California lighthouse keeper Shaw’s “aerial row boat” consisted of two cartridge-shaped balloons of oiled silk, kept in position by ash frames. The buoyant power was barely sufficient to lift the apparatus and one’s weight. The conical ends pointed in opposite directions, and the two balloons were kept a few feet apart by strong connecting pieces of ash. Between the ash pieces was arranged a seat and footrest. This apparatus would support one in the air and locomotion was by oars. It was reportedly successfully tested in New York’s Central Park sometime during the 1860s.
All Aero 