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 Whitehead wrote a letter to the Editor of the American Inventor,
which was published April 1, 1902 which compared planes No. 21
and 22.
“(Number 22) is run by a 40-horsepower kerosene motor of my own
design, especially constructed for strength, power and lightness,
weighing but 120 pounds complete... Ignition is accomplished by
its own heat and compression; it runs about 800 revolutions per
minute, has five cylinders and no fly-wheel is used. It requires
a space 16 inches wide, 4 feet long and 16 inches high...”
“Machine No. 22 is made mostly of steel and aluminum. There is
a body 16 feet long, 3 1/2 feet wide and 3 1/2 feet deep, shaped
like a fish, and resting on four automobile wheels, 13 inches
in diameter.”
“While standing on the ground, the two front wheels are connected
to the kerosene motor and the rear wheels are used for steering...
On either side are large wings or aeroplanes shaped like the wings
of a flying fish or bat. The ribs are of steel tubing in No. 22
instead of bamboo as in No. 21 machine and are covered with 450
square feet of the best silk obtainable. In front of the wings
and across the body is a steel framework to which is connected
the propellers for driving the machine through the air. The propellers
are 6 feet in diameter and have a projecting blade-surface of
4 square feet each. They are made of wood and are covered with
very thin aluminum sheeting... There is a mast and bowsprit braced
something like a ship’s rigging to hold all parts in their proper
relations to each other. In the stern of the machine there is
a 12-foot tail... which, like the wings, can be folded up in half
a minute and laid against the sides of the body...
“In order to start flying, the motor is set in motion and then
connected to the front wheels which drive the machine forward.
...When ready to go up, a spring is released which stretches the
wings and the propellers are started by means of a lever which
stops the ground wheels and turns the power into the propellers.
It takes about 20 yards run with the extra weight of a man (about
180 pounds) before the machine leaves the ground.”
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John Whitehead - the inventor’s brother who only saw the planes
in a resting state, never in flight described the plane as follows:
“As I remember after 33 years, the shape and size of the machine
and motor and material thereof, was as follows: The main body
was the shape of a flatbottom rowboat about 18 feet long, 3 1/2
feet wide at the middle, walls about 3 feet high, stern and bow
pointed, bottom built of light wood; sides- skeleton frame of
wood covered with canvas, wings extending about 20 feet from body
on each side, at body side about 10 feet wide, narrowing towards
tips of wings. Wings were foldable material of canvas, had at
least 6 pairs of bamboo ribs, when spread were held firm with
rope on extended bowsprit, from each rib to bottom of body, also
from each rib to the sort of mast in center of body. Rudder was
a combination of horizontal and vertical fin-like affair, the
principle the same as in the up-to-date airplanes. For steering
there was a rope from one of the foremost wing tip ribs to the
opposite, running over a pulley. In front of the operator was
a lever connected to pulley: the same pulley also controlled the
tail rudder at the same time. For ground transportation, to get
a running start, the machine was resting on three small bicycle
wheels, two in fron and one in back.
“The motor of said machine was a 4-cylinder 2-cycle motor of an
opposed type... The motor was never tested as to horsepower developed.
In my estimation it had from 20-25 horsepower... I know a man
could lift one end (of the airplane) off the ground, which lets
me guess its weight about 300-400 pounds complete”
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umber 21 and 22 
