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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

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Getting a sound right now.

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I think probably if you speak up just a little into this, I'll try to hold it.

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Are you ready to go?

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Yeah, let's go.

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Dr. Bertelsen, where is your home?

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At Neponset, Illinois.

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We've just seen a demonstration of the Aeromobile, a very efficient demonstration.

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We understand you're a medical doctor.

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What led you to invent such a machine?

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Well, it was a real need in my rural territory.

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We have every winter about two feet of snow on some occasions, and my car is absolutely stopped.

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And every spring we have two feet of mud in certain areas, and we cannot pass through with an ordinary car.

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So this was as a result of the search for a real good flying machine which will get around this territory at a price which a physician can afford.

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The helicopter being out of economic range of an ordinary doctor.

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A helicopter then.

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Yes, you might call it an internal flow helicopter with an excellent ground effect.

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That is, it has more lift near the ground.

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What commercial possibilities?

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And they also have the faculty of going on very, very cheap roads.

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That is, you won't need anything but sod or grass or some dust-free medium on which to go.

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You don't need a foot-thick slab of concrete.

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So we feel that this is a real challenge.

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The maneuvering of the helicopter is a real challenge.

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The durability of this car, would it make it easier to park and to operate in traffic?

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Much easier. You can park sideways, and when you drive in your driveway you don't have to back out.

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You simply make a pivot turn and drive out forward.

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I noticed during the demonstration this morning that there was a lot of noise.

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Now, is this a drawback? Could it be corrected?

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Yes, this noise is mainly the lack of a muffler on the engine.

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We have a rather crude and inefficient muffler, but the air noise is a very small part of it,

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and the engine could be made theoretically as quiet as an automobile engine.

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You said the machine has commercial possibilities.

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What steps are you taking to bring this about?

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And is there any estimation how long before such a machine would be in production?

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We're trying to iron out all the developmental problems on our basic machines.

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This one we showed this morning was a research machine, of course.

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It is a little too heavy and it is a little too inefficient,

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and we think that we will gradually go through several more production prototypes

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and then eventually have a machine that will be useful immediately over rough terrain,

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over swamps, marshes, rice fields.

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One interesting thing about these things is that they can go up and down the rapids on a river,

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as well as go up as well as down,

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and this is the only vehicle that could negotiate such an area.

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At the time you refine your machine, then, how do you plan to actually market it?

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It will be sold first to use on marshes and swamps and over a rough country,

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and then ultimately I think that we will be in position to consider using them for transportation.

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Is it correct that you already have sold one of these machines to the government?

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Yes, the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of International Trade Fairs bought one,

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and this will be delivered in January for shipment to Tokyo,

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to the International Trade Fair at Tokyo, Japan in April 1961,

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and from there it will go to Italy in June and Yugoslavia in September,

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as an example of American technology.

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How difficult would it be for me to drive one of these aeromobiles?

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It's really quite simple.

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In contrast to other aircraft, you don't have to worry about turning it over

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or maintaining flying speed or actually coming in and hitting a runway and so on.

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This machine hovers and it follows the terrain so you don't have a fear of turning it over

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or diving it into the ground or any such problem as that.

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It's very simple. Many novices have flown this machine. It's a great success.

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Is there an actual stick just as there would be in an airplane?

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Yes, we do control the roll and the pitch of the machine with a stick,

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and we have foot pedals to control its steering,

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just exactly as it is in a helicopter or an aircraft.

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One final question.

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I know there are other machines that go under the name of hovermobile,

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and I believe Curtis Wright has a machine on the market.

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Is there a lot of competition racing to get into the market?

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Actually, we feel we have the world beat on this.

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We have the most controllable, the most efficient,

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and the only one really ready for production.

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The introduction says that the machine will be ready for production by now,

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and we know that the production is in progress as far as mass production is concerned.

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What he plans to do?

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We plan to have the machine now before it is in mass production.

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Okay. Okay, one more question and we'll come back.

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Dr. Bertelsen, what are your immediate plans for the Aeromobile

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before it goes into mass production?

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We'll use it in exhibitions around the country to show the American public

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what the ground effect is.

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No one has seen one, no one knows what it is.

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It's like trying to describe an elephant to a blind man,

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and until you actually see one,

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we'll have to show the public on exhibitions, demonstrations,

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fairs, expositions, and various public gatherings, just exactly.

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This machine can be obtained through Mr. Jimmy Birch

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at Oklahoma City, our agent,

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Convention Decorating Company, or Theme Parks, Inc.

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is the agency to contact to obtain this machine for exhibitions.

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I see. Thank you very much, Dr. Bertelsen.

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So we see that you are trying to introduce to the public a new mode of travel.

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That was really awful, hard work.

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I didn't know anyone that much.

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Now I see the commercial.

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I just didn't know anyone. I wish I had.

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Sorry.