During the nascent days of aviation, scads of hobbyists tried their hand at building flying machines, hoping to become the first to solve flight. It was inexpensive enough that the lone inventor could dream. In fact, a pair of bicycle manufacturers named Wilbur and Orville Wright managed the feat. Later, tens of thousands of small businesspeople attempted to create the first successful commercial-airplane company. 

When flight began to point to the stratosphere, however, the costs were too dear for the individual, and the race would have to be run among governments. That’s really only changed this century, as technologists with the wealth of small nations have used money gained in other industries to enter the Space Race. Perhaps 3-D manufacturing will eventually make it possible for smaller-scale operations to compete.

In 1930, one hopeful was unbowed by a lack of funds, scientific facts, and, it would seem, basic common sense. Robert J. McLaughlin of New York craved “wealth, health, and glorious adventure,” so he planned to fly to the moon and live there. A report of his ambitions follows from the May 26, 1930 Brooklyn Daily Eagle.