Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1910-10-28

Two Members of Wright
Team and Were Carried
From Belmont Park for
the Distance Record of
Tempestuous Day.

such caprices of October weather
that Ralph Johnstone and Arch Hox-
sey, of the Wright team aviators,
went for altitude at Belmont park
this afternoon and brought down the
record of the day for distance.
The fifth day of the international
aviation meet opened with full prom
| Use and closed with a bowling wester
| that filled the air with whirling au
tumn leaves, slammed down the
benches of the grand stand, ripped
out the canvas screens and sent such
skirmish line of dust dancing
around the track that lamps had to
be lighted outside the hangers for
the mechanics to find their way
about
In spite of the furious end of the
day, its postponements and disap-
pointments there were scattered feats
Of the most daring airmanship that
have yet been witnessed by an Amer
ican crowd.
Officially, the flights for the Cor
don Bennett cup elimination trials to
pick the American team to defend
the international trophy were opened
at a. m but nobody dared come
out for them with the wind blowing.
At 1880 p. m. a special prize of
SIC, 900 offered by Thomas F. Ryan,
for a flight from the field to the
Statue of Liberty and return was
open to any aviator, but none dared
to try They chose to take advan-
tage instead of the latest largesse
allowed by the committee, permission
to compete between 1880 and 3;45
on any afternoon during the meet.
provided only that the finish is made
before $3.50
That narrowed the program down
to one event for distance, altitude.
Latham. in an Antoinette, for dis
tance and Hoxsey and JOhnstone, of
the Wright team, for altitude, were
the only ones to brave gale of
from 20 to 25 miles an hour.
Johnstone and Hoxsey tried to set
their wings and soar into the gate
without an effort, but it was shown
that the way of the eagle in tie air
is still one of the things men Go not
understand They kept their poise
beautifully but although the speed of
the biplanes, flying normally, is thir-
ty-five miles an hour, with the en-
gines running wide open. they were
pushed steadily back down over the
edge of the horizon, both being driven
miles of their course. Word came
from Hoxsey first, that he had landed
safely at Brentwood, twenty-five miles
distant. Johnstone was carried fifty
oil vii
on Long Island.
They were the two longest flights
of the day. Both telephoned that
they hoped to fly back to the course
tomorrow. Neither could be caught
by telephone again after they had re-
ported to Wilbur Wright. and from
him came the details of their adven-
ture.
"As an incident" Wright said, there
was none. 1t was just one straight
forward progress, backwards. When
they got up a thousand feet or more,
they struck a wind blowing about
twenty-five miles an hour faster than
they could travel They estimated
that it must have been sixty-five to
seventy-five miles per hour, so they
lust drifted That's all there was
to it. But l guess it's the first time
in the history Of aviation that any
body ever made a flight tail-end fore
most' ~
A special event for distance and
altitude was added to the program
to amuse the crowd, but it was over
long before anyone came out Final
ly, Audemars, a Swiss, in a tiny De-
moiselle, danced over the course, but
it was no day for the yellow butter
fly and after two rounds Audemars
needed prudence and went to his
hangar If he had started just one
minute earlier he might have won
for the first hourly distance, with one
lap-but the bomb banged before he
was three -fourths of the way around
To Brookins, instead, fell the easy
money With a flight Of but twenty
minutes, in which he rose to an al
titude of $50 feet, he brought down
$500 for the first place in the special
event for altitude and duration. 1t
could not be called a contest, because
there was no competitor, but Brook
ins felt that he had earned the money.
twenty-five dollars a minute may
seem high pay" he said, "but went
out to prove the ability Of the Amer