Los Angeles herald., 1905-09-11
FIRST A|RSH|P
RACE IN AMERICA
AERIAL CRAFT CONTEST FOR
H0N0RS
AER0NAUTS AMAZE THR0NGS
Man Angel Number Two and Bullet
Sail Many Miles, but Fall to
Return Over Course and
Race Is Draw
AERoNAUTS AMAZE THR0Nes


reach the field.
Trombly stood at the stern of his
machine on cross stay of piano wire'
steering the ship upward by his weight.
At the height of 300 feet the daring
navigator climbed toward the prov.
Almost without warning the ship
darted downward for distance of fifty
feet, stood on it's end and seemed about
to turn over.
The rudder, which hung useless,
turned downward and gave the ma
chine an added sidewise motion.
TrombIy fell against one Of the guy
ropes, but quickly regained his equilib-
rum and ran forward on the wire stays
of his ship to right it.
For three minutes the crowd which
filled the baseball field was breathless.
The deathlike silence was broken by
the cry of ice cold pop, peanuts and
crackerjack," from a boy with a dozen
bottles of pink fluid in a tin carrier
and basket containing a multitudin-
Gus variety of gala occasion eatables.
Enthusiastic Spectators
Then the audience found it's voice.
Hats were thrown in air and cheer
went up that seemed to make the
broken and almost dismantled airship
stop in it's flight. Trombly waved his
hand in token of his appreciation of the
enthusiasm.
A moment later he was running along
the narrow frame work of wire, which
stood between him and death, with the
agility of a monkey after peanuts.
At the height of 800 feet the rudder,
which was Tapping like a barn door in
a gale of wind, broke one of the stays
which supported it, turned the big gas
bag sidewise to the wind and threat
ened to careen it a second time. When
the ship was again righted, with it's
nose upward, it started to ascend and
over San Pedro and First streets
reached an altitude of five thousand
feet.
Tromb1y and the network of ropes
and wires which supported the frame
became lost in the distance and only
the yellow colored gas bag, outlined
indistinctly against the haze of the
sky, was visible.
Five miles from the park the ship
seemed to encounter a cross stratum of
wind and started to retrace it's course.
A moment later 1t stopped, hung mo-
tionless on nothing.
1t is human nature for an interest to
be taken in a contest, whether it be a
prize fight, horse race or what not,
but when a man enters into compe-
tition with death, where death is given
the odds to win out, the event surpasses
the excitement of an airship exhibition.
Trombly took his chances and saved
Pube Welch from being mobbed for
perpetrating what the crowd would
otherwise have characterized as very
much of fake.
Sails Eight Miles
Trombly left the ground at Ais
o'clock and an hour and half later
came to earth again, three miles east
"a
about eight miles from the Chutes.
Alvah Reynolds Man Angel No. 2
the midget of flying machines, pitted
against Trombly's giant, to all intents
and purposes won the contest in walk
The race was to be decided upon speed
height attained and general maneuver-
ing. Trombly went ten times higher
than did D. G. Frisbie, who navigated
the Man Angel, but in the other con-
ditions he was tagged at the quarter
pole. Frisbie raised and lowered his
machine entirely at will He reached
an altitude of 800 feet, decided that il
should not be given to mortals to &C
higher and came down in a gully a mile
and half east of the city limits.
The judges, William B. Guinand, 6
newspaper man; C. H. Jessen, an en-
gineer; and Bob Lawrence, an actor
decided the contest draw, in view o.
the showing which Trombly had made
under adverse conditions.
Those who do not think that airshiI
racing, even if the ships do not race
is an improbable proposition should
ask the management of yesterdays al
legged contest.
Several Thousand Witnesses
Twelve thousand persons passed
through the turnstiles of Chutes parl
and there was a crowd of nearly fou
thousand at the baseball park, Will
outside the fences, for distance of tw'
blocks, thousands of people waited 70
two hours for close view of ships AM
aeronauts.
Reynolds flew his machine from Flies
ia park to the Chutes Saturday morn
ing at o'clock. Three hours late
Trombly, with his assistant, guided tn
Bullet from the Chutes aerodrome AM
anchored it on the baseball field.
Trombly there set to work anew ol
his motor. At o'clock in the after
Loon, when the gates were thrown oper
he was still busy with wrench an
hammer.
Both machines were anchored befor