View source for William Harper Jr.

[[File:Harper 4786745147 0b1be1f36b o.jpg|thumb|300px]]
'''William Harper Jr.''' was an American pioneer aviator and aviation engineer with the [[Wright brothers]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Harper Takes Them as Passengers in His Big Yellow Monoplane. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/10/21/archives/girls-fly-at-hempstead-harper-takes-them-as-passengers-in-his-big.html |quote=William Harper, Jr., was the most envied aviator on the field here this afternoon, when he took out a number of attractive girls in his big yellow for ... |work=[[New York Times]] |date= October 21, 1912 |accessdate=2010-09-12 }}</ref>

==Biography==
In 1912 he built his own airplane to fly out of [[Roosevelt Field, New York]].<ref name=club>{{cite book |title=Aeronautics: Volume 10 |year=1912 |publisher=[[Aero Club of Pennsylvania]] |page=179  | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cZ0PAQAAIAAJ&dq=%22William+Harper%2C+Jr.%22+pilot&pg=PA179 }}</ref>

The airplane was a [[monoplane]], resembling the contemporary [[Blériot XI|Blériot]], with a [[Wingspan|span]] of {{convert|50|ft|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name=club/> It was powered by a two-cylinder [[Two-stroke engine|two-stroke]] of {{convert|50|hp|abbr=on}},<ref name=club/> driving a {{convert|9|ft|cm|abbr=on}}-diameter propeller.<ref name=club/> It was outfitted with a speedometer and a crude turn-and-bank indicator.<ref name=club/>

It was reportedly able to glide as much as {{convert|300|yd|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name=club/>

It was scheduled to fly in June, from a field east of Mineola, on the Hempstead Plains.<ref name=club/>

On February 3, 1914, Harper married Florence Tobin of [[Denver, Colorado]] in [[Newport, Rhode Island]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Tobin-Harper Wedding To-day |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1914/02/02/archives/news-of-newport-tobinharper-wedding-today-plans-for-polo-practice.html |quote=The wedding of Miss Florence Tobin of Denver and William Harper, Jr., of New York will take place to-morrow evening at the cottage of the bride's aunt, Mrs. James J. Brown. Only relatives will be present. A dinner at the MuenchingerKing will follow, with Mrs. Brown as hostess. |work=[[New York Times]] |date= February 2, 1914|accessdate=2010-09-12 }}</ref>

==Writings==
*{{cite news |author=William Harper, Jr. |title=Gyroscope in Air. Mr. Harper Shows How It May Resist Shifting Air Currents |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/08/23/archives/gyroscope-in-air6-mr-harper-shows-how-it-may-resist-shifting-air.html |quote=I have taken keen interest in the articles on the development of aerial navigation, which The Times treats perhaps more fully than any other metropolitan daily. ... |work=[[New York Times]] |date=August 23, 1908 |accessdate=2010-09-12 }}

==References==
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[[Category:Members of the Early Birds of Aviation]]
[[Category:American aviation pioneers]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]
[[Category:Year of death missing]]


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