Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1910-11-17
AVIATOR FLIES
FROM CRUISER
IsLY IN CURTISS BIPLANE DEM
ONSTRATES VALUE OF MA
CHINE IN WARFARE
Flight is Almost Five Miles and :
Accomplished in Five Minutes
Crosses Chesapeake Bay.-Hits
Water at the Start. 800

Fortress Monroe, Nov. 14.-Aer-
Ial navigation proved today that it.
is a factor which must be death with
in the naval tactics of the future if
the successful fight made by Ely.
in a Curtiss biplane from the deck
of the cruiser Birmingham can BE-
taken as a criterion.
From Hampton Roads, the scene
IS years ago of another epoch in the
history of naval warfare, when an
ironclad proved it's superiority over
the former type of fighting vessels,
the aviator today flew across the
lower end of Chesapeake bay, land
irg on the shore opposite this fort.
With a broken propeller and IN
weather conditions unfavorable for
flying the aviator shortly after 3
O'Clock this Afternoon glided from the
platform erected on the front of The
cruiser, swooped down, touched the
watea, then rose rapidly and was off
minutes later he was lost on the east
ern horizon and an instant later tho
machine struck the water after its
37-foot drop from the cruiser, split a
small pair of propeller blades, but
the speed of the aeroplane was not
Iessened and it darted away with ok
press train rapidity on it's fight.
Intermittent rain throughout the
day, several small hail showers and
a continuous fog, almost compelled
the aviator to postpone his attempt.
But he was determined to prove, as
hs said after the fight, that he could
accomplish more than had been eS-
pected.
Furthermore he did not wait fol-
the Bennington to get in motion,
which would have added to his mo-
mentum and thus have aided him,
but Selling an opportune moment
between showers, he was off before
those of the ship with him and on
the other vessels stationed nearly to
follow and assist him in case of need
were aware that he was ready.
Ely said today it would be an easy
matter for an aeroplane to alight on
a vessel either while the latter was
moving or standing still. Naval ex-
perts who witnessed the fight ex-
pressed their belief that the navies c:
the future must take the aeroplane
into consideration.
The machine in which he flew was
the one that Glen Curtiss used on HI
Albany to New York fight.
The distance which Ely flew today
was nearly five miles. 1t was $500
o'cslock when he took to the air and
five minutes later he was safe on
Virginia soil.
Mr.. Ely, after being brought back
on a launch and placed aboard the
torpedo boat destroyer, said he wa
not fond of the water, but he haC
overcome his fears long enough tt
accomplish his purpose.
When he struck the water on div
ing off the platform on the Birming
ham, salt water dashed into his face
and goggles and he could not see il
which direction he was going. HI
had planned to take different course
from that and land further to th'
north. The highest altitude he at
tanned was estimated at 500 feet.
his striking the water, he said at
terward, was due to a miscalculation
He had planned before he left the in
cline to drop near the water so a
20 carry him upward, but he owe
reached the mark.