) was an

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

pioneer. In Grass Valley, California, he built a steam-powered airplane and claimed that he flew it on May 15, 1902. Due to the requirement of a heavy boiler and the dependency on coal as a power source, the flights would have been unsustainable. Records and evidence relating to his claim were lost in a 1935 hangar fire.

First flight

Gilmore, in a 1936 interview, reported a successful tethered glider flight in 1893 and a free glider flight in 1894. Gilmore further added that (although he had not reported it until 1927) he made a controlled steam-powered flight on May 15, 1902; however, all records and papers related to his aircraft were destroyed in a fire. There are photographs from 1898 showing Gilmore's machine, but none showing it in the air. The claims of the aircraft achieving flight are unconfirmed, and given the weight evident by the grounded aircraft photos, the possibility of flight is highly unlikely.

Work

Lyman Gilmore was in contact with other flight pioneers like Samuel Langley and, eventually, the

Wright brothers The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...

. In 1902, Gilmore was granted two patents on

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

s. He invented in other areas too: for example, a rotary

snowplow A snowplow (also snow plow, snowplough or snow plough) is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes. Although this term is often used to ref ...

. On March 15, 1907, Gilmore opened the first commercial

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

, Gilmore Airfield, in Grass Valley. There is now a middle school named in his honor on the site of the airfield. Gilmore plane drawing

In 1935, Lyman's airplane hangar and the two aging monoplanes were destroyed by fire. The fire cancelled plans to exhibit the larger monoplane at the World Fair in Chicago. Gilmore began mining for gold and died a poor man in

Nevada City, California Nevada City is the county seat of Nevada County, California, United States, northeast of Sacramento, California, Sacramento, southwest of Reno, Nevada, Reno and northeast of San Francisco. The population was 3,152 as of the 2020 United States ...

. His grave can be found in Pine Grove Cemetery, about a half mile outside of town. The Lyman Gilmore Middle School in Grass Valley has the motto, "Flying into the Future" and a mural depicting first flight. School children made a YouTube presentation about Gilmore including old video footage of Gilmore and an interview with people who knew him."In Search of Lyman Gilmore"--a student production as an entry in the California Preservation Foundation film contest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdUOe0vdJhA

References

External links

* http://www.aerofiles.com/_ga.html * http://www.ncngrrmuseum.org/ * http://www.flyingmachines.org/gilmore.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilmore, Lyman 1874 births 1951 deaths People from Thurston County, Washington Aviation inventors Discovery and invention controversies History of aviation People from Nevada City, California People from Grass Valley, California

First flight

Work

See also

References

External links