Los Angeles herald., 1908-11-13
WRECKED IN TRIAL
OF NEW AER0PLANE
A. M. AerrIng's Machine Is Smashed
During Flight on Hampstead
Plains-FaIls While
Turning

NEW YORK, Nov, 12.-During the
first trial Of A. M. Herring,s aeroplane,
and with which he will later try TO
meet the requirements of a government
test, and which took place at dawn, the
machine was wrecked. At least two
weeks will be required to reconstruct
all of the broken parts so that the pre-
liminary tests may go on again:
Mr.. Herring escaped injury. but ne
was very much disheartened over his
i'll fortune. While he declares that the
accident was largely due to haste and
neglect in assembling the parts, he said
yesterday that the result of his first
effort with the new craft was disap-
pointing.
AS it was he made a flight OF about
800 feet, at an altitude of three Feet,
when, in attempting to turn to the
right, certain parts of the machinery
failed to work properly, and in an In
slant the machine was blowing up
the sand and smashing itself into
splinters.
The trial was made on the Hampstead
plains, a short distance from Garden
Cfty. L.. I. In order to escape all
selected a spot remote from any hab-
itation and had gone out there late Sat
1rday night. The aeroplane was packed
in a large trunk. He wanted to be en-
tirely alone in making the first fight,
SO did not even take workman TO as
sist him.
Before it was fairly light he had the
machine assembled, but it was with
some misglvings that he started the
motors, because he realized that 1t had
been put together very hastily and,
what was still worse, there were some
irnporta0t parts of the mechanism lack
ing altogether. The friction clutch
used to minimize the strain On the pro-
peller shaft, WIS not in place and sew
eral other parts of lesser Importance
were wanting.
Wrecked Making Turn
But he was determined to give the
machine~a trial and so, after three ef-
forts. succeeded in getting it off the
ground. His mechanical starting de-
vice was an improvised affair, which
hampered him considerably, but the
motors, or the one used, did not work
very well and that made matters worse
However, when the machine was clear
from the ground it glided along very
steadily against a fairly brisk wind, at
about nineteen miles an hour, until the
operator attempted to use the side con-
troll. 1t was Mr. Herring's intention
to turn the machine slightly to the
right. but instead of that 1t made
sharp swing in that direction, the ma
chinery suddenly collapsed and the
whole thing was down In the sand be-
fore it could be discovered Just what
went wrong first.
When Mr. Herring wriggled out or
the wreckage he found one skid broken,
one propeller axle snapped off. the pro-
peller frame broken, q propeller SPIN
tered and the transmission shaft with
the universal joint entirely out OF
commission.
After the fall MIR. Herring looked
about to see If ony one had witnessed
his chagrin, and, seeing no one, con-
Guided he was alone with his grief. He
was mistaken, for at least one person
had witnessed every move that was
made.
When asked for his explanation Of
the accident yesterday. afternoon Mr..
Herring said: ut Is hard to tell what
did 1t. because in such an accident
MANY things are broken at the same
time and you don't know where to be-
gin in your investigation. Some of the
important parts of the machine were
lost recently in taking it to Fort Myer,
and I no doubt made mistake in at
tempting to operate it until every part
was in place. never should have
started without the friction clutch, for
one thing.
1.-THE trouble came when went to
turn to the right. l wanted to give
the machine a slight twist, so as to
take a zigzag course, and for some rea-
son it responded to the side, control
too quickly and came down in a heap.
It was raining eighty and that might
have had something to do with the
bad working of the motor. was using
only one of the two motors. All told,
I consider the flight great disappoint-
ment. l should have gone a mile at
least the first time / left the ground"
The thirty-day period within which
Mr. Herring must complete his gov
eminent tests at Fort Myer expires on
November IS, but it is probable that
he may be allowed another extension:
His time has already been extended
twice. as he was at first scheduled to
begin work on August 10.