The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1910-01-15
CURTISS MAKES
AIRSHIP RECORD
FLIGHTS OF PAULhAN AND CUR.
TIss SET SPECTATORS WILD
WITH DELIGHT.
NEARLY MILE A MINUTE
cURTlSS ATTAiNS FIFTY-FlvE
MILES AN HOUR SPEED WITH
PASSENGER.

Los Angeles, Calif-Glenn II. Cur
tias. the American aviator, who was
completely eclipsed by Louis Paulhan
with his spectacular feats on the first
day of the aviation meet, Tuesday de-
feated his mercurial French rival in
the race for the honors of the day.
Paulhan again won the plaudits Of
the immense throng with daring and
spectacular flights. while the less the
atric American reaped more substan
tia1 honors, established a new worlds
record for speed for aeroplanes, car
rying a passenger, flying at the rate OF
fifty-five miles an hour. with his man
ager. Jerome S. Fancuilli. beside him
on the seat, and set two other less i'm
portant records in aviation.
Not to be outdone. Paulhan took up
one of his mechanicians and flew three
miles, but failed to equal the speed set
by Curtiss in his biplane.
The breaking of three records,
flights with passengers. the injury OF
an amateur aviator and four aero
planes in the air at the same time,
breasting stiff wind that sported
dangerously with the delicate contriv-
ances of the aerial craft, furnished
10000 spectators at Aviation field an
exciting finale to an afternoon that
promised to be rather tame.
Edgar Smith, Californian who con-
structed an aeroplane something on
the order Of the late Professor Lang
ley's model, was the victim of the first
serious accident of the meet. Smith
was tuning up his machine for his
first attempt at flight and was struck
down by one of the metal blades of
the propeller. His head was severely
gashed and his left arm broken.
At the beginning Of the days pro-
gram the intrepid little Frenchman
seemed again to have monopolized all
the honors. Thrice he drove one OF
his big Farman biplanes around the
course in the stiff wind blowing in
from the sea.
Then in a tiny Bleriot monoplane
that looked like a gigantic horsefly. he
gave the immense throng in the stands
and boxes the first thrill Of ths day
by repeatedly sweeping over the
grandstand and daringly maneuvering
in a wind that threatened every mo-
ment to wreck his craft.
Curtiss. all the while, remained ST.
lent and at work. Clad in oil-spotted
working clothes, an old cap and shoes
that had seen heavy duty, he spent
his time tuning up the eight-cylinder
motor on the biplane with which he
won the International cup at Rheims.
Not did ha 1nnk u-hat pQnIh n
was doing in the air.
But when the fourth flight of the
Farman had ended, his mechanicians
trundled the machine to the starting
point. Without preliminary of any
sort he motioned to Fancuilli to get in
the machine.
Climbing in beside his manager.
Curtiss gave the word to one of his
assistants. A pop and rattle like auto
matte artillery and the flight that es-
tablished the passenger speed record
began. Describing a wide circle in
front of the grandstand, Curtiss flew
with Fancuilli at all angles to the wind
and landed almost at the same spot
from which he started.
Lieut.. Paul Beck OF the army sig
nal corps and one of the judges, an
nounced that he figured the speed at
55 miles an hour.
When the record-breaking figures
were announced, the tremendous
crowd went wild. Shouts and screams
rose from the boxes and tiers Of seats.
auto sirens shrieked and hats were
thrown into the air to be blown away
by the wind.
At this time Paulhan mounted his
seat and rose majestically. At the
same time Willard and Hamilton
brought their machines to the start
in front OF the grandstand. Directly
after they got into the air Curtiss took
Clifford Harmon, the New York
sportsman and balloonist, into the
seat beside him and rose again on an
other flight with passenger.
All four aeroplanes in the air at
once presented thrilling sight, and
sent the crowd into a renewed frenzy