Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1910-01-20
CURTISS OPENS
AVIATION MEET
knabenShue and BedChy in DlrIgibIeS
Make Successful Flights.
Paulhan, the Frenchman, Disregards
all Rules and Makes Three S2Ien-
did Flights in Bi-Plane-GraatA Avi-
atom Park at Los Angeles Scene
of Wild Enthusiasm.

Los Angeles, Jan. 11.-Making sud-
den and dramatic appearance while
10000 people we're watching the slow
fight of two dirigible balloons at Avia-
tion park yesterday afternoon, Louis
Paulhan, the noted French aviator,
threw the great throng into a frenzy
of enthusiasm and excitement by a
spectacular flight in Farman biplane.
Rising, now dipping, now veering and
turning with the grace of bird, then
suddenly dashing for the ground and
scattering a group of officials like a
hawk about to alight on a brood Of
chickens, Paulhan gave a remarkable
exhibition and was accorded tremen-
dous ovation.
Again and again the French aviator
thrilled the immense crowd with his
daring flights, giving little heed to the
rules and regulations Of the official
course, racing with a 1irigible, swoop-
ing down upon the grandstand ami
clearing it by but a few feet, until his
aeroplane seemed like thing of life.
This, the first day of the big avia-
tion meet, was given over to prelimi-
nary trial flights to give the aviators
chance to shake down their machines.
Curtiss had given an exhibition in a
new, untried machine, in which later
Clifford Harmon made some short
flights. Charles E. Willard, in the
Curtiss No. l, had made a flight and
several times Roy Knabenshue and Lin
coin Beachey had assembled in two
small dirigibles and maneuvered their
craft, but nothing to thrill the specta-
tors happened until Paulhan unexpect-
edly sailed into the game.
Beachey and Knabenshue were pilot
ing their dirigibles around the course
when the daring Frenchman appeared
suddenly out OF a gully hidden from
the view of the grandstand, circled the
course three times, shot out across the
country, came back over the grand
stand and alighted in the center Of the
field.
In two later flights he gave an ex-
hibition of remarkable control over his
machine, gracefully making sharp
turns, now dipping almost to the
ground to scatter in fight a group of
officials gathered in the field, again
skimming the grandstand only a few
feet above the heads Of the spectators,
ascending, descending, and finally ap-
preaching from the rear the tent that
housed his aeroplane, just before clear
ing the top he ahghted within 100 feet
of its entrance.
Promptly at l clock Glenn H. Cur
tlss was out upJn the starting stretch
to open the international meet with a
christening fight for new monoplane
that he had never before used. Leav-
ing the ground in front of the grand
stand, the air craft rose gracefully,
with a rise from the ground to the
west, made short flight up the course,
returned and alighted at the starting
point. The distance, estimated by the
judges at fve-eighths of a mile, was
covered in 2S.03 seconds. The great
est height reached was so feet. The
machine was under perfect control and
the great American aviator was ac-
corded thunder of cheers for his feat.
Next Charles F. Willard appeared
upon the course in his Curtiss aero
P4HAO 49, anu d1 JGI d SAUTk
mary flight, attempted to circle the
official course, which is a trife more
than mile and half in length. Ris-
ing to a height of 20 feet, he main
tanned this altitude until half the dis
tanee had been traversed, when his
motor gave out and the aeroplane de-
scended. He was in the air l minute
and % seconds, the longest flight ever
made by heavier-than-ai machine on
the Pacific coast up to that time. After
a readjustment of the motor, Willard
arose again and completed the course.
Curtiss, using the machine with
which he had made the previous flight,
then circled the field, an estimated dis
tance of one and one-eighth miles, in
1:51. His maximum altitude was 200
feet, the highest flight on this coast,