The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1909-07-28
WRIGHT WINS The
ENDURANCE TEST
Continued from Page one.

Continued from Page one.
removal Of the blplane from the shed TO
the starting derrick. The crowd in the
meantime had not been allowed 10 go
down TO the shed-a privilege which had
been extended on previous days. There
was no delay. therefore. IN the prepara~
lions for the fight.
The engine was started on It's prellmi.
nary ''warming-up' run, while Orville
stood close beside II to tease Il into it's
best performance. He then shut 1t Off
and devoted FIVE minutes 70 giving Lieut..
Lahm a lesson in the manipulation Of the
spark control He intended TO let the
Signal Corps officer advance and retard
the spark under his direction. Then ne
said:
An right. lieutenant step in"
Lieut.. Lahm suddenly discovered he
was weighted down by a riding crop
and pair OF gloves.
What are you going to do with
those?" asked Orville.
Discarded the Gloves.
Here. take them" said the officer, pass
ing the cavalry paraphernalia behind
him to somebody. That somebody hap
pened TO be Wilbur Wright, who took
the things as II they were infectious.
Il don't want these" said Wilbur
with shecpish look. He handed them
behind him, and they landed In the
possession or A Holland Forbes. presi-
dent OF the Aero Club OF America, one
OF the official timers OF the official
flights.
Rats" grunted Mr. Forbes, 7 am not
going 70 pack these things around"
He looked one way and passed them
another. and they clinched with the hand
Of Capt. G. De Forrest Chandler. Capt
Chandler, being accustomed 10 such
things, kept them, and there they stayed
while their owner climbed into the flying
machine.
That wasn't an easy operation for
Lieut.. Lahm. although he IS about as
supple as they make them He had 70
climb IN behind two guy wires that
crossed just I'm front OF his breast II
was case Of getting on his back and
worming his way IN. while the photog-
raphers and the moving picture men
crowded close up 10 get the reproduction
Of the two aerial travellers about 10 start
their trip.
After Lieut.. Lahm was safely aboard
things moved rapidly. Orville again stood
( by the engine. while Wilbur and the
mechanician, Charles Taylor. went aft
TO the propellers and "cranked'' the
motor As soon as the four cylinders
/ commenced their raucous explosions Or
willie climbed nimbly into his seat, and
with a delicate finger manipulated the
spark control and the gasoline lever.
Like a thing OF life. the engine jumped
/ ecstatlcally at the touch. and the ex-
plosious burst out OF the exhaust pipe IN
an almost continuous volume OF noise.
Riders I'm the AIR.
Orville at this time was sitting IN the
seat farthest from the engine. Lieut..
Lahm was seated next 20 the water
cooler and the engine. and IN the exact
! center Of gravity OF the biplane. so that
his presence there did not affect in any
way the equilibrium Of the flyer. They
sat with their feet braced against a
wooden rod in front Of them. Orville with
| a light cap drawn tight down over his
eyes. and Lieut.. Lahm jauntily wearing
| his service cap.
/ "All right said Orville.
! Let her go" answered Wilbur.
| Orville reached down for the releasing
mechanism. and the endurance flight was
/ on The time was $3.50 O'Clock.
/ The start was perfect. The flyer leaped
/ of the end OF the mOnoraE as II swunG
I from the end OF a rubber band. rose ten
/ feet. sagged a couple. and rose again.
TWO hundred feet down the field II struck
/ its pace. slanted upward. and commenced
/ the turn 10 The left II went 10 a height
OF sixty feet. and stayed there on the
/ Fstr ha Ta vi
crowd. As Il passed the thousands OF
/ spectators massed against the rope. a
prolonged shout went up. II any OF the
noise reached the aviators through the
noise OF the engine they knew beyond
/ the shadow OF a doubt that the crowd
wished them we'll
| II they heard, they gave no sign OF 4
| The expressions on their faces might
/ have gone we'll on Robinson CEusoe' s
/ Island, or In the middle Of the blue sea,
/ But II had nothing TO DO with the things
/ or habiJatOn. and association, and human
/ contact. For the moment. and for sixty
| minutes 20 come. the two men were sep
arated from the rest OF their kind by
an element which, until the last few
/ years. had never been travelled by the
/ beings OF the earth In a vehicle the Ike
/ of theirs.
Made n Few Remarks.
Lieut.. Iahm said after the flight that
/ he and Orville made a few remarks to
/ each other. and were conscious Of the
/ movements Of the crowd. If only dimly
conscious Of their EXPLANATIONS. But
the consciousness was remote. and the
men continued TO soar through the ar
as expressionless as two statues.
| A breeze OF five or six miles an hour
was blowing at that time. which dwindled
considerably toward the end Of the flight
In the slight puffs Of the upper currents
| the blplane dipped, rose, veered, and
swayed. at times making sudden dives
and scoops that drew explanations OF
| fright from the spectators. The circles
were unusually short. the machine at nc
time taking the complete extreme course
Of 1000 feet circumference. Neither was
the altitude great. Several times during
/ the seventy-seven circuits Of the parade
ground a level Of Is feet above the earth
was reached. but by far the greatest part
of the seventy-three minutes was spent on
/ siXty-fOot level.
Most Of the dipping was experienced on
the west side OF the field. over the stables
Above a break between two buildings
there seemed TO be an ugly streak in the
atmosphere which almost invariably sent
/ the machine slddding for moment on
the eleventh round there was a sudden
drop e cSe outside wing tip, and the
/ flyer dipped dangerously. as II seemed 70
/ that side The recovery, however, was
/ immediate and reassuring, and the turn
! "a the left was taken on n beautiful
slant.
At one time. as the machine seemed 10
| descend steadily toward the ground. the
1 crowd thought there was something
wrong. and a man jumped to his feet and
shouted:
Che n LnIse Alarm