Page 10 - Aerotech News and Review, February 5, 2021

SETTER, from 8
I simply want a personal, two-place ate about. His detailed narrative looked got their start so many years ago. I see
flying motorcycle with folding wings at every nut and bolt and how the sys- today that yes, maybe not his personal
and tail that drives and handles like a tems and emergency backup systems project, but his vision bore fruit, as a
motorcycle on the ground and that flies would work. You could tell he carried couple of innovative companies are
like an RV-6 or some other homebuilt the experience of all those Lockheed now offering for sale products similar
airplane with good handling qualities years, working around the likes of to what Louis had envisioned way back
and that can also operate as a seaplane! Kelly Johnson, and saw his project in in 1950.
I know this sounds farfetched, but the same way Kelly did when it came In the future, I hope to bring a few
read through my following narrative, to the aircraft he designed. more of the Louis Setter short stories
look at the three-view sketch and use Col. Louis Setter, a renaissance man, to my readers, as he sure has some
your imagination. This is possible and had been in everything from the U-2 amazing stories with him at the stick,
would be very economical, because on down. I find it heartwarming that controlling some great airframes.
it would be parked in the garage and his real passion in his later years was What I like most about his FM-1 Fly-
would be driven to the nearest airport. a simple three-wheel motorcycle that ing Motorcycle is it tells us that, even
It would use auto gas and, for the most could fly, and that he was pushing to with life’s big adventures behind us, it
part, motorcycle parts and mainte- make his vision a reality. The sketch doesn’t mean you’re done dreaming of
nance.” you see here is from his sharpened pen- what you can accomplish in your life.
So here you have this man’s vision cil, which is the way many of the won- Until next time, Bob out …
of a project that he was very passion- derous machines of the 20th century

Courtesy photographs
Above: Louis Setter’s sketch of his FM-1 Flying motorcycle. Left: A similar
design today, not far off from the vision of Louis Setter.

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