On Jan 16, 3:42*pm, Some Other Guy wrote:
Howard Eisenhauer wrote:
http://www.flixxy.com/besler-steam-airplane.htm

Cool! *Interesting how easy prop reversal is, which makes sense since it's a
steam engine. *The Wikipedia page claims that it was capable of STOL
operation since the prop could be used for braking on landing.

Larger prop driven airplanes did not reverse their props, but went
into beta range, meaning the pitch was negative, in effect pushing the
air forward, not back. Some complex singles also had beta range
capability for their prop pitch. It makes for shorter landings, does
not make for shorter take offs though.