The Newark star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1909, 1909-10-05
WILBUR WRIGHT
TELLS OF PER|LS
IN HUDSON FLIGHT
Puffs OF Wind from Sky=scrapers
Made Aeroplane Tremble
and Careen.
VAPORS FROM TUNNELS OF
BATTLESHIPS A MENACE
Could Have Circled Tomb, He
Says, but Considers He Has
Kept Contract.

NEW YORK, Oct. 5.-Owing to the
blowing out of the cylinder of his mo-
tor, Wilbur Wright announced today
that he would make no more %aeroplane
flights in New York for the present,
and started for Washington to ill his
contract with the government to teach
the Signal Corps officers how to op-
crate his machine. Before leaving Mr..
Wright told his own story of his his
torical' flights up the Hudson river, over
the combined battleship fleets, to
Grants Tomb and back to Governors
Island.
He said: II feel that | have fulfilled
my contract for the Hudson-Fulton Gel
ebration.
Il planned to travel at a height of
E~eventy-five feet, but the gases from
steamers, the air disturbances caused
by the whistles and the air currents
from the skyscrapers caused me to as
cend higher at times.
$50 l heade over to the Jersey shore
10 get away from the skyscrapers as
far as possible. | suppose l was 200
feet up in the air. | could see the Met
ropolitan tower, and l was not as high
as 1t Is. / could see the Jersey mead
ows over the Palisades.
THE vapors from the warship fun
nels made a little trouble, too. That
is, I could feel when | was among
them.
THE currents of air from the tall
Manhattan buildings made the machine
tremble, and / was forced to hug the
Jersey shore to get away from them as
much as possible. The air just seemed
to tumble down from the skyscrapers.
Coming back l found by just shaving
the wharves n staying low that l
escaped these currents somewhat.
LAS ] passed over one of the war
ships / heard a terrible noise below.
They tell me 1t was a salute. l could
also hear the sailors cheering. / turned
just this side of both street and made
a little wider circle than | had intend
ed, but with no trouble. / must have
gone easily twenty miles.
Il did not find the flight difficult, ex-
cept for the disturbed atmospheric con-
ditions. which gave the craft a con-
tinuous bobbing. undulating jar.
Il might. have circled the tomb, but
/ didn't. l kept to the water and made
practically the whole circle to reverse
my direction directly above the river.
/ was well to the north of the tomb
when / made the urn and l could
see warships still above me in the
river. Sui l could also tell from the
cheering n waving of arms aboard
them that they could see me and could
witness the aeroplane's flight. l did not
try to go around the fieet, but came
back from the point where ! knew 1
had passed the tomb.
"Once there was a puff that made her
tremble all over n 1t took several
seconds to get rid of it.
'And even at that | didn't like the
going on the 200-foot level on the way
up the river half so much as I liked it
coming back only half as far away
from the water. One, to make the
trip regularly, ought either to go well
bov the skyscrapers or ought to keep
close to the water. There's a lot of
wind spills over them in downward
gusts upon. the river.
Il haven't quite conquered the air
YETI s,