MOWER OF THE MONTH
Number Seventy
EARLY "BLUE" FLYMO
The Flymo rotary hover mower is so familiar to the modern gardener
that it is hard to believe that this design classic was only invented in the
1960s.
The first Flymo mowers were made in the mid 1960s by Karl
Dahlman, a Swedish inventor who took inspiration from the hovercraft that
had been invented in the 1950s. Karl Dahlman won a Gold Medal at the
Brussels Inventors' Fair in 1964 for his revolutionary design. It was
deceptively simple. The Flymo was essentially a rotary mower with blade
that had been modified to create a downward stream of air as it turned.
This lifted the mower off the grass so that it floated (like a hovercraft)
across the lawn. This made it very easy to push around the lawn.
This basic idea was very simple but in reality the Flymo
is an extremely clever piece of engineering. The blade has to turn fast
enough to generate the air stream that lifts the mower off the lawn, but
not too far or the blades will be well above the grass and will not cut. And it
needs to float stably above the lawn for safety and to ensure a smooth and
even cut.
The first Flymo produced in 1965 was powered by a small petrol engine but
in 1969 the company introduced its first electric model. These machines
are surprisingly similar to the modern designs there is one major
difference - they were blue and white!
The early Flymo electric mower with its 15 inch cutting
width was an instant success. It was
inexpensive, easy to use and produced an adequate result for most casual
gardeners. It was especially popular for use on small lawns because it did
a quick job and required much less maintenance than the old-fashioned
sidewheel and roller mowers with which it competed. And its unique
lightweight design
meant that it could be hung flat against the wall of a shed or garage
thereby taking up much less room than most other types of mower. The early
advertising had echoes of earlier eras by implying that the Flymo was
ideal for use by women (see the image below) and today would probably be
considered "sexist" by many people.
It is fair to say that Flymo mowers changed the way we mow
the lawn. Quite literally. Because for the first time there was a mower
that did not come into contact with the turf. Instead it floated across
the lawn on a cushion of air. This made it extremely easy to use.
Gardeners soon began to mow their lawns by pushing and pulling the mower
back and forth in a sweeping motion. Others moved the mower from side to
side as they moved across the lawn and this was also a completely new way
of mowing the lawn although the motion does in some ways resemble the
action of using a scythe.
But there were a few drawbacks with these early electric Flymo
mowers.
First, they were mains powered which meant that they could
only be used as far from a socket as the lead or cord would reach. As one
of the first electrical appliances for use in the garden this presented a
bit of a problem if the nearest wall socket was inside the house! Today
people are more used to electrical gardening tools and have special
outdoor sockets. In any case the early electric Flymo was aimed at the
user with the small garden. And Flymo has always produced petrol powered
machines for those who prefer (or need) them.
Second, the mower was not much good at cutting long grass
so gardeners still needed to get the lawn down to a workable length at the
beginning of the year. This is still a bit of a drawback although modern
machines can now cope with slightly longer grass.
Third, the original Flymo could not pick up the clippings.
This was not a major problem if the lawn was mowed frequently and the
grass was short because the cuttings simply fell back onto the lawn's
surface where they were absorbed by decomposition. Later, Flymo perfected
a mechanism for collecting the clippings and many of the company's modern
machines have these as standard.
Flymo mowers remained blue and white until 1977 when the
familiar orange colour was adopted across the range. The company became part of the Electrolux Group in 1969 and
remains part of this major international organisation.
Flymo mowers of this age are right on the edge of the
period that interests many collectors. Some museums already have examples
on show but very few private collectors are actively seeking them at
present. But they are becoming more collectable and examples in excellent
and original condition are sure to be the most sought after in coming
years.
Read more
about Flymo history
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