New-York tribune., 1910-08-20
BIRD MEN DIP AND SWOOP
Four AeropIanes in Air at Once
at Sheepshead Bay.
MANY CARRY PASSENGERS
Two Women and Several News
papermen Take Advantage of
Chance to Go Aloft.

Chance to Go Aloft.
Those Of the thousands who journeyed
down to the old Sheepshead Bay racetrack
yesterday to see the opening Of the air
carnival and departed before the close
missed the best thing at the meet Four
aeroplanes went whizzing and whirring all
about the course at the same time just
before o'clock. and the spectators were
lost in wonderment
Glenn Il. Curtiss. now veteran of the
aviation game. and Eugene B Ely, said
started off after each other. AS they
sailed eastward in the face of what little
wind was left Curtiss rose high while Ely
kept to the south and made a larger circle.
They went the round Of the track, and as
they passed the grandstand the crowds
cheered. CuTtiss was fully five hundred
feet in the air, while Ely was about
hundred feet lower and he circled inside
ing high, made a great sweep just over
the western fence of the track.
In the backstretch they again changed
positions. and as they came around a sec
ond time ]. c Mars, with the Curtiss ma
chine used by Hamilton on his fight 10
Philadelphia, Joined the procession. When
they came around again J. A. D. Mac
Curdy, the Canadian pioneer in aviation,
went up in the little four-cyliuder 24-horse-
power machine made by Curtiss in the
early days Of the sport.
MacCurdy and Curtiss came down on the
fourth turn, but Mars kept going up and
UP. until he reached an altitude of fully q
thousand feet Then he came down with
q swoop and landed safely. Ely was not
satisfied yet, however, and he flew to the
southeast until almost out Of sight, then
circled around ana came down in front Of
the grandstand, after doing about ten miles
in his fight
None Of the scheduled events was run
off yesterday, but the day was devoted to
carrying passengers and making short
fights. i few minutes after the hour
scheduled for the opening of the meet,
Bud Mars rolled out his machine, and
his wife took seat the makeshift ar
rangemeat alongside of him. The wind
was blowing, but that did not deter the
hardy pair, and in a few seconds they
had gone up about fifty feet, and sailed
across three-quarters of the inner por-
ton of the field
Ely would not take his wife up, but
she was determined to go, and appealed TO
Mars who took her about the same dis
tance as he had taken his own wife. Both
women expressed themselves as delighted
at their experiences.
Are you going up" Mrs. Curtiss was
asked
My husband has not asked me to,
she replied with a smile Later she said
that she was trying to prevail on her hus-
band to quit the flying game after NO
venber The public want such sensa-
tional stunts that I do not care to have
my husband in the game" she said
After Ely and McCurdy had each taken
a fight across the field at a fair height,
and McCurdy had gone up IN the little
four-cylinder machine, and had circled The
field a couple of times, Mars began his
PROMISED stunt of carrying the represen-
tatives of various newspapers across the
field in the machine. All were willing TO
Undertake the fight, and the only dlHl-
Guilty was in accommodating them
The fights varied in height with the
Weight of the men carried. Curtiss, find
ing that Mars would not have time to
carry all applicants, took a hand and
sailed across the field with dozen of the
revspaper fraternity in turn. The sensa-
ton as experienced by the passengers
is that of running on an exceptionally
smooth running roller coaster. The crowds
In the grandstand are passed Ike so many
shadows, and the drop to earth comes
all too soon for the passenger to reahze
that he has been carried by a species OF
locomotion that was unknown two years
ago to more than chosen few.
The first notable fight Of the afternoon
mos b,y C.71rtiss who remained in the air
fully three minutes and circled in front of
the grandstand twice about two hundred
! feet in the air before coming down Later
! in the afternoon he remained up nve
| minutes and in the course of this flight
made his aeroplane spin around IN front of
the srandstand at a height of little less
! than a hundred feet after he had gone
through various dips Mars and Ely also
/ circied the field occasionally. and the
crowds cheered them vociferously.
It was announced that to-day Charles F.
willard. with the machine on which he has
/ carried three passengers. would be out and
doing As he has engine OF 70 horse
nower he can easily carry passengers.
| augustus Post with his new Curtiss BIZ
nIane will also be in the air to-day, and it
| I. axDected that six machines will be In
/ the air at once
Last night. just as il grew dark. Bud
| Mars made flight with Captain Harrison
! c Kerrick, of the United States coast
+;Ilery and to-day it is expected that
Major Sam Reber, the wireless expert OF
| the army will b. on the field to watch the
| experinents which will be conducted from
! a wireless apparatus on one of the ma
chimes TO a wireless instrument the
| erandstand. Sergeant Horton will lie in
| charge OF the wireless station and the
nerirnents will be conducted with view
| m determine the utility of the aeroplone as
| 4 messenger in time Of war.