Two more Robert Duncan Milne short stories. This pair features his recurring character Philip Hall.
PHILIP HALL’S AIR SHIP – This tale was first published in the October 11th 1879 edition of The Argonaut. Inventor Philip Hall has constructed a steam-powered flying machine that also uses controlled explosions from compressed cartridges.
The vessel is part helicopter and part airplane. Vertical takeoff and landing are achieved via sixteen propellers that operate separately on a central shaft. Additional propellers positioned horizontally allow for forward motion through the air.
The aircraft is boat-like in design, but with enclosed decks. Hall’s first trial flight ends in disaster but after some slight redesigns the second flight goes smoothly.
Philip’s vessel reaches speeds around one hundred miles per hour.
Like so many of Milne’s stories this leans heavily into hard science to fuel a reader’s suspension of disbelief. Flashy plot developments are abandoned in favor of plausibility, so some may find this tale dry.
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A FLIGHT TO THE POLE – First published in the October 18th 1879 edition of The Argonaut. Philip Hall is back, this time using his flying machine for exploration purposes.
Hall and a British mechanic depart San Francisco to try becoming the first to reach the North Pole. The aeronauts use the position of the sun to do most of their navigating.
Along the way, our pioneers stop off at Prince Patrick Island. While there, they trade tobacco and whiskey to some Inuit people in exchange for heavy fur clothing before taking off again.
Unlike so many other works of “ancient” science fiction, this tale does not depict Hall and his mechanic encountering prehistoric monsters or lost civilizations at the Pole. No, in Milne’s typically restrained style he clinically describes the North Pole and vicinity as a vast expanse of flat, ice-covered surface space.
Philip Hall plants an American flag and his mechanic plants a British flag. After that they fly back to San Francisco.
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