Air-Britain Archive 2000-03 / The Dominguez Air Meet, 1910

Professor J F Zerbe s 1909 multiplane had six symmetrical aerofoil planes, each staggered to form slots with the preceding plane, although the sixth may have been a form of elevator. It had a wheel control and was said to have a motorcycle engine driving a rear wheel as well as a propeller, but this is difficult to see in the only known photograph. It failed to get off the ground at Dominguez but Zerbe built a staggered-wing quadriplane in 1919 with a box-like cabin which he called the Zerbe Air Sedan. This had a Le Rhone rotary engine in the nose but although it was claimed to have lifted off to about 100 ft on its only attempted flight, the undercarriage was damaged and nothing more was heard of it.