OPTIMISTIC NOMENCLATURE. This is what Mr. Gerard P. Herrick, its American inventor, terms a Vertiplane. The upper rotating wing is 20ft. in span and the lower one measures 25ft. The engine is a 125 h.p. Kinner. It seems that the machine has done extensive test-flying.

The Herrick Convertaplane HV-2A, NX 13515, was first flown in the summer of 1937. In essence, the aim of its creator, Gerald Herrick, was to produce a get-you-down-safely machine that took off and climbed away in normal fashion with its upper, bi-convex section wing fixed and locked as seen here. In an emergency, however, this upper wing could be released to rotate, turning this 125hp kinner-engined two seater into an autogiro of sorts. Herrick's first 1931 attempt crashed during its initial attempt at in-flight conversion. This machine was slightly more successful, but, not surprisingly, lacked stability in the autorotative mode, thanks to its lack of rotor head hinging.