Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-11
BY SHIRLEY A. OLYMPUS

4 OUIS PAULHAN, master aviator.
IL proved his claim to the title OF
- man-bird yesterday afternoon
when he scared as gracefully as bird
over the heads of 10000 spectators
gathered about Dominguez aviation
field. Men and women shuddered first
as they saw Paulhan rise gracefully
higher and higher, turn suddenly and
skim through the air almost as fast
as the eye could follow. He was di-
rectly above them and they feared an
accident. Then, when he had passed
on, the great audience roared out q
mighty shout of approval for the scien-
titic and skillful accomplishments or
the man.
A graceful wave of the hand as he
sped through the air at a mile-a-
minute clip was the acknowledgment
given by the dauntless French aero
naut, He could not understand the
words of approval shouted to him, for
he speaks no English, but by the uni.
versal language of the huzzah he was
notified that his efforts had met with
the approval of those below.
Sensational is the best adjective to
describe the fights of Paulhan. They
were that and a great deal more. They
made strong men culver with excite
ment and caused expressions of blank
amazement to creep over the faces Of
the thousands OIL spectators
Others Given Applause
But Paulhan was not the only one
to be applauded and not the only one
to make successful flights. Glenn Cur
tiss, c. H. Hamilton, considered the
most daring aviator in the world,
Charles F. Willard, Roy Knabenshue
and Lincoln Beachy were given their
need of praise and applause for their
feats in the air.
II was like watching birds to see the
aviators run along the ground and then
suddenly shoot up into the air. Not a
man or woman in all that gathering
was disappointed with what was seen.
In fact the expressions of approval
were so numerous and genuine that
there seems to be ground for the belief
that the crowd today will reach twice
the number of yesterday.
At the Huntington park balloon field
in the morning Clifford B. Harmon and
Frank j. Kanne, owners of the New
York and Peoria balloons respectively,
made the first flights of the meeting.
They went up at 11:35 o'clock and
reached the earth about 1880 o'clock in
the afternoon, covering twelve miles or
more in their flight which took them
over the University district and out to-
ward ColegroVe.
Today Paulhan will attempt to break
the record for height now held by HUI
bert Latham, who recently went up
into the air nearly $500 feet. If Paul
han succeeds in his determination-and
all who saw him yesterday believe he
will succeed-today's program will be
one of the greatest spectacles ever seen
in the history of aviation.
Two Slight Accidents
Two accidents interfered slightly with
the program as outlined. The engine
of the Gill Dosh biplane which will be
piloted by Hillery Beachy exploded
while it was being tested. Repairs to
the engine will keep the machine out
of the contests for three days. Nobody
was injured in the explosion.
Glenn Curtiss in attempting to make
a quick start from an uneven part OF
the field, broke the propeller blade OF
his new machine. The blade is the one
used at Rheims and was considered by
him the best blade he ever made.
AS interesting, though not as novel
the aeroplane flights, were the as
cents' made by Roy Knabenshue and
Lincoln Beachy in their two dirigible
balloons. The control overe there ma
chimes was perfect and called forth
vocilferous eXclamations or approval
from the thousands below
In all there were seventeen flights.
Eleven flights were made in biplanes,
four in dirigibles and two in balloons.
The longest flight was made by Paul
han, who covered ten and three-quarter
Giles in Is minutes and seconds. He
could have remained in the air much
longer he said but he was tagged down
by his manager, Edward Cleary.
Dominguez field, famous in the early
history If California as the place
where bloody battles were fought. will
be ever famous in the history of the
world as the place where man con-
ouered nature by flying with machines
heavier than the air. Don Juan Jose
Dominguez was granted all the land
around which he could ride on horse
hack from sunrise to sunset for his
nrowess as a warrior and his patriot
ism as a citizen. His grant was $4,000
acres. The conquerors of the air could
make the circuit of the rancho in
twenl. minutes today.
Three generations of the Dominguez
family sat in the grandstand yesterday
and watched the flights of the modern
Continued on Page Two.