THE TRIUMPH OF THE AEROPLANE 



aviator, having won the chief speed contest in the Inter- 

 national Aviation Meet held at Rheims in August, 1909. 

 He used a bi-plane of his own construction, differing but 

 little in design from the Wright machine, but of very 

 small size, and propelled by an eight-cylinder motor, 

 also made by Mr. Curtiss himself. The start from 

 Albany was made at three minutes after seven o'clock 

 and the aviator arrived at Governor's Island, New York 

 Harbor, at twelve o'clock, having stopped twice on the 

 way to rest and take on fuel. The first stop was made 

 near Poughkeepsie, the second on the heights near the 

 Hudson, within the bounds of New York City. The 

 distance covered 142 J miles; the actual time of flight, 2 

 hours and 54 minutes, — an average speed of about 

 fifty miles an hour. Parts of the flight were made at 

 a good deal better speed. The first part of the journey 

 from Albany to Poughkeepsie, a distance of 74^ miles, 

 was covered in i hour 23 minutes, or at a rate of more 

 than 53.68 miles an hour. The minimum speed at 

 which Mr. Curtiss' bi-plane could be maintained in 

 the air is about 40 miles an hour, the supporting sur- 

 face of its main plane comprising only 236 square feet, 

 and the weight of the machine complete, including 

 aviator, fuel, and oil, being 950 pounds. The machine 

 uses a single propeller, 7 feet in diameter, making 1,100 

 revolutions per minute, and giving a pull, when the 

 machine is held stationary on the ground, of over 300 

 lbs. The engine used is an eight-cylinder motor of 

 50 horse-power. 



A flight in some respects even more interesting than 

 that of Mr. Curtiss was accomplished in France on 



[297] 



