Omaha daily bee., 1909-10-05
WRIGHT FLIES
OVER THE CITY
Dayton Aviator Makes Trip from
Governors Island to Grants
Tomb and Return.
HARBoR CRAFT APPLAUDS
Man-Bird Sails Over Warships and
Sailors Wonder.
FLIGHT OF TWENTY MILES
Round Trip Occupies But Little Over
Thirty-Three Minutes.
SECOND TRIAL POSTPONED
Accident to Motor Prevents Another
Effort Late in the Afternoon
Business Practically Sus-
pended.
Man-Bird Sails Over Warships and
Sailors Wonder.
FLIGHT OF TWENTY MILES
Round Trip Occupies But Little Over
Thirty-Three Minutes.
TRIAL
POSTPONED
SECOND

NEW YORK, Oct Am aeroplane,
flashed past the white dome of Grants
tomb today, then turning gracefully in mid
air, over the waters of the Hudson, shot
like a falcon back to Governors Island, ten
miles away. Wilbur Wright Of Dayton, o..
thus placed his name in the rank with Hud-
son and Fulton today in one of the most
spectacular feRts in the history OF aero
nauts.
Over the masses OF warships from whose
decks the hoarse cheers of the sailors were
borne up to him in his elevated seat he
flew for twenty miles-ten miles up and ten
miles back-remainlng in the air for 80 min
utes and 3S seconds, and alighting at the
aerodrome without mishap.
During the flight business was practi-
caly at a standstil in all that part of
Manhattan from which view of his re-
markable feat was available Harbor
craft shrieked their applause, cheer after
cheer swept up from the banks OF the Hud-
son and the lower bay for the Dayton av-
iator had made good" crowning the avi-
alton program of the Hudson-Fulton cele-
bration with a record.
Fast Time Made.
Wright started on his flight up the Hud-
son at 1856 a. m. and finished exactly Mt
10:29:33. He had intended to improve upon
his achievement of the morning by making
u longer and more hazardous flight at sun
set but the Gripping of his motor Just as
he was about to start on the evening at
tempt dashed his hopes as we'll as those
of the thousands who had assembled on
Governors Island and along the water
front to cheer him on.
The flight was made under conditions
only moderately favorable. When Wright
| reached Governors Island shortly after 8
o'clock the wind was blowing about ten
! miles an hour, while an overcast sky added
to the uncertainty of the weather. In the
face OF these conditions Wright called for
volunteers among the newspaper men as
sembled to tow his machine TO the starting
rail while he superintended the laying OF
the starting way in the direction of the
wind. Everything ready. his mechanician
gave the propeller twist, which started
the motor, and amid the clatter of the ma
chimes exhaust, which sounded like mus
kerry fire, Wright climbed to his seat in
the aeroplane.
With the same impertrubable temper
which has characterized all his flights, the
aviator pulled his cap over his eyes and
reached for the starting lever. In mo-
ment the machine WAS off.
| Start is AuspiciOus.
With the planes tilted slightly to one
side the man-bird slowly ascended into
the air. arising to a height Of barely
twenty feet. while it swooped in semi
circle todawrd the waters edge. Here
the presence OF many craft, all hyster-
ically footing their whistles, caused him
to ascend further into the air before max
ling for the mouth OF the river.
Almost indistinguishable against the gray
banked clouds the machine scared past
old Castle William and soon entered the
canon made by the giant skyscrapers Of
Manhattan island and the Jersey hills. At
this point the aeroplane was flying at a
height OF nearly 200 feet, but unexpected
air currents caused by the great build
Iings caused the aviator to bring his craft
lower to the water. Tilting the elevating
rudder, he slowly brought the machine
down, sloping gradually until he was but
bare hundr feet above the too ing ferry
boats and the busy river traffic. His
motor was churning as regularly as a
clock and settling himself in his seat,
he sped onward up the river.
Passes Over warships.
over the warships of four great powers
he passed, his progress marked by cheers
from the sailors of his own country and
those OF Great Britain, Germany, France
and Italy. The blue jackets lined the rails
Of their ships and gazed in wonderment at
the little craft above them, perhaps think
ing vaguely that some day it might rem
der their own monster fighting machines
obsolete
When the air vessel reached the British
cruiser, Argyle, anchored an eighth of a
mile above Grants tomb. Wright brought
his direction rudders into play and de-
scriblnE an easy and graceful curve started
on his return journey down the river. The
wind conditions which had bothered him
on the journey up were now more favor
able and II was here that the speed pos
sibillties OF the machine were demon
stratsd. While the ten miles upstream oc-
cupied nearly twenty minutes the return
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