Check out this 1931 advertorial for the Glide-O-Bike. First aid kits not included.
“She goes gliding along, Fellows, and That’s not all. You can bank, ground-loop, stall and side slip. Absolutely nothing like this for fun and thrills,” the ad states.
I tried to make one of these once with a an old refrigerator box and some twine. Needless to say, I never got off the ground and I doubt the depression-era children did either.
However, Glide-O-Bike photos and descriptions did appear in leading American and German scientific magazines. That just proves its flight capabilities.
Notice how the illustration never pictures the boys lifting off the ground in full flight. A little truth in advertising perhaps. You wouldn’t know that the Glide-O-Bike could never achieve lift off from reading the testimonials.
Robert Holt from Los Angeles even trumpets his success of opening up his own airport and charging the neighborhood boys to ride his glider. “The Glide-O-Bike is so good I can’t tell you how much I like It.”
Something tells me today’s lawsuit happy society wouldn’t be wild about a company selling the Glide-O-Bike conversion kit. It would be all over when one of little Robert Holt’s friends tries to fly off a cliff. After all, its not the Radio Flyer.
Click on the image to the right to read the advertorial.
