Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-11
NAN-BlRDS READY TO Fly
Skilled Aviators at Los Angeles with
Their Air Craft.
oURT1ss AFTER SPEED RECORD
Has Perfected EiRht-Cyl-
Under strengthened Machine
PauIhan Brings Four Aero
planes with Him.

Los ANGELES, Jan. 10.-Louis Paulhan,
the French aviator and the holder OF the
aerial speed record for one mile. and two
members OF his syndicate, Mlscarol and
Maisson, arrived here ready to enter
tomorrow the first aeroplane contest Of
the international meet. They brought with
them two Bleriot aeroplanes, and two
Farman blplanes. in which, tomorrow Mails
son and Miscarol will soar in competition
with Willard, Hamilton and Curtiss In the
speed and height tests.
There are now nine heavier-than-air craft
here ready to compete. The five mechani-
clans brought by Paulhan will work
throughout tonight and the Bleriot and
Farman machines viii be ready for the
flights tomorrow. They were set up and
ready for installing the engines before
dark. Standing beside the five Curtiss ma
chimes in the great shelter tent, they looked
gigantic.
The Curtiss machines are the smallest
successful aeroplanes yet developed, but
the inventor declared today that he fully
expected to see the speed records lowered,
while he, himself, hoped to surpass the
high flights of his chief French competitor
during the next ten days.
Hamilton for speed.
80 - " nv 10 z AAS1Ai
from his recent flights near Kansas City,
Mo, is being groomed by Curtiss to best
Paulhan's official speed record of a mile
in two minutes and one-fifth second. He
will also go after the record established
by the luckless De La Grange, who flew
a mile and $50 yards in one minute and
forty-seven seconds.
Curtiss was in working clothes when the
Frenchman appeared in the shelter tent.
Curtiss speaks no French and Paulhan no
English, so they shook hands In solemn
silence.
Clifford Harmon, the New York aviator,
who is more than six feet tall was stand
ing next and noting the size of the two
aviators, he shook his head and remarked:
This is the first time l ever wanted to
be small"
Like Curtiss, Paulhan found the course
not quite to his liking. because the a~viators
must either breast an incline or go down
it in starting, He voted for a hexagonal
course. At once a score of ro~admaking ma
chimes and scrapers were set at work
smoothing out a getaway, which will per-
NIT starts level with a prairie-like plateau
that continues almost up to the base Of the
mountains TO the east.
Spectators by ThOusnndS.
Nho 4 bllld MeIt soon SUR
rounded by a crowd of thousands of per
sons, who had gone to the camp to see the
grooming of the aerial racers. With Ed
mlnd Cleary, his manager, acting as IN
terpreter, the reporters catechized Paul
han as to his plans and prospects of beat
Ing the new records made abroad.
Can you do better than Latham?" he
was asked.
"Oh, yes! That was why 1 came"
did you know that he flew higher than
5000 feet the other day? Can you beat
that?'
YES Paulhan answered. Then point
ing toward the snowclad Sierra Madres,
cleaning in the sun above a curtain of
clouds, -he asked: go"
How high is that?'
More than 1000 feet" he was told.
We'll, If you don't mind, Pll fly oyer
that 'i'O 80
Curtiss had the Harmon biplane1 all
groomed and ready today. 1t had never
been put together before and shone with
varnish and bright metal fittings. Harmon
was announced to make his trial flight to
day, but a strong wind that was sweeping
in from the sea caused a halt in the plans
Three Flights by Curtiss.
Later Curtiss made three short flights IN
the Harmon biplane. The first time he re-
manned up half a minute, the second time
forty seconds and the third one minute and
ten seconds. On the third flight he trav-
eled three-quarters Of a mile.
All the American biplanes, including one
built by Captain Mueller, the balloonist,
have four-cylinder motors, except that in
which Curtiss hopes to make records and
take a large portion of the prize money.
This is the eight-cylinder biplane in which
he made the remarkable flights at Rheims.
AT that meeting he said he could not use
the full power Of the motor for fear of
wrecking the machine and killing himself.
But he has made some notifications, which
will enable him to use the full power.
The weather forecaster predicts clear,
cooler weather fol tomorrow, with little or
no wind.