From: Martin Shough <parcellular.nul>
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2009 23:24:08 -0000
Archived: Sat, 07 Feb 2009 06:47:40 -0500
Subject: Re: Military Fliers - Flying One-Man Platforms


>From: Jerome Clark <jkclark.nul>
>To: <post.nul>
>Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2009 14:35:32 -0500
>Subject: Re: Military Fliers - Flying One-Man Platforms

>The only other account of an airship anchor, or anchorlike
>device, that comes to mind is one from Iowa, where a man named
>Robert Hibbard allegedly was dragged by one. I've always had my
>doubts about that report, based not so much on anything specific
>as on the sort of instinct one develops after years of studying
>these accounts, a significant percentage of which are fictional.
>I could be wrong, of course, and it's pretty certain that we'll
>never know with confidence one way or another.

>Anyway, if you have other examples, Martin, I'd be interested
>in seeing what they are.

Thanks, Jerry, for the quote.

I, too, can recall only those two anchor examples off the top of
my head - though there were some dragging ropes, along with the
notorious Hamilton cow, and in a couple of 1909 cases suspended
"platforms" were mentioned. But the likelihood that the Hibbard
anchor story is also a "fiction" misses the point.

Evidently we are looking at this through different filters. I've
twice tried to indicate the nature of my interest in the
Aldeburgh story and its associations, and twice its been
snipped. It isn't a big deal, but regretfully I'm going to leave
it there, as I've said my piece and I don't think we are going
to understand each other this time.


Best

Martin Shough