Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-08-15
FOUR CONTESTANTS START AT
NORTH ADAMS, MASS. FOR
THIRTY MILE, POINT TO POINT
coNTEsT-WoMAN IN RACE.
THE ACCIDENT TO
Il WRIGHT AEROPLANE
AMERICAN AERoNAUT. in FRENCH
TRIAL ATTEMPTS A NEW METH
Cd OF DESCENT AND MISSES
HIS CALCULATIONS.

North Adams, Mass, Aug. 14.-Four
well tried out balloons guided by ex-
periened pilots assembled here to-
\ day for thirty mile point to point
zee, the first event of the kind ever
II In the United States. The con-
testants will be required just before
starting to name certain place at
least thirty miles distant as their
point of landing and they must come
down within ten miles of the postof1ce
at that place.! The feature Of the
race will be the presence Of Mrs. H.
Clayton in the balloon Boston as the
companion of g. j. Baldwin, the pilot.
Berlin Sees Airship Flight.
Berlin, Aug. l4.-The new parseval
dirigible balloon which was construct
ed on the flexible system, made a
flight over and around Berlin to-
day that lasted for two hours and
forty-five minutes. Various ma
nenyers against and with moderate
wind were carried out at an altitude
ranging from 600 to 1000 feet. The
airship showed excellent stability and
answered to the will Of the pilot easily
and satisfactorily.
The Accident to Wright Aeroplane.
LIE Mans, France, August Ia. The
Wright aeroplane suffered an accident
yesterday which will require several
days and possibly a week to repair.
After two superb flights Wilbur
Wright essayed a new and daring
method of descent. He stopped the
motor at height Of seventy-hye
feet and tried to come to earth on a
gradually descending glide. The cal
culations were not absolutely correct
and the left wing of the aeroplane
came in contact with the ground. This
tore the frame of the machine. Mr..
Wright was not injured.
Flies Over Treetops.
81 Mr. Wright's first flight yesterday
eclipsed all his former efforts. He
made seven complete tours of the field
over the tops of the trees. According
to the official time he was In the air
1852. The aeroplanist was incommod-
ed by fifteen mile breeze, but in
spite of this he showed greater facil-
ity in maneuvering than he did when
there was dead calm. His landing
was easy and successful in every way.
Mr.. Wright's second fight, which
lasted two minutes, was a novel one.
The aeroplanist scared and descended
at will, executing bewildering turns.
Suddenly as viewed from the grand
stand the machine lost its speed and
began curving slowly toward the
earth. All appeared to be going well
until it tilted to leeward and the deli
cate framework struck the ground,
with the result that it was deranged
and torn.
Wreck Caused by Experiment.
Mr.. Wright calmly stepped out and
examined the wreck. He was quickly
surrounded by anxious friends to
whom he explained that he had mere
" decided to try new descent. He
shut off the motor at a height of sew
enty-fve feet and endeavored to float
downward. The real cause of the acci-
dent was the attempt to land exactly
on the spot of departure. In lifting the
planes at the last moment in an at
tempt to continue the gliding process
he pulled the left plane too sharply
The damage can be repaired easily,
although because of the absence Of
the necessary material the work will
require several days.
Among the spectators were Miss
Morgan, daughter of ]. Pierpcnt Nor
gan; M. Kapferer, the engineer of the
French dirigible balloon Vile de
Paris, and other French enthusiasts