The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-30
GLENN CURTISS MAKES WONDERFUL
FLIGHT FROM ALBANY TO NEW YORK
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ton of a partridge receded in the mind
and one saw that in tenuity of gossamer
surfaces and reedy anatomy this was a
locust springlng from the sands. De-
Lesseps must have had the same thought
in mind when he named the machine in
which he recently crossed the English
channel the "Scarabee" (beetle).
Special Train Left Behind
With the signal that Curtiss was off,
the special train, five cars and a locomo-
tive. cumbersome now by comparison,
gathered impetus and sought to follow,
but so swiftly had he flown that for 81
miles southwark the locomotive, though
running nearly mile to the minute re-
NAMED 81 laggard. At 1925, however, the
train came abreast of the aeroplane and
thence TO New York those on board kept
the aviator in sight But as he did not
reck with curves of track, reduced speed
through towns and switches, the man
above maintained a substantial lead.
Catskil was passed al tai with the
aer oplane 1000 feet above the Hudson. At
s:65 he was still flying high and going
well toward the west bank of the river.
The exhaust of his engine could be plain
ly heard by those below For six miles
1t drew attention to his coming and
cheers arose from shore and boat At
S:06, So minutes after the start he scared
past Rhine Cliff ferry 81 miles from AL
bany. Here there is turn in the river
and Curtiss turned again to the west,
passing overland to shorten his course.
Staatshurg marked the sixtieth mile
point, and he had covered this distance
In So minutes.
With Staatsburg behind. the giant
bridge spanning the river at Poughkeep-
sic doomed ahead The bridge itself is
2l2 feet high but Curtiss topped it by
800 feet Thence he turned westward and
with the precision of bird settled in the
field three miles south of Poughkeepsie
at S:25 He had flown "a miles from AL
bany in SO minutes.
Landing mt GIL Meadows
The landing place, known as the Gill
Meadows, had previously been selected,
but because of last weeks postpone
ments Curtiss was not expected this
morning, and there was no gasoline and
oil awaiting him. But fortunately two
automobile tourists happened by and
were eager to supply him with the
needed gasoline before he left Albany
Examination showed that three gal
Ions remained, enough to have carried
him to West Point. But Curtiss was
taking no chances and the timely ar
rival OIL tne aulOlsl WITH the supplies
saved the day.
Fire bells were run as the aviator
neared Poughkeepsie. but his progress
was so rapid that but few people had
a chance to reach point of vantage
On the Gill Meadows little group
sigh ted him coming in the distance and
sent up q cheer From above he saw
a black speck and was thus guided to
his landing place.
= f,,JI l..
struck a grassy knoll. trundling along
for 80 or 40 feet, then came to a stop.
The special train which brought his
wife had arrived and she climbed vail
antly over the hills from the railroad
track and hurried to her husbands side
She greeted him jubilantly. while the
crowd cheered again. With tanks re-
filled and every wire tested. Curtiss
took his seat for the final dash to New
York. The biplane returned along the
meadows for about 200 feet, tn en- shot
from the ground with nose pointed to-
ward the river. In moment more the
craft was again over the Hudson and
Curtiss turned his course south and
was soon lost to view.
Spends Hour at POughkeepsie
Exactly one hour had been consumed
at Poughkeepsie, for he arrived at S:2e
and departed at 9.26 on the dot He
passed the United States Military acad-
envy at West Point at 1902 Officers
and cadets alike looked upward and
sent a cheer after Curtiss, but there
was no salute of guns.
At Storm King the most sensat ional
incident of the trip occurred. He was
flying high at this point, q thousand
feet, he estimates, when a shifty wind
caused the machine to drop and tilt.
Never once losing control. however, he
continued southwark, passing in turn
Peekskill. Ossng, where Sing Sing pris-
on is situated, and Dobbs Ferry
Yonkers was reach ed at 1890 and he
was flying about level with the PAIL
sa des. 800 TO 400 feet up. Here Curtiss
got his first glimpse OF the Metropolitan
tower. 1t doomed far ahead like a giant
needle. and Curtiss knew he was near
ing the upper limits of New York CITY
Out of the haze that lay in the bend
of the river at Yonkers he shot into tn a
view of the thousands who We're await
ing his coming along the upper reaches
of Riverside drive. and on the roofs of
the big apartment houses on Washing
ton Heights. New YORK city.
A mere spec< at first the little aero
plane looked not unlike a gun f1oatIn q
with rigid wings on the breast Of n
gale. The motor was chugging stead
lily and sending the craft alcna toward
its goal at fifty mile hour gait
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