Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-10-30
Two Injured During Last Day
Of Big international
Meet
Brookins Engine Stopped
While he was Soaring
in Air
Bv Associated Press.

New York, Oct. 29.-Claude Ora
hame-White, flying for the Royal Aero
club of the United Kingdom, lifted
the Gordon-Bennett International
speed trophy from the custody of Am
erica today, in the fastest time ever
covered for the full distance, 62.14
His average speed was fraction bet
ter than 81 miles an hour.
The captain of the French team, Al
fred Leblanc, flying in a similar ma
chine, an 100 horsepower Bleriot
monoplane, was making each lap on
an average of 20 seconds faster than
Grahame-White, and would have won
the cup if he had not met with a dis
astrous accident in his last lap, when
he had the race seemingly we'll in
hand.
His first lap was new worlds
record in itself for five Kilometres
q min. 1853 sec.-but he subsequent
ly exceeded it with lap done in ~
min. 44.32 secs. Leblanc was run
ming with the wind under full power
at an estimated speed of 80 miles an
hour when the feed pipe from his
gasoline tank to his motor loosened
under the incessant jaring of TIE en-.
CINE and he suddenly found himself
with nothing but momentum to carry
him.
1t is popularity of racing aero
planes that they are trimmed down
SO fine that they cannot execute
proper volplane, or glide, If the en-
CINE shuts Off they must come to
the earth under power, and even then
they bump severely in landing. He
tried to lift his planes so that the
last few drops of gasoline might filter
down into the engine and lend him
strength to make landing. His
steerage way was gone, and when
puff of wind caught him he drifted
sideways, still driving at tremendous
speed, and crashed head foremost into
a telegraph pole. The pole was four
teen inches thick, but he broke it in
three pieces as if it had been tooth
pick. The chassis and steel shield
which encloses the motor were COM
pletely crumpled, but the solid steele
of the motor itself withstood the
shock. Had Leblanc hit the pole in
any other manner it is difficult to see
how he could possibly have escaped
death.
His accident was accepted on every
hand with the greatest regret. Ora
hame-White, the winner, admitted
that Leblanc would have won the race
and would have established worlds
record even better than his own ex-
cept for his mishap.
Hamilton will challenge for the cup
next year. Wright brothers will also
build new racer and go after it.
John B. Moissant will be third chal-
lenger.
You bet," he said, 'rm going after
it. If I don't bring it back, some 9th
er American WILL"
In addition to the Leblanc accident,
today was marred by serious mis-
hap to Walter Brookins Of the Wright
team, who had taken up the new
time. The machine was comparatively
untried and in previous flights Or
vile Wright always had guided it.
Experts had predicted that If the en-
CINE ever refused to explode the ma
chine could never glide safely to a
landing. but would fall, and that was
precisely what did happen.
Driven by the wind and his engine,
he came hurting through the air at
such tremendous speed that when he
touched the earth his front wheels
and forward frame collapsed under
him. The machine stuck it's nose into
the dirt, slowly reared it's tail up
ward and finally collapsed, top side
undermost, With a thud. Brookins
was thrown from his seat in the SOM
ersault and painfully but not seriously
injured.