Harry Schaare (New York, Arizona, 1922 - 2008) "Octave Chanute Testing His Glider" Signed lower right. Original Oil painting on Masonite. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S. 21c Chanute and Bi-plane Glider Air Mail stamp issued March 29, 1979. Not even man's long list of haunting mishaps in the air discouraged Octave Chanute from investigating the possibility of flight. He was certain that careful, scientific scrutiny of past experiments would open the skies to man. Repeatedly, Chanute urged his colleagues that flight hinged on the perfection of a machine capable of propelling and sustaining itself. He felt certain that these qualities could be achieved through the use of wings and an air screw driven by a gasoline engine. In 1891, he published an article entitled "Progress in Flying Machines" that exerted a profound influence on the aeronautical world. In this article, he described past aeronautical failures and attempted to explain why these flying machines had failed. Chanute's belief that man should continually build on his predecessors' knowledge contributed to productive aeronautical research. Seeking to further advance the study of flight, Chanute established a glider camp on the sand dunes of Lake Michigan. There, he and his associates conducted some 2,000 glider experiments. Incredibly, all of these were executed without accident. In the spring of 1900, Octave Chanute received a letter from Wilbur Wright requesting information on an aeronautical problem. This letter marked the beginning of a long friendship. And, on December 17, 1903, Chanute's dream of flight came true when the Wright Brothers achieved man's first powered flight. Image Size: 17.75 x 13.75 in. Overall Size: 21.75 x 17.5 in. Unframed. (B05888) See More