Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1910-09-07

WSlG SapoinSi. ~
x,..Eo sr .OM.y was crushed to
death beneath his
heavy motor in the fall. The French
have been the heaviest losers in
life of any Of the nations interest
ed In aeronautics. Half score of
daring and temperamental French.
men have paid with their lives the
penalty for venturing into the sky
spaces on frail machines of silk, alu-
minum and piano wire. The Germans
are the next heaviest losers in life
and property. The wrecking of the
numerous rigid and semi-rigid dirigibles
of the Zeppelin and Parseval types has
hit hard the hackers of the German
idea in aeronautics. The casualties
for the year 1909 were terminated by
the death of the Spanish aviator. Fer
nandez, at Nice, on December 6. He
was martyr to the idea of lightness
in aeroplane construction. His death
was undoubtedly caused by trying to
fly with motor that was entirely too
light for the strain it had to bear dur
ing his determined flights. While
sweeping in great circles over the
aviation grounds Of the French city
the tiny motor gave way with a split
ting crash. The watchers turned their
heads away while the swift fall lasted.
In spite Of the warning conveyed in
his death, many aviators even yet are
sacrificing safety for lightness in their
engines. Delagrange. who was killed
in the first week of January, 1910.
made the opposing mistake of having
an engine whose weight was too great
for his wing area. His planes were
not sufficiently large to bear up under
the weight Of his heavy motor. when
under the strain Of full flight. Della
grange was the first aviator to carry
a passenger with him in his aerial
trips. Mrs. Pettier, the first woman
passenger in the history of the aero
plane, made flight with bin in July.
1908.
After the death of Delagrange. the
| first few months of 1910 were devoid
of fatal accidents. Aviation meetings
/ were going on late In the winter in
| America, southern Europe and in
Egypt 1t was April in the present
year before LIE Blon was killed on the
Spanish seacoast at San Sebastian
LIE Blon was the idol of the more dar.
ing aviators. He had attracted inter
national attention by his remarkable
flights at Doncaster, England, late in
October Of the previous year. He had
dared the winds to do their worst in
| 15-mile flight on October 10. and on
the next day he made trip that all
aviators, even his nervous fellow.
countrymen. characterized Jas fool
hardy. A great gale blew DIP out OF
the Atlantic on the night Of October
IS. growing steadily worse through
the night of the nineteenth. 1t was
/ the sort that sweeps the tight little
island" every autumn, terrific blow
that comes roaring up the channe
from the Atlantic. sending fishermen
and channel shipping scurrying fol
shelter In some rock-bound harbor.
In the midst of this great gale the
Frenchman announced that he wa.
going to make a flight. In aeronau
tical records the flight that he made
that day is set down as being "a fool
hardy flight in a great gale"
The death roll has grown rapidly
in this, the summer of 1910. On Ma!
49, Michelin was carried by a stront
wind against derrick, and in the fal
that followed sustained injuries tina
caused his death. Eugene Spier wa
killed at San Francisco while prac
Using on a glider" NJ. Robi met hi
death in a meet at Stettin. Wachte
! was killed at Reims. Charles Stewar
Rolls, hero of England by reason o
his remarkable flight from Dover t
Calais and return. was killed at Bour
nemouth through rudder of his owl
invention failing to answer the lever
Kinet, Belgian, met his death durinl
a recent aviation exhibition in {
/ French town. Eugene Ely, while try
, ing for the third time to make con
, tinuous flight from Winnipeg to Port
age la Prairie, fell from height G
, several hundred feet and was killed
| The dirigibles have been the occs
SAou VI Aiuc VI tHo lWeHly-lnTe
} deaths of the last two years. O.
September rs. 1909, the French wa
balloon, the Republique. on its wa
, to Meudon from the field maneuver
/ at La Palisse, was destroyed, SUI
> possibly by propeller blade breakin
: of and ripping open the walls of tn
> craft. Four men were killed in tn
l fall of 400 feet, that followed the ute
3 collapse of the dirigible. In the d,
< struction of the Erbsloeh, at Leici
: lingen. Germany. few days ago, fiv
men, including the inventor. met thei