Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1909-07-30
WRIGHT IS AIR KING.
DAYTON AVIATOR SETS NEW REC.
ORD FOR AERoPLANE
ENDURANCE.
PRESIDENT SEES THE FLIGHT

PRESIDENT SEES The fllGn
orvills Flies Double the Distance
Across the Ensllsh Channel While
hubert Latham 10 Failing Into the
Water Near Dover.
Washington 30 miles, which
Is more than double the distance
across the English channel. Orville
Wright, the American king of the
air" Tuesday at Fort Myer, broke the
aeroplane endurance record, with
Lieut.. Frank P. Lahm, as a passen-
ger. The machine was In the air one
hour. IL minutes and 40 seconds.
The former record was made last
year by his brother Wilbur, joint IN.
ventor with him of the machine in
which both achievements were per-
formed, at lie Mans. France, with
Prof. Painleve of the French institute
as passenger. That fight was one
hour, nine minutes and 81 seconds.
The cheering which heralded the
setting of new mark in the conquest
of the air was led by President Taft
In person, who was an intensely inter-
ested spectator throughout the flight,
and who insisted at its conclusion
upon personally congratulating the
brothers upon their success. This
success was all-important to the
Wrights in that 1t completed the first
of two crucial tests Of their machine
imposed upon them by. the United
States government-the so-called "en-
durance test" which required them to
remain one hour continuously in the
air with one passenger.
The other test, that for speed, will
be complied with today, weather per-
hitting, when Orville Is to take Lieut..
Benjamin Foulois Of the signal corps
on cross,country flight to Alexandria
and return, a total of ten miles, over a
measured course, and at a speed re-
quired to average 40 miles an hour.
Miss Katherine Wright. who nursed
her brother through the period of his
ICCONcIy llou1 lIC ulouoSCA -AuoS AoAAS
anxiously watched him from the door,
way of the shed where the aeroplane
is kept, and when he returned unhurt
from his fight gripped him eagerly
by the arm, nestled her face against
his breast and said: -
"Bully for you. brother, it was beau
tiful."
It is a question whether this word
of praise was not more to him than
that which came few minutes later
when the president of the United
States, who had waited for him at the
other end of the great parade ground.
took him warmly by the hand and
said, with the other grasping that Of
his brother Wilbur: II congratulate
you heartily, sir. It was great ex-
hibition. You came down as easily
and gracefully as you went up. You
beat the worlds record,
Dover, England. Hubert Latham's
second attempt to fly across the Eng
lish channel ended disastrously Tues.
day. Almost in the moment of vic.
tory his monoplane fluttered down
into the sea two miles beyond the Ad-
miralty pier, like bird with broken
wing. Thousands of persons crowding
the water front saw the fall and
feared Latham was dead.
"A flock of large and small craft
raced to the scene Of the disaster, and
pinnace from the British battleship
Russell picked up the Va unluckyy flyer
and put him aboard the French tor
pedo boat destroyer Escopette. After
a surgeon had attended to his injuries
the destroyer brought Latham ashore
and he was taken to the Lord Warden
hotel. His face was bandaged and
bleeding and his nose was broken.
The machine, badly wrecked, was
hoisted from the boat to the dock.
Dover, England.-Louis Bleriot, the
famous French aeronaut, performed
the feat of flying across the English
channel from Calais, France, in his
monoplanc. He landed on the cliffs OF
Dover shortly after dawn Sunday.
The aviator accomplished the re.
markable feat Of flying across the
channel in % minutes. travelling at
the rate Of nearly a mile minute.
BY his achievement Bleriot won the
prize Of $4,000 offered by the London
Daily Mail, for the first flight across
the English channel, and stole a
march on his rivals. Hubert Latham
and Count de Lambert, both Of whom
had hoped to make the attempt Sun.
day.