Robert Edison Fulton, Jr.

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VOICE ONE:

This is Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember with
EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we tell about an unusual
man who traveled alone around the world. He was an inventor and a
filmmaker. He wrote a best-selling book. He was a poet, an artist
and an airplane pilot. His name was Robert Edison Fulton, Junior. He
was named for two of America's most famous inventors, Robert Fulton
and Thomas Edison. We begin his story at a dinner party in London,
England in nineteen thirty-two.

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VOICE ONE:

Robert Edison Fulton, Junior was twenty-four years old. He had
graduated from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He
had recently completed advanced studies in building design at the
University of Vienna in Austria. He was on his way back to the
United States when he stopped to visit friends in London. At a
dinner party at his friends' house, a young woman asked him if he
would be sailing home soon.

He answered: "No, I am going around the world on a motorcycle."
Robert Fulton would say for the rest of his life that he had no idea
why he said such a thing.

Another man at the party said such a trip would be a great idea.
And, he said he owned the Douglas Motor Works Company. He offered
Robert Fulton a new Douglas motorcycle to use on his trip.

Many years later, Mister Fulton said this dinner party was the
beginning of an eighteen-month adventure. His trip would extend over
more than forty thousand kilometers and include twenty-two
countries.

VOICE TWO:

Within a few days of the dinner party, Robert Fulton began his
preparations. He started collecting maps of the different countries
he might visit. In nineteen thirty-two, maps of some countries were
difficult to find.

The Douglas company added special equipment to a new motorcycle.
This included a second gasoline tank. Mister Fulton would learn that
he could ride about five hundred sixty kilometers without needing
more fuel.

Two common automobile tires were fitted to the motorcycle. This
would make it easier to find new tires or repair the two he had. And
the company made a special box to hold tools and a motion picture
camera and film. Robert Fulton decided to make a movie about his
trip.

VOICE ONE:

A few weeks later, Robert Fulton found himself riding his new
motorcycle out of London. He rode to the port of Dover. He crossed
the English Channel on a ship. Robert Fulton said the first part of
the trip was not exciting. He had traveled in much of Europe before.

The only new thing was the motorcycle. He quickly rode through
France, Germany and Austria. He also passed through Yugoslavia,
Bulgaria and Greece. Each time, it took several hours to get
permission to cross the border. Often, border police thought he must
be insane. Some said they would permit him to cross, but not his
motorcycle. But each time, Mister Fulton was able to talk his way
across the border.

VOICE TWO:

Robert Fulton spoke English, French and German. Soon, these
languages did not help him. But he always seemed to be able to
communicate with almost everyone. He was a nice-looking, friendly
young man. People liked him almost immediately. Many people offered
him help when they learned what he was trying to do. Police in small
towns often let him sleep in the town jail at night.

In time, he reached Damascus, Syria. His next stop would be
Baghdad, Iraq. He quickly learned he would have to cross almost
eight hundred kilometers of the great Syrian Desert. Officials told
him it would be impossible with a motorcycle. Other people said it
could be done.

Robert Fulton decided to find out for himself. He loaded the
motorcycle with extra cans of fuel and water and began his trip
across the desert. Syrians called this desert "the Blue." This was
because all you could see was the very blue sky and the very hot
sun.

He rode sixteen kilometers on the road out of Damascus. Then he
saw a sign showing the way toward Baghdad. It was here that the road
ended. In front of him was the great desert. Robert Fulton was alone
for most of the trip. He worried about his motorcycle. If the engine
failed, he could die of lack of water before anyone could find him.
He could fall off and break a leg or arm. The severe heat could kill
him. But the motorcycle did not fail him. He survived the fierce
heat. He arrived safely in Baghdad.

VOICE ONE:

Robert Fulton successfully completed his trip. He traveled
through what are now Afghanistan, India, Vietnam, China, Malaysia
and Japan. He crossed the Pacific Ocean on a ship, and arrived in
San Francisco. From there, he rode his motorcycle home to New York
City. He arrived one day before Christmas, nineteen thirty-three.

When he began his trip, Mister Fulton said he wanted to study
buildings and monuments because that is what he had studied in
school. He later wrote that he became much more interested in the
people he met. He said race or religion did not make a difference.
The people were almost always very friendly. He said many people in
small villages did not trust him because he was a stranger. But
almost everyone tried to help him when they found out that he was
riding around the world.

In nineteen thirty-seven, Robert Fulton wrote a book about his
trip. He called it "One Man Caravan." It included many photographs
of buildings he had seen. Some were very beautiful. They included
religious buildings in Malaysia and old military forts in India.

But Robert Fulton liked the photographs of people's faces best.
The photos showed people in their native dress, working, playing and
examining his motorcycle.

"One Man Caravan" still sells well today. People can order it
from bookstores. The movie he made of the trip is called "Twice Upon
a Caravan." People can also order it from some bookstores.

VOICE TWO:

Robert Fulton would be considered an unusual man if this long
trip was all he did. It was a dangerous thing to do. Some experts
said he was lucky to survive. But the trip was only a small part of
his long and interesting life. Later, he became a professional
photographer for Pan American World Airways. He taught himself to be
a pilot.

During World War Two, he designed a machine used to train
military aircraft crews to fire guns at enemy aircraft. Both the
United States Army Air Corps and Navy bought many of these machines.

VOICE ONE:

Another invention earned Robert Fulton a special place in
aviation history. He designed and built an airplane that was also a
car. It flew like any other aircraft. But when it landed, the pilot
could take off the wings and propeller and drive it like any other
car. He called this invention the Airphibian.

In nineteen fifty, Robert Fulton flew his Airphibian to National
Airport in Washington, D.C. Then he drove the car from the airport
to the headquarters of the Civil Aeronautics Administration. There
he was given the legal documents needed to produce the vehicle.

But it was not a success. The costs to develop the Airphibian
were too high. Now, the Smithsonian Institution owns the only
remaining example of Mister Fulton's unusual invention.

VOICE TWO:

Robert Fulton owned more than
seventy legal documents that protected his inventions. Among these
was a special wheelchair that helped people enter passenger
airplanes. He also invented the Skyhook, an air rescue system that
involved an airplane and a large helium balloon. The Skyhook was an
emergency device designed to rescue people in areas that were hard
to reach, such as spies in enemy territory. This device was used in
the spy movie "Thunderball" about British secret agent James Bond.

VOICE ONE:

Robert Edison Fulton, Junior died at his home in Newtown,
Connecticut at the age of ninety-five on May seventh, two
thousand-four. He did not own a copy of his flying car. He no longer
had many of the inventions he had made. However, he did own a
motorcycle. It was the same special motorcycle made by the Douglas
Motor Works so many years ago. He had had it rebuilt to look new.

Robert Fulton could never give up his Douglas motorcycle. It was
a part of him.

He once said the year and a half he spent traveling around the
world was the experience that changed his life. He said it gave him
the courage to try many things and succeed. It was an experience
that began with a few simple words: "I am going around the world on
a motorcycle."

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VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced by
Mario Ritter. This is Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for another
EXPLORATIONS program in VOA Special English.