The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-05-25
CURT|ss PREPARES
FOR LONG F[|GR
Daring Aviator Will Attempt To
fly from Albany to New
York.
DISTANCE lab MILES
Special Trains Will Follow Flight
Down the Hudson to See M

NEW YORK, May 25.-Glenn III.
( Curtiss, of Hammondsport, N. Y-s
holder of the worlds championship
speed records on an aeropiane, won
at the Rheims (France) meeting last
Year, left to-day for Poughkeepsie. to
find safe landing spot to be used to-.
morrow when he attempt to Thy from
Albany to New York for the prize OF
$4,000 offered by the New York
World. Curtiss win be allowed two
stops enroute, but expects to make
only one.
The distance from Albany to New
York Is 143 miles by rail and about
$50 by river.
Curtiss expects to leave Albany
about o'clock in the morning. stop
/ at Poughkeepsie TO repIenish petrol,
and then continue. He will land either
/ at the battery in New York or on
| the sand dunes at Governors Island
] IL he is successful.
/ An effort Is being made to-day to
! nave special train run by the New
! York Central down the Hudson while
| Curtiss is making the fight
In the event Cur1iss is held back
by the weather Tomorrow morntng
! he viii make the attempt late in the
afternoon, reaching Poughkeepsfe on
his first stop. remaining there all night
and continuing Friday morning.
/ Curtiss has built an aeroplane cs-
| pecially for the feat, fitting 1t with
pontoons to buoy him up in case he
falls into the river. He has madd
several experiments with this aero
plane, landing each time on the water,
/ and has demonstrated that the ma
| chine will not be damaged by falling
| into the river.
| Yesterday Curtiss travelled from
Albany to New York on the bridge or
an Albany day boat. studying the
country an the varying air currents
| The start viii be made from q spot
on Rensselaer, Island, in the Hud-
| son. inside the city of Albany. Cur
| tiss expects to maintain an average
speed of as miles an hour during the
trip, reaching New York between ,
and 3 o'clock.
| Curtiss' now machine Is the smallest
that has ever flown. according to his
manager. Its extreme length La so
feet. The machine in which PA.s.aan
| flew from London to Manchester had
| a supporting surface three times a.
large Cartiss VIII use q 60 horse
power, eight cylinder motor, one Of
| the lightest ever constructed.
! Although the distance between Al
bany and New York Is not as lonn
as that covered by Paulhan In his
| London to Manchester fight, the
mountainous country makes flying
more hazardous, because Of the cross
currents of air and the draught be-
I tween the mountains caused by the
river.
In his London Manchester fight.
! Paulhan flew 1876 miles. with one stop.
! His longest sustained fight was lit
miles, made in two hours and nifty
minutes,
The longest sustained flight on
record was made by Henri Farman
on November 3. 1903. The ofiictal
| time was 4 hours minutes and IS
seconds and the distance recorded was
1871 la miles. The unofficial distances
was 144 miles. the last seven miles
being made after darkness and there
/ fore disaliowed in the official record
On April IS. Paulhan few from
Chevilly, France. to Arcis-Sur-Aube.
1870 miles across country. On the fol-
lowing day he continued his flight to
Gt7ntors-Sur= Murine, tt nttes further.
a total distance OF ITO miles. in about
| 4 hours flying time.