Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1908-09-16
HOLDS THE AEROPLANE RECORD
Orville Wright Makes Test and Flies
for 571a Minutes.

NiASut, III Ills new deTOplane, Snat-
tered all the worlds records for
heavier-than-ai: machines this morn
ing when he sailed over the parade
ground at Fort Myer for 81 minutes
and 81 seconds.
This flight, which surpasses that
of the French aviator, Delagrange,
| who made a record one OF 81 min
utes and a fraction over the field of
Issy, and which tops that Of the
Wrights themselves by little more
than nineteen minutes, was made
| without a hitch, without blunder
upon the part Of the operator.
1t was not an official test, and
there was not an officer of the signal
| Wright was flying, but the presence
/ of Augustus Post, of the Aero Club
of America, and several other ex-
perts, assures the world of the cor
| rectness Of the record.
Mr.. Wright did not come down to
| earth because he could not have
stayed up longer. The first thing he
said after Mr.. Post had shaken hands
| with him was to the chief mechanic,
| Mr.. Taylor, who Informed him that
he had been up within two minutes
of an hour.
WELL he said, smiling, "if | had
known that l wouldn't have come
down. l could have stayed up ten
minutes or more If had wished"
The flight was made under ideal
, conditions. Not a breath Of air was
stirring.
| Mr.. Wright came out to the reser-
vation early, confident after the per-
formance Of last night, when he stay
ed up more than / minutes, that he
could do almost anything he pleased
with this machine that seems almost
to be thing of life itself.
He took his seat in the aeroplane
about SIS and at S.25 it skinned
down the monorail track and up into
the air, obedient to the will of the
operator. Wright was confident evil
IDENTIFY Of his full control of the ope-
rations Of his machine, for at times
he sailed over the utmost limits of
the parade ground, out over bushes
and trees and close TO buildings,
which week ago he seemed to fear
greatly. At no time was the dipping
motion to be noticed, such as marred
the airship trials before.
At times wright rose to fifty feet
above the ground and a half lap fur
ther on he would come down to
within perhaps twenty feet of the
grass. The engine missed fire few
times, but for more than half Of the
81 minutes the regular clacking of
its exhaust came without Interrupt
ton.
But few persons saw this trial,
| which will likely stand for some time
stand at least until Wright himself
complies with the governments en-
durance test and stays up continu-
ously for one hour. The machine
weighs over 500 pounds.
Mr.. Wright had made the circuit
Of the parade grounds fifty-eight
times when he descended. His de-
scent was one of the most easy and
graceful he has made in his Fort
Myer trials.
Il was running good WHILE" said
Mr.. Wright, "but J had no way Of
telling Just how long l was up.
supposed it had been about forty
minutes. We ought to have some
way Of signalling, and I believe we
will devise method later.
81 am glad that | have made the
longest flight in this country, and my
brother will be pleased, too. We
always wanted to make the first long
public flight here and not abroad.
II did not come down because Of
lack Of gasoline, although we need
ed a little more in the tank, but
because | have never run this en-
gine so long before and l feared that
the bearings might have become
heated through the long strain"
Second Flight Exceeds Hour.
Washington, Sept. 1O-Two flights
VI an lloul SdCll, anu
another flight in which two men were
whirled through the air for upward
of six minutes were the achievements
Of the Wright brothers aeroplane to-
day. The first flight, made this
morning, in which the machine cir
cled the drill grounds at the fort 81
times in 81 minutes and 81 seconds,