The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-10-29
BELMONT AVIATION FIELD. L

L.. Oct. e0.-America's hope OF re-
tanning the Gordon Bennett trophy In
the coupe intcrnatfonalc d'aytation
was dimIned tO-day wnen Saitcr
Brooktns, In q Wright flyer, came n
cropper. The wonderful little racer
with which the Dayton brothers ex-
pectxi 70 retain the worlds air trophy
fell directly In front Of the grand
stand and WAS smashed to q crum-
pIed mass Of steel; canvas and wood.
Young BrOokins. badly hurt. Is being
cared for In the Emergency Hospital
by Miss Katherine Wright, sister OF
the Dayton aviatOrs.
Half an hour earlier, while making
his last lap La the Gordon Bennett
race. Alfred LIE Blanc. master flyer
Of the French team. came to grief
against a telephone pole just outside
Of tho aviation ftcid. Up to the time
Of his acCislcut LIZ Hlanc was cstab-
linlaing tho worlds record for long dis
tancs. speed flying. having made fifty-
nine mules mt the rate Of 60 LIZ miles
nm hour.
Tn 10 noon the fastest time In the
race had ly<csl nlntle by Claude 6rM-
lsame- White In his l0O-horss'potscr
Btcrtot. He completed the 100 kiio-
meter course (82.i4 nliiesl in one
hour one minute and four seconds and
sixty nc-hundredths, at the rate of
G0.u6 miles an hour.
T1se accident to Brookins WAS thrill
lnx. The Dayton youth. In his .bahy
grand" Wright racer, was out for a
frfaI spin. Directly In front OF the
xrandstand his machine plunged sud-
denly To essrtil and lay a pile OF de-
hris until the stoital Wilbur Wright
had II loaded ON dray and carte<i
away
Thrilling Nishap.
lie Bianc's accident, though wit
messed by few orlc, VIA equally
thrilling. Hurting through the air AT
the rate OF seventy miles an hour,
the French spsrsi fiend discovered that
his mechanics had not obeyeh his orr
eters and that he had an insufficient
amount Of gasoline to complete the
race. With u courage that might
have won medals ON fields Of battle,
Ixs blanc continued, hoping against
hope that nc might have enough OF
the precious fluid 20 finish. just out
aide the aviation field his gasoline
gave completely out. His aerOflane
crashed with terrible force into tele-
phone pole, smashing II asundcr. La
Blanc, with h - than half . lap to
go, had host the trophy no was 80
sosafidcnt OF winning.
During the forenoon only one other
racer had completed the Gordon Rem
In a Wright racer, his elapsed time
bcing two hours six minutes, $500.
He WAS compelled 10 aIight for an
hour because OF defective Ignition.
Hut for the hour he was on the
ground. Ogilvie's time would have al
n,set cqnallcd that Of Grahamc- White.
shortly after the accident 10 Brook
ms. the Wright announced that they
would mako mo- effort In the Gordon
Bennett race. 1t was probable that
John b. MOisant, tho crOes-channcl
as the third member OF tho American
team.
Wcatllee Perfect.
With the coupe internationale davi-
alton to be contested for by the fast
est aeroplanes In the world. the eighth
day OF the second International avia-
t1on tournament opened with practi-
cally perfect weather conditions. The
prize was the Gordon Bennett trophy
for speed. The terms called for a
start any time after $40 this morn
ing, the race to be completed by $40
In the afternoon. The winning avia-
tor viii receive $4,000 In cash. while
the Gordon Bennett International avi-
anon trophy Will Dc nelu IOF one Dy
the recognized club Of the country,
which the winner represents. The
trophy was first won by Glenn III.
curttss, OF Hammondsport. N. r., who
lifted the cup in the first contest
held under the auspices of the Aero
Club Of France ON august IS, 1893.
near Rheims.
by winning last years race the Aero
Club OF America secured the right to
hold this years international tourna-
ment In this country.
waiter Brookins. In the famous lite
tie pocket edition OF the Wright ma
chine. was keen favorite for to-day's
race. Leblanc. Latham. Radlcy and
Hamilton were regarded ~ strong con-
tenders, especially tho two daring
v5enchmsn and their fast monO-
Daanes.
1Asrs were many early morning
workouts for the big race. and the rail-
1erda were kept busy plugging for tho
ope1ders Leblanc. Radley. 0rahame-
White, Hamilton and Drexel all did
nile-a-minute workouts before sum
H.. They took no chances Of injuS-
scoa.lassa o s.eend R.s.l
4 n m N -, IL -. II