Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane and Lawrence Sperry decided that he would be the test pilot. While taxiing it on ice, he hit some slushy snow, and wrecked the plane, though Sperry was unhurt. A second airplane was fitted out, and Sperry managed to get it in the air, but lost control when the automatic pilot was engaged. After two complete rolls, Sperry managed to regain control and land safely. Clearly, though, more attention to flight testing the basic design was needed, particularly in the area of handling qualities. Sperry and his assistant, N. W. Dalton, obtained a Marmon automobile, and mounted the Curtiss-Sperry Flying
The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry has died. After the funeral, Mr. Barnes visits Dustin to thank him for mowing his lawn, and to tell him he figured out Mr. Sperry was his motivation. Mr. Barnes tearfully calls Mr. Sperry a great example of a Christian man. After this visit, Dustin’s mother reveals the secret background between Mr. Sperry and Mr. Barnes. Mr. Sperry’s wife had died four years earlier in a car accident caused by Mr. Barnes who was drunk. Inspired by Mr. Sperry’s kindness after such heartbreak, Dustin decides to continue the Bible study with the neighborhood boys, repeating one of Mr. Sperry’s first