Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-15
BIG DlRIGlBLES
THRILL CROWD
AT DOMINIQUE
KNABENSHUE AND BEACHEY
IN SPIRITED CONTEST
SPECTATORS CHEER PAULHAN
AFTER SAN PEDRO FLIGHT
President Bishop of Aero Club of
America Passenger with
Paulhan In Dash
Around Field
,coptIpuea from Page one,

CContInued from PAGE onsI
1886 %. Willard is careful, because
he makes perfect starts and perfec
stops in all his flights. But after all
Paulhan is the idol of the crowd, fol
he does everything, even When ne
loses some speed prize, in such
spectacular manner that he brings th'
crowd to it's feet with trenzled cheerS
Two events of more than passlng
Importance occurred yesterday at Do
minguez field. One was the test MADE
by Lieut. Paul w. Beck of the regular
army while being carried as pas
senger in a Curtiss biplane and the
other was the dirigible race between
Knabenshue and Beachey. II was m mtne
first time a dirigible race over given
course had ever been held.
The tests of Lieut.. Beck were Oh
great Importance and would be OF Tar
greater value had the biplane re-
nained in the air little longer.
Beck sat beside Glenn Curtiss. In
the lieutenant's hands and by ms sue
were several small sacks OF sanu' ISp-
resenting explosive missiles. IL WAS
intended to drop the bags upon a given
spot while the biplane was soaring zoO
feet or more in the air. The test was
made at the suggestion of Capt. sam
uel Bottoms of the coast artillery.
Enuine Trouble Ends Tests
The idea was to learn If it would be
possible for an airship in time of war
to drop projectiles into the gun pits
of the coast, destroying the guns and
men there Engine trouble made II
necessary for the biplane to come TO
earth when half way around the course
so the trials were postponed. Otner
tests of various kinds will be made'1or
the United States army representatives
who have been sent here by the gov
ernment. The tests will go a long way
in forming the aeronautical program,
so to speak, of the government, and
will be almost invaluable from a
strategic standpoint.
For the first time since the Paulhan
party has been upon Dominguez held
a Bleriot monoplane, piloted by Paul
han himself, made a complete circuit
of the course. No attempt was made
for speed. 1t was a trial merely of the
machine Apparently the spectators
were highly pleased, for they cheered
wildly when Paulhan in his butterfly
like machine sped by the grandstand.
The course of Isl miles was covered
in 2:4S fiat.
BipIane ''joy-rides" are becoming the
vogue at Dominguez. Everybody wants
to take one, but there are only IA
vored few who get off the ground.
Cortland Field Bishop is one of tne
favored ones. He took his first ride
in a heavier-than-a machine yes
terday afternoon. When he got off the
big bird with much difficulty he said:
THE sensation is great. l would not
have missed it for all the money In
the world Since the first passenger
was carried in a biplane the aviators
have been besieged with requests. It
has been officially stated that in future
none but experienced aviators will be
carried into the air.
When MIR. Bishop and Paulhan came
to the ground they were given tre-
mendous ovation. Paulhan jumped out
of his seat with a light spring, but his
passenger had all sorts of difficulty in
getting out. He pushed forward, then
fell back into his seat Three or four
times he tried to get onto a firm foot
ing, finally having to be lifted bodily
to the ground.
Curtiss Demonstrates Skill
Curtiss demonstrates his ability to
go through the air little faster than
anybody else nearly every time he
leaves the ground. He primed up his
eight-cylinder racer yesterday after
noon and shot off into the air twice.
once he made the course in 2:20 80,
but this did not satisfy him the least
little bit, so he shot up twice more. His
last trial was his best, for he set the
new course mark at E;l2. Inc distance
is 1.61 miles.
Paulhan tried to lower Curtiss' rec
ord but failed ingloriously, his best
time being 2:21 10. There is a great
deal of keen rivalry between the max
ers of Curtiss and Farman biplanes.
Curtiss now holds the worlds speed
record and says he will keep it always.
Air travelling is not without its dan
gers, most of which come when starting
or stopping. 1t was in stopping yester-
dav that Paulhan broke one Of the air
lones of his Farman machine. The
damage was slight and was repaired on
the field. He continued his fight with
out further accident.
Probably the most exciting announce
ment of the day came when the spec
tators We're told Hamilton would try
for the altitude record set by Paulhan
wednesday at 4165 feet. The an
nouncement caused all eyes to be
turned toward the little Curtiss ma
chine as it described four huge circles,
each higher than the one before. On
the fifth circle Hamilton decided to
come to earth. He said later he had
not intended to make an actual test
order to try out his engine. He reached
a height of approximately 800 feet.
Dirigihles in Race
The first time in the history of avia.
ton two dirigibles raced around &
given course yesterday afternoon. Roy
Knabenshue and Lincoln Beachey were
the pilots of the lighter-than-air ma
chimes. Knabenshue won the event by
negotiating the distance of 1.61 miles il
629 2-5. Beacheys time was 1850
Later Knabsenshue made the same dis
tance in $40 2-5, setting the course
record.
Knabenshue's effort was one of th'
prettiest gifts of aerial navigation eve
seen. A brisk wind from the ives
made progress exceptionally difficult
but Roy was equal to every emergency
He tackled and countered just as though
he were sailing yacht. Never did h
leave the course, even when sailing
directly against the wind. While h
was in the air Paulhan was making
test flight with Ditmer Mason as a pas
senger in q Farman biplane. A rae
between the heavier-than-air machine
and the dirigible was impossible. AL
though Knabenshue attempted valiantl,
to keep up the pace, Paulhan passet
him easily and almost circled thu
course a second time before Knaben