Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-04

and then there was faint cheer and
hand clapping as the machine sped away.
That was the curious psychological feat
ure of the event. 1t was not much of a
cheer and it did not reach the aviator IN
his undulating machine. Probably every
body would have been glad If somebody
else had done some real cheering. When
the machine had made the hrst clrcle
of the field and was coming back past the
crowd again there was more cheering.
though Mr.. Wright said it did not reach
him.
After the flight was over one nah in
the crowd in the hearing of Star report
er said: Did you cheer him.?
Nope, too busy thinking, said the
other. And that seemed to be the general
attitude of the crowd.
Reaches Thirty-Five Feet.
Half way down the field on the first run
the machine reached a height of about
thirty-five feet. This was about the
highest that was made during the flight.
1t made the first turn just west of the
balloon tent and fetching big sweep
around by the wall of Arlington cemetery
it came up the field in the face of
three-mile breeze to all appearances per
fectly under the operators control. Ihe
machine undulated little with the very
slightest movement of the forward planes.
Mr.. Wright said afterward that he was
so busy making the turns in the small
area of the drill ground that he did not
have much attention to waste on the YER
teal movement of the machine.
At the northeast corner of the field
the machine dipped toward the center
and came around on beautiful curve
just above the edge of the crowd that
lined the roadway The people saw it
coming and gave back as though to get
out of the track of an automobile. AS a
matteC of fact he was travelling as fast
as the average auto on the track, but
the suspense of watching the fight made
it seem as though he was standing still
in the air. The machine in fight
for a minute and ten seconds. according
to the official stop watches, but it prob
ably was the longest seventy seconds that
any of the spectators had ever spent.
Makes Third Turn.
Past the crowd at the head OF the field
the big machine swung on its third turn
and then Strengthened out down past
the artillery sheds for the second lap.
The aeroplane dipped close to the ground.
and as it came abreast of the balloon
tent for the second time it was seen that
the aviator was below the top of the
tent and it seemed almost that he must
crash into it. Just in front of the tent
door the machine made a sudden swoop
down. There was a cloud OfNdust and it
seen that Mr.. Wright had landed.
With one accord the spectators started on
a run down the field, but before they had
covered half the distance the dust had
drifted away and the operator stepped
over the wires from the shelter of the
aeroplane.
1t was not an ideal landing. and one
of the runners of the machine was
broken. Mr.. Wright explained that this
was an accident due to his handling of
the new machine. When he had come
near the balloon tent on the second turn
he pulled the wrong lever in making the
turn which tended to throw the machine
to the south and might have carried it
into the tent. He was forced to throw
down the forward plane and make a
hasty landing, and in doing so the ma
chine skidded on the hard ground break
ing the runner.
1t was not a serious accident and one
that could have been repaired in couple
of hours had the machine been in the
Dayton shops. but. as it is. a new piece
had to be telegraphed for and the next
flight will not take place before tomor-
row.
Army Officers Enthusiastic.
The army officers who saw the flight
were enthusiastic beyond the limits of
ordinary official conversation. 1t might
not be quite fair to quote all they said
in the heat of the moment. but it can be
confidently stated that they are more
than pleas with this first performance
and believe the machine showed better
control in the air than the Farman aero
plane. OF course there is a wide margin
between the seventy-secondS flight yeSter-
day and the hour endurance test on which
the acceptance of the machine depends
but there is little doubt among those in
official position that Mr.. Wright will be
able TO meet the endurance conditions
satisfactorily.
There were several renarka BILE features
about the flight yesterday. 1t was the
first time that this particular machine had
ever been in the air and. except for a few
minutes during the experiments in the
south this spring, was the first time that
Orvlle Wright had flown for three years
tOf course he was pleased with the per-
formance but he took his triumph very
quietly and answered all congratulations
with the same quiet smile that has char
acteriZed him since he became a familiar
figure at Fort Myer
The speed Yesterday was nothing ex-
cessive though it was hard to estimate.
Glen Curtiss. one of the spectators. who
has done considerable flying himself. said
he thought the machine made about
thirty-eight miles an hour. The comment
of Charles Taylor, Mr. Wright's me-
chanc, was not on the control or the
speed. but on the fact of Mr. Wright
having made almost two complete turns
in a little more than a minute. This is
narrowing the circle in which the ma
chine operates decidedly. Mr.. Wright
said himself that had the course been
straightaway he would have been able
to make a good deal higher speed and
likewise would have felt more mt home
in the air. The drll ground where the
| flight was held is a pretty big place for
| a horse TO maneuver but when il comes
to operating an aeroplane in this re-
stricted circle ii is more or less like eX-
pecting champion sculler to show