Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1910-09-15


wing riders" The blue vault of
heaven is fretted by thousands of
roaring propellers and shifting planes.
THE bird men" are dreaming dreams
of cross-continent flights. The more
imaginative of them catch glimpses OF
visions Of transatlantic trips, faster
than the fight of the frigate bird.
1t may happen the hour of trial
comes in the very midst of an appar-
ent success. Engines may be working
perfectly and with even beat. The
roar of the spinning propellers may
be droning a song of coincidence and
security. Then something snaps;
guy wire parts like a stretched fiddle
string, the roar of the engine breaks
and sputters, or the big planes
crumple because of some unguessed
weakness. Then comes that terrible
rush of air as the machine, engine,
rent planes and tangle of bent and
broken framework bears the aviator
to terrible death.
When wireless telegraphy was in
vented it was but year or so until
the country was filled with amateurs,
all busily working on new theories of
transferring messages. AS soon as
the Wrights, Farman, Bleriot, Paulhan
and Curtiss and others had demon
strated that a heavier -than-air ma.
chine could actually remain in the air,
in thousand barns, warehouses and
backyard woodsheds all over the civ
iliZed world men and boys began to
try to build for themselves machines
in which to spurn the solid earth.
Hygterically, the science of aviation
has been taken up, and with a few
more improvements the death roll will
grow to even greater proportions. So
far most of the men who have met
death have been veteran aviators.
Delagrange, lie Blon, Ferber, Lefebvre
and Rolls were all wellknown and in
ternationally famous in the air fields.
But the moment came that found them
helpless despite their skill
With the multiplying of factories
where the cheap fliers can be con-
structed will come a rush of amateurs
into the ranks of the aviators. More
deaths are bound to follow when these
would-be man birds have bought for
themselves machines and start In to
perfect themselves In the art of flight.
The list of deaths Is bound to grow
as soon as the means OF flight is
brought within reach of the average
purse. A shower of would-be aviators
from the clouds to the too solid
earth" will further demonstrate that
the mastery OF the air must be bought
with human life.
An analysis OF the accidents OF the
past two years shows that death
comes In dozen shapes to the daring
aviator. The aeroplane is a pitifully
new thing. and even the veterans of
the air are not always able 10 detect
In their machines the lurking weak
nesses. The first OF the aeroplane ac-
cidents that resulted fatally was
caused by the guy wire OF one Of the
planes being placed too near the pro-
peller blades. Selfridge died In this
accident and Oryille Wright was ter
/ ribly injured. II was months before
he again took up the problem OF aerial
I flights.
lt was a year later before death
l took his toll again from the ranks OF
| the air workers. On the seventh of
| September. 1903. two men. the fore
I most aylators in their respective eoun-
I tries. mot their deaths. Rossl was en-.
I gagged tn testing machine OF his own
Invention near Rome. aud after a few
7 short aud successful flights at low
altitude he Tilted hts planes upward
AZ a considerable angle aud shot into
The air Tor an ambitious trial tie had
barely reached height Of co feet tlil
some 0f the intricate machinery gave
way nnd be waa dashed ~ death M.
I LofehYfe, a golikuoWu aeroaaut of
France. vas killed un the same 'day
while soaring above Juyiasy Ia a
Wright biplaae. Tao weeks later the
pride Of che frsncbmen ia aeranau-
tca. Capt Louis Ferdinand Ferher. a
H'UHrer u ihe aFf of nFlnE. was KILLED
in peculiar accident eue 81 thH
many unekpIalnahle uHsa fhat mari
tHr chronology 0f fisht iis aas soar
eng 1teF he'd neaf buuIosus. btsH
hs msll.aU lufHri tufiIu iH ths az