If 



10 



/a 



C 3 J 



At 



Curtlss In Peril In Air. 



The next machine to oast off moorings 

 was the Curtiss biplane, with the in- 

 trepid long-distance driver at the steer- 

 ing wheel, his Intention being to make 

 three rounds of the course for speed. 

 He cast off at 2:30 o'clock, and had mads 

 the first turn of the course when the bi- 

 plane was noticed to be wavering and 

 tossing as if not in perfect control. 



Curtiss described a circle between the 

 second and third pylons, dropping till 

 the craft was almost level with the wa- 

 ter. Watchful officers aboard the rev- 

 enue cutter Gresham, anchored a short 

 distance off shore, ordered oars in a 

 dozen small boats manned, so that 

 crews might hasten to his rescue should 

 the biplane fall. ^, . 



Alarm spread through the assembled 

 thousands who had followed the flight 

 and witnessed the erratic movement of 

 ,of the machine. Those familiar with 

 the skill required to descend safely In 

 a biplane, when Its propelling power 

 has balked or a control has gone wrong, 

 anticipated a bad accident. It was real- 

 ized by the committee that the Curtis6 

 was the only craft on the grounds that 

 could compete with the Blerlot of 

 Grahame- Wright in the $10,000 prize con- 

 test to Boston light. 



Perhaps Curtiss himself was alive 

 to the knowledge that a sma3h would 

 put him out of the race for further 

 fame and a small fortune, and more 

 than that endanger his life. Bringing 

 into plav the skill and grit he so often 

 m i .;lv»i:1 in former flights when dis- 

 aster has threatened, the aviator suc- 

 ceeded in righting the machine and 

 alighting without harm to himself or 

 the biplane. ' -• 



Whsn the machine had been brought 

 back to the centre of the field, it was 

 ascertained that a wire control had 

 orkea' loose in such a maner that It 

 ■as or.lv through mere chance that he 

 >vas able to guide the craft at all. Re- 

 pairs could not have be=n made aloft, 

 though the control afterward was ad- 

 Justed in a few seconds. > 



It developed that tins interrupted 

 fllKht was to have been a test, prjpara- 

 torv to a dash for the light. The motor, 

 cwimaratively new and untried, had not 

 been worked out sufficiently to develop 

 its highest power, and the biplane prob- 

 ably was not capable of attaining with- 

 in 10 or i5 " 

 n speed. 



i hour of its 



encountered considerable 

 difficulty in dispersing the crowd that 

 aweotUD to the machine after Curtiss 

 had alighted. He was showered with 

 congratulations on having reached the 

 earth in safety, and several men askea 

 him for a souvenir. Curtiss. not in the 

 happiest mood, requested the intruders 

 to leave him alone. The biplane was out 

 of commission while the mechanics 

 overhauled its anatomy. 



Makes Second Short Flight. 

 Thirty minutes later Curtiss again 

 soared to the southward, returning to 

 the first pylon, which he circled, and 

 was off on the first round of another 

 speed test. Comment on the aviator's 

 masterful airmanship ran along the 

 grand stand, for the skill he had dis- 

 played in dodging trees and other ob- 

 structions a3 he alighted from the in- 

 terrupted flight' was beginning to be 

 realized by laymen. 



By general opinion, he had displayed 

 a skill equal to that of Johnstone Fri- 

 day, when that sky rjllot, at the mercy 

 of a brisk wind, and with a disabled 

 motor, had glided from a dizzy height 

 and landed in the field. Each had 

 demonstrated by these exhibitions that 

 the Americans had developed a great 

 degree of nerve and resource In emer- 



Se The second test by Curtiss did not 

 prove satisfactory, and he soon de- 

 scended, being met by Chairman Glid- 

 den almost as soon as the bipla: 

 stopped near the centra of the field. 

 The chairman and aviator unassisted 

 by mechanics, easily backed the biplane 

 off the course. 



I Johnstone Goes Up. 



Johnstone, at 3:15 o'clock, was an- 

 nounced as about to take a Wright 

 biplane aloft on duration and dis- 

 tance tests. Conditions were almost 

 ideal. The wind had dropped to about 

 seven miles an hour, the sky was 

 cloudless, and the temperature regis- 

 tered about 70 deg. Wilbur Wright 

 walked down to the starting line with 

 Pmf Wilson and others of the com- 

 mittee who had charge of altitude 

 trlaJo The biplane was quickly in 

 the£ir. its two . propellers threshing 



to tlU- _ 

 WllbU 

 biplane 



.151- 



„ „,:haust. 

 likened this 

 In contrast to 

 in which the 

 Ihtlated space 



notably those of 

 sffain Vel'iabillty 



speed. 



