We are pleased to share with our clients and friends that on September 6 at 1:30pm, Mr. Mitchell will be presenting the saga of Perkins v. Sperry to the Aquinas College adult education OLLI program. The group meets at the Aquinas Browne Center, 2001 Robinson Rd SE. Originally presented by Mr. Mitchell as an article in the Federal Court Historical Society Stereoscope, this case brought together Lawrence Sperry, the “Howard Hughes” of the” Roaring Twenties,” Willis Perkins, a prolific and visionary Grand Rapids inventor, the famously court martialed General Billy Mitchell, who predicted by 15 years the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and Frank Liverance, Grand Rapids’ first patent attorney. The invention which the parties fought over was a mechanism for launching and retrieving fighter airplanes from a dirigible. The presentation includes a video of the invention in action on the US Navy dirigible Macon. It had also been installed on the Akron. See the links below
Perkins/Sperry invention on the Macon: http://www.federalcourthistoricalwdmi.org/uploads/USS-Macon-n-Sparrowhawks.mp4
Perkins/Sperry invention on the Akron:
https://youtu.be/DTGBFY82Gik