Grandfather's Flying Machine

"Old German Near Atlanta Is Builder of Machine
Has Made Short Flight
He Has Guarded the Machine Jealously and Has Been Working On It Ever Since the Wright Boys Flew Kites in Dayton.
Reported from Telegraph Bureau, Kimball House.
Atlanta, Oct. 25.
A made-in-Georgia airship, the darling of its inventor's heart and the fruit of ten years' hard work, is to be one of the most novel exhibits at the Great Southern Automobile show in Atlanta from November 8 to 15. It has made but a short flight so far, but its maker believes it will pass the clouds when a larger motor is put in.
H. Thaden, an aged German truck farmer, just outside of Atlanta, has been working on his airship since the days when the Wright boys were flying kites in the Dayton suburbs, and getting laughed at for their foolishness. But he did not follow the usual lines. His airship looks more like a boxcar than an aeroplane, its propellers fill both sides of the big structure, and the driver's seat throws the center of gravity so low Mr. Thaden is positive his craft can never turn over.
The old man has kept his queer ship hidden jealously for several years, but now that it is completed he is willing to show it to the public. He will be in personal charge of the exhibit and explain the workings of his ship to the interested visitors."
The article goes on to say John Philip Sousa's band and practically every automobile dealer in Georgia and the southern territory will at the auto show. They were proud to say they would have on display the first new models from all the factories several months in advance of the exhibits in New York and Chicago.--Macon [Georgia] Telegraph, 26 Oct 1913, p. 6.

Herman Thaden patented his airship in 1910. He was so very interested in aeronautics. He read the Aeronautics magazine and wrote a letter to the editor in 1911. As I read his letter, all his thoughts and concepts went right over my head. Such a technical letter. I marvel at his command of the English language. I admire him for his genius. I wish I had a photograph of his flying machine. There is supposed to be one in the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian. Perhaps one day I will find it.