The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-09-03
AIRRECORDS
SMASHED
HENRY FARNAM, MAKES "A
RECORD FLIGHT In
RECORD TINE.
In Biplain OF His Own Design
Enelishman Outsails All Com
petitors Both AS to Distance
Covered and Swiftness OF His
Machine.

Covered and SWl1tneSS VI AA'
Machine.
Rethanv Aviation Field, Rheims,
Aug. 2S.-Henry Farman, the Ensilsh
aviator. a hitherto unknown quantlty
in the aviation contests, in olplane
of his own design, broke the worlds
records for duration of flight and dist
ance in his heavier -than-air machine
Yesterday and won the grand prlx lie
La Champagne-the endurance test
bv remarkable flight, officially re-
corded as 100 kilometers Q11.7S
miles, in 8 hours minutes 30 20 Sec
onds.
He actually covered an extra ten
kilometers and remained in the air ten
minutes after 1880 last evening, the
hour that the timekeepers, under the
rules, ceased to keep record OF the
flight.
The other contestants finished in
the order named:
Hubert Latham, in monoplane NO.
20, 134 kilometers 500 meters. Time
2 hours IS minutes 8 So seconds.
Louis Paulhan, in Voisin biplane,
131 kilometers.
Count De Lambert, biplane, 116 kilo-
meters.
Hubert Latham, in monoplane No.
IS, III kilometers.
NJ. Tissandier, biplane, III kilomet-
erS.
Roger Sommer, biplane, 60 kilomet-
ers.
M. De La Grange, monoplane, 60
kilometers.
B. Bleriot, monoplane, 40 kilometers.
Glenn H. Curtiss, biplane, 80 kilo-
meters.
M. Lefevre, biplane, p kilometers.
Farman's victory was a complete
surprise. He had been preparing his
machine secretly and had not appear
ed upon the field until yesterday, ex-
cept for few practice flights, and
had been almost forgotten. Indeed,
ground, while Latham and the others
were soaring in spectacular fashion
high in the air, Farman attracted no
attention until he had flown eighty
kilometers. Then, suddenly, the
watchers woke up only to discover
that he had gone out carrying petrol
enough for a fve-hour flight and
equipped with selen-cooling revolving
motor
Trouble with his ignition plug forced
Latham to descend after he had COW
cred Ill klometers, and Tissandier
came down after accomplishing iden-
tically the same distance The other
aviators had ended their efforts earl
Ter.
Only Farman continued. Round and
round he went as regularly as clock
work, always hugging the ground, TAX
ing no chances and avoiding any at
tempt at display. Record after record
fell before his methodical flight. Dusk
came, darkness fell and the twinkling
lights appeared in the villages on the
distant hills. Lanterns were hung on
the towers marking the limits of the
course. The judges no longer could
tell whether the record-breaking aero
pianist was flying and the searchlights
from the grandstand could not pierce
the gloom At 7:3O o'clock it was an
nounced that the timing had ended un-
der the rules. Ten minutes more and
suddenly out of the darkness a ghost
ly thing appeared in front of the tri-
bune and came to earth on the start
ing line
Mr.. Farman appeared almost over
come by the long strain he had I'M
dergone. He smiled family as he
shook hands with those about him, but
his face was white and his hands cold
He almost tainted as he was helped
out of his seat. Then a score of per-
sons brought him in triumph on their
shoulders to the presidential tribune,
where M. Millerand, minis ter of public
works, was waiting to receive him.
When the roar of the cheering had
ceased, M. Millerand, in the name of
the French government, congratulate
ed Farman.
Much sympathy is expressed for
Paulhan and Latham, both of whom
firmly believed they would set new
records. Ill luck continues to pur-
sue the pilots of the Wright machines.
AMERICAN AVIATOR BREAKS