Charles F. Ritchel
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Charles F. Ritchel, also known as C.F. Ritchel (c1840-1911), was an American inventor of a successful dirigible design, a toy monkey bank and the holder of more than 150 patented inventions.
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[edit] Dirigible
Richtel designed and built a small, one-man dirigible powered by a hand crank. The aircraft consisted of a brass frame put together at Folansbee Machine Shop in Bridgeport was hung underneath a cylindrical gas bag made of rubber at the Goodyear Rubber Company in Naugatuck, Connecticut. A small propeller drove the craft and could be moved left and right for turning. It could reach a height of 200 feet.[1]
At the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, Richtel flew the craft within one of the large exhibition halls. Two years later, on June 12, 1878, the craft set off from a baseball field behind the Colt Armory. Mark Quinlan flew the machine before a large group of spectators, went over the armory building, fly over the Connecticut River and landed back at the starting point.[1]
"This was the first flight of a man-carrying dirigible in America," according to Harvey Lippincott, founder of the Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association.[1]
On the following day, Quinlan again ascended, but the wind proved to be too strong and he was blown off course, lainging in nearby Newington, Connecticut. More flights took place in Boston and elsewhere, and eventually five of the aircraft were constructed and sold. Richtel imagined a transcontinental airline with larger dirigibles cranked by 11 men.[1]
[edit] Other inventions
Some credit Richtel with inventing rollerskates. He did invent a toy bank in the shape of a monkey (patented November 7, 1882, Design Patent No. 13,400).[2]
In order to save a coin, it is put on a tray held in the monkey's upturned palms. A lever in the back is pressed and the arms rise, tilting the coin toward a slot in the monkey's belly. Ives Manufacturing in Bridgeport may have produced the bank.[2]
[edit] Life
In a patent application for his dirigible, Richtel said he was a resident of Corry, Pennsylvania.
Despite his many inventions, Richtel died destitute in his hometown of Bridgeport, Connecticut [2]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c d [1]"Air Transportation and the Development of the Aviation Industry in Connecticut (Page 1 of 5)" Web page at the New England Air Museum Web site, accessed August 14, 2006, article by Harvey Lippincott. An editor's note at the top of the page states: "This paper was presented by Harvey Lippincott in 1977 at the Meeting of the Association for the Study of Connecticut History. Mr. Lippincott was the founder of the Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association, which operates the New England Air Museum, and former UTC corporate archivist. He died in 1996."
- ^ a b c http://bridgeport.ct.schoolwebpages.com/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=26287]"C.F. Richtel, Inventor" Web page at the Bridgeport Central High School Web site, accessed August 14, 2006
