Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-14
HERALD TO GIVE
ROY kNABENSHUE
SPECIAL TROPHY
GIFT MADE IN RECOGNITION OF
AERONAUT'S DEEDS
SILVER LOVING CUP ENGRAVED
FOR FAMOUS AVIATOR
Presentation Tuesday Evening by Sec
retary Twining a Partial Appre- .
citation of Remarkable Rec
ords Made by Expert

The Los Angeles Herald, believing
that achievement is as worthy of rec
ognition as possible deeds, will present
an aeronautic trophy to Roy Knaben-
shue, the famous aeronaut, who is now
making Los Angeles his home. A sill
yer loving cup has been engraved for
The Herald by the Whitley Jewelry
company, and it will be presented to
Mr.. Knabenshue in partial apprecia-
ton of his work in behalf of the ad-
vancement of aeronautics.
The presentation will be made at the
meeting of the Aero Club of Califor-
mia Tuesday evening. Professor H. La
V. Twining, secretary of the club, will
make the presentation speech for The
Herald. The cup will be the first
trophy presented in 1909.
Roy Knabenshue and Thomas S.
Baldwin have alike worked out their
own conception of aerial navigation
and have spent great deal of money
in advancing aeronautics. In order to
make their own way they have gone
into exhibition work, and in doing so
they have made many converts to the
cause of aeronauticS. Both have ac-
complished a, great deal of important
experimental work in Los Angeles.
Mr.. Knabenshue is considered one Of
the leading balloon pilots in America.
as well as among the foremost dirigible
experts of the world. Before making
the first dirigible airship flight in
America, which was accomplished with
the California Arrow at the Louisiana
Purchase exposition, he had taken nu-
merous trips in standard balloons and
was thoroughly familiar with the art
of plotting an aerostat.
BY his dirigible voyages at the
worlds fair Knabenshue demonstrated
that an airship could be steered at will
under fairly favorable conditions, a
fact concerning which even Baldwin
himself was somewhat skeptical until
he saw it actually accomplished. Since
then a large number of dirigibles has
been built and flown in America, but
none has been in the same class with
Knabenshue except his former en-
plOyer, Baldwin.
Knabenshue has built fourteen air.
ships or balloons, and is thoroughly
conversant with the ins and outs of
construction. He built his first air
ship with a few carpenters tools,
feat so remarkable that eastern news
papers printed pictures of the imple-
ments of construction.
He asked no favOrs or subsidies of
Toledo people, although that city had
been his home since early boyhood.
and when fund was raised to recon-
pense him he declined it, saying that
he preferred to fight his own financial
battles His airships have all been
successful, and the latest built, which
he has been flying in Los Angeles, is
perhaps the most perfectly steered and
controlled of any in the world. Of fif-
teen flights made since coming to this
section of the country last autumn not
one has failed of starting within ten
minutes of the time set.
L.
other dirigible records than that of the
first successful fight in America, in
Guiding the long distance fight, the
most successful point-to-point and
townto-town voyage and the first
night fight. The latter, with the sue
cessful dropping of a bomb at the city
hall, created a sensation all over the
world, and was taken up by papers and
magazines with avidity. A British
newspaper devoted more than a COL
Umn to an editorial on the results, and
it was featured with a thrilling front
cover design by Popular Mechanics. 1t
will form the leading feature of the
current Arrowhead Magazine
Mainly because of his modesty Mr..
Knabenshues aerial achievements
have not excited the comment that has
been given to more conscientious ad-
vertisers. He has done more with the
dirigible than the Wrights have ac-
cOmpliShed with the aerOplane, but un-
fortunately has never gone abroad to
be appreciated. Most of his expert
ments have been conducted without
thought of financial gain.
Mr.. Knabenshue was born at Lam,
caster, Ohio in 1876. His father,
Samuel S. Knabenshue, is a prominent
educator and journalist and was one
of the men who made the Toledo Blade
famous. He has been American consul
at Belfast, Ireland, since 1905. Roy
Knabenshue was married at Toledo,
and his wife takes as keen an interest
in aeronautics as he does and can
talk as accurately of fine points of
aerial navigation as many aeronauts.
They have four children.
The Herald's cup is given with pro-
priety, since the paper is the only one
in the west to maintain a regular de-
partment of aeronautics, and it has
given numerous trophy cups in other
fields of endeavor. Although Mr.
Knabenshue is recognized as having
won a leading place among the worlds S
aeronauts he has not heretofore re-
ceived any substantial testimonial Of
appreciation.