While Johnstone pounding 

 ■ound the course Curtiss, at 3:30 

 clock again shot skyward. Like a 

 hawk he passed the Wright, trave - 

 ling perhaps three miles to the other's 

 me The Curtiss motor was now ei- 

 lausting like a machine gun with no 

 suspicion that Ignition or mixture or 

 lubrication were not perfect. He was 

 out for speed and the craft respond- 

 ed without hesitation to the mighty 

 fhrob of its 50-horsepower heart His 



i3T-5s f ° r t$? r^uU. 0U "m. TO-iE ' 

 th G e r e ah r a°m^^hite- now^put in an ap- 

 neiYance from the direction of the han- 

 garsTand the crowd groaned because he 

 was clad in street garb instead of the 

 dancer suit of knickerbockers jo faml- 



and epeei hm cbases Curt(ss . 



A shout exploded from the spectators, 

 which swelled to a deafening roar when 

 the beetle-like Blerlot was trundled up 

 t ^ t ?5hSSM>ved Ms hand te 



f£h a r Q^ckly^L'sllptedlhe baggy 



2gS:^i«^« 



Sandra' to tLif^eera^d S 

 foYward to watch every move of the 



t ^% $ L°'o ? c J lo P c^t S he 0 BTeriot leaped into 

 the air and darted like a giant yarning 



cfow. The Briton gave the bip lane a. 



work the official time being taken after 

 rhe rk Blerio°t 'had entered the second 

 round. The first round was maae in 

 2m 14 4-os.; second rojund 4m 2b2-5s., 



. third round, 6m. 37s.; fourth round, 8m. 



, 6 M">2h«me-Whltc was In the air 10m. 

 -4 ?-5s ™d ^pparemly avoided getting 

 " «1V? A'ther onerators who were swlngtng 



i SSi.t rh> course Alichllng with ease 



l • tho n »ntrp of the field the Blerlot. 



I m .»j, ™ntnr radiatine heal, was moved 



Johnstone's Rapid Swoops. 



Johnstone was performing consistent- 

 ly, and presently It was announced that 

 he had travelled 17 times around the 1% 

 mile course in 57m. 25 1-Ss. He was in an 

 amiable mood, and proceeded to amuse 

 the crowd with the feats in which he 

 has acquired remarkable proficiency. 

 Climbing to a height of perhaps 1000 

 feet, he threshed his way outside the 

 pylons that to him appeared as pigmy 

 clots, then shut off power and dropped 

 earthward at an alarming speed Again 

 the grandstand thrilled and all watched 

 breathlessly for disaster. 



Bigger grew, the^ 



bipla 



i dark clo 



drifted fn 



Ner 



of 



nlookf 



itself 

 ,t had 

 weird, 

 ed to 



snapping pitch ... 

 his charger swooped to within ^0 feet 

 of the ground on the northerly enn 

 of the course. Eyes were snapped to- 

 gether the length and breadth of the 

 arena to shut out what promised to 

 prove a fatality for the smooth-faced 

 lad who so frequently tempts death. 



Terribly near the sward swept the 

 machine? travelling Perhaps ( 50 miles an 

 hour. Its driver crouched forward 1 with 

 hands on steering wheel and controls. 

 Suddenly, as the skids were doomed to 

 imnnct with the ground and a crasn 

 was apparently unavoidable, the. biplane 

 shot upward fully 50 feet, regained its 

 poise, and Johnstone smilingly released 



his 



to . 

 set, 



jrlp 

 d. Tre 

 aster rt 



ed 



the 



altitude 



a. J . ! 



inderful < 

 11 1 ' — 'Long Duration Test. 

 Johnstone then shot across 1 

 with his biplane's skids just 

 the turf and the powerful exha 

 the motor ripping a furrow at 

 sod 



th 



ister 



. Thr 



i he 



Curtiss now cam 

 and distance test, 

 field at 4:45 "'■ 



ning 



Th 



„., and sputtered, 

 was accomplished in 145ft. (in., ana 

 second in 110ft. llin. The biplane 

 then shoved back to the hangars 

 another of the same type brought 



[rtis 



bi- 



nd duration 



Johnstone's Alighting Record. 



Johnstone was now close to the field 

 nd preparing to alight in the accuracy 



, It appears, was also out for the Ameri- 

 | can record for duration, held by Har- 1 



