Evening star., 1909-08-28
BEATS OUT BLERl0T
BY ONLY SIX SECONDS
Frenchman the Only Close Competi-
tor for Gordon Bennett Trophy.
TWO MACHINES MEET DISASTER
Englishman Runs Into a Hay Stack
and Delagrange Of France Loses
Propeller-Latham Fails
to Start

RHEIMS. August 2S.-Glenn II. Curtiss.
the only American aviator at Betheny, to-
day. in a biplane, won the international
cup OF aviation, the most important event
of aviation week. He covered the two laps
of the course, twenty kilometers 02.42
miles), in 10 minutes 80 81. seconds. This
is at the rate of 47.6, miles an hour.
Bleriot, his most formidable competitor.
made the distance in u minutes 5S is
seconds. Latham did not start
Cockburn, the English entrant, ran his
machine into a hayrack. while Delagrange
Of France lost his propeller.
Curtiss took advantage of favorable
weather conditions this morning and after
a trial lap, which he covered In min
utes 55 Id seconds, he made his official
record. He did the first lap in min
utes 81 2-5 seconds and the second in z
minutes 5S 1-5 seconds. Each lap meas
ures 621 miles, and Curtiss broke all pre-
vious records
Bleriot waited until late hour this
afternoon before flying. He made his
first round in minutes 53 3-5 seconds,
which Is still 2-5 of a second behind the
best time made by Curtiss.
Lefebvre, flying in Wright biplane.
also tried for this event. but his time was
comparatively slow, being given at 20
minutes 30 20 seconds
The International cup Of aviation is
known otherwise as the Gordon-Bennett
trophy. It is an object of art valued at
So, 500. which goes to the winning club.
and 5000 to the aviator. The course is
twenty kilometers.
Details Of the Day.
The weather conditions were ideal TO-
day for the contest for the International
cup of aviation, otherwise known as the
Gordon-Bennett trophy. to be awarded
to the aerOplaneist who makes the best
time on two rounds of the course, a dis
tance of 12.42 miles.
There was light haze over the plain
early this morning. but the flags hung
limp and not a breath Of air was stir
ring. number of Americans were
early on the scene and they all de-
clared 1t was "Curtiss weather." and
were jubilant accordingly. Glenn II.
Rheims. told his friends yesterday that
he intended to start on his two laps for
the cup at the first favorable opportunity.
The mariner who fails to sail In good
weather is never forgiven" he said.
By 10 o'clock there was great activity
at the sheds of Bleriot, Latham. Lefebvre.
Cockburn and other contestants in the
first international aerial race. The pilots
and the representatives OF the American.
English and French clubs were summoned
before the committee to receive their final
instructions. They were informed that
attempts for the International cup could
be made at will any time between IL
o'clock this morning and o'clock this
afternoon. They may make trial spins
without crossing the lines. but if they
did pass the line without advance notff
cation that they were not competing. is
would be considered a start.
Made Up His Mind Suddenly.
Curtiss came to his decision to make q
trial round suddenly. At 1O:l1 am, sur
rounded by a group of enthusiastic citi-
zens, including Cortlandt r. Bishop, presi
dent of the American Aero Club, Com
mander F. L.Chapin, the American naval
attache at Paris, and T. Bentley Mott,
the military attache. the machine was run
out on the field. Curtiss made no prep
aration for his fight other than to change
his coat for leather jacket. With no
trace of excitement he climbed into the
seat and gave the order, to start the pro-
Iellers. Running along the ground a
short distance for flying start, the ma
chine lifted lightly and circled between
the timekeepers and the tribunes. Then.
mounting gradually until he had reached
a height of forty-ffve feet, Curtiss crossed
the line at a terrific pace.
The Curtiss aeroplane, small and COM
pact. and with trim lines. looks more like
a racer than any of the others here, and
as 1t sped away, straight as an arrow.
exclamations of admiration rose from
every lip.
Clipping the corners closely, Curtiss
continued at uniform height until he
had passed the last pylon. He then de-
scended sharply, to get the benefit OF
gravity, and crossed the finish line less
than dozen feet above the ground. A
few seconds afterward the white bail
was hoisted, indicating that a record had
been broken, and the Americans broke
out into wild cheering. The aeropiane
was towed back behind the line. and
Curtiss was showered with congratula-
tions. He replied that his speed was
only what he anticipated. and expressed
perfect satisfaction with the way in
which his aeroplane had behaved. The
time for this trial heat was Z minutes.
55 1-J seconds.
Air Seemed to boil"
Curtiss complained, however. that he
had encountered strong air currents, and
especially over the "aeroplane graveyard"
where, he said, the air seemed Ito boil
The American announced that he would
start Immediately for the International.
His gasoline tank was quickly refilled and
he got away in fine style.
He rose to a greater height in order to
avoid the turbulent air currents near the
ground. His fight was mastery. The
machine lifted before every turn and
swept around the turns on the down
grade.
Curtfss first round was slower by = Ii
seconds than his trial. On the last trial
ne let out his motor TO it's full speed and
came home like a streak. He shot down
from a height of 100 feet, at which alti-
tude he rounded the last pylon. to the fin-
ish line, which he crossed in impressive