The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-10-24
AIRMEN SHOW SURPRISING
 SPEED
Drexe1 Soaring Over Avia- tion Course at Rate of 51
 Miles An Hour-Seven Men In Air at One Time.
Two Other Nervy Birdmen Were 5000 Feet Above Land and Still Ascending at Press Hour.
(special from United PressN

Belmont Aviation Field, L. IT, Oct
 24.-The first flight of the day was made at noon by Walter Brookins in the new Wright racer. The little machine flashed through the air at wonderful speed and under. the per feet control of the aviator. Brookins remained in the air only a few mo- ments, reaching an altitude of about 45O feet, when he alighted and he had not pushed the machine any where near the limit of it's speed, but he predicted that it would be able to capture the Gordon-Bennett trophy without trouble. Wilbur Wright saw the flight and expressed great satis- faction over the performance of the racer,
 At y12:45, Count Jacques De Les seps ascended in his BIeriot, but after five minutes he found he had forgot ed After obtaining cigarettes, ho again ascended. The Count was at- tired in a baby blue aeroplane suit It was the niftiest creation, seen on the field thus far.
 At IBIS Hoxsey, in a Wright bipIane, took the air and for 12 minutes thrill ed the crowd by. his daring evoIutions, witnfssed at the Held.
 Ralph Johnstone, at 1:19, followed his partner into the afr and at ex- actly 1:3O the starting cannon am nounced the beginning Of the hourly I contests and the flyers flashed across@I the starting line like racing horses Hoxsey- was flying about 15O above 1 Johnston, who was about 50 feet from | the ground. Hoxsey's machine soon 1 proved the speedier. ' At 1:3O Claude Grahame-white took | the air accompanied by J. Armstrong | Drexel in his Bleriot, and F. A. .F,ris- l bic making five aviators in the air | at the same time.
 Hoxsey descended shortly before | Auburn, in his Bleriot racer, took the | air at 1:40 making five machines | again racing around the track The l speed shown by Drexe1 and Aubrun | was astonishing. Though starting i've | minutes after the biplanes, Drexel | Immediately Tapped the Wright flyers | and he had completed his fourth lap in the lead.
 By the time he had made his 9th l lap, Drexel was lap to the good | and flying at a speed of from 45 to l making phenomenally fast time. Drex- | els speed on his 7th lap was 51 miles | an hour.
 Auburn made his 9th lap in minute, 36 seconds. at the rate of a mile a | minute the fastest time yet recorded on the aviation field In less than had distanced the Wright flyers
 At 1858 Walter Brookins went into the air with a fine burst of speed. | His engine, however, did not work | land.
 lieutenant Hubert Latham then
  the field.
 Walter Brookins in the Wright rac- CT. again ascended at 2:O3, making seven flying simultaneously, the most | ever seen in America at one time At | the end of the 18th lap, Drexe1 still led with Aubrun a close second. g Brookins completed his first lap in 1 minute and 52 seconds, at the rate of 5O miles an honr.
 Brookins completed but four laps and ~ descended As he came to the earth, Lieutenant Hubert Latham in his Antoinette monop1ane ascended. It was the first time an Antoinette had ever been seen in America and the beauty and grace of 1 the machine attracted widespread at tention. Charles Foster Willard, in his Curtiss biplane, then ascended. Thirty seconds later Count Jacques De n the Wright racer, making nine ma chimes up. Then Ely ascended, mak- ing ten yers up. Ely and Willard, however, soon came to earth. Count | De Lesseps went straight into the air and in five minutes had reached an of 1,500 feet and was climbing still higher. Brookins immedia teIy shot out in pursuit and began climb ng straight up irt spirals. equal to that of De (Lesseps and both nen kept on climbing higher and higher until they appeared to be mere ;pecks in the air.
 On his third Iap, Latham averaged 2 miles hour
 At 2:45 o'clock it was estimated 3rookins and De Lesseps were on even erms from 5000 10 5000 feet in the air Lnd still ascending.