I thought it might be fun to share some of the past technologies and images that inspired or were described in my soon-to-be-published novel. My Soul To Keep is the story of a young woman who escapes her sheltered life and discovers personal, social, and political wrongs that must be righted. It takes place in the United States but in an alternate history. I had fun combing historical vehicles, communications, manufactured goods, and fashion. This is a small sample from My Soul to Keep. Autogiro (or Autogyro) The autogiro is an aircraft with an unpowered horizontally rotating propeller that provides lift. It uses a powered, conventional propeller for forward propulsion. Created in the 1920s by Juan de la Cierva, a Spanish engineer, as a safe, low speeds aircraft. The Cierva Autogiro Company trademarked the term autogiro. Forcing other companies to use terms like Gyrocopter, gyroplane, and rotaplane.   An autogiro was the first aircraft to take off and land on a ship. It requires a runway to take off but has a very short or zero landing roll.   Costing less than a helicopter, Autogiros are not common, but in use all over the world. Used in the 2002 Winter Olympics […]