New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-07-11
CURT|SS BRAVES GALE
IN FLIGHT OVER SEA
Not to Disappoint Crowd Makes
Trip Against Advice of Aero
Club Officials.
TOO ROUGH FOR LIFEBOATS
Walker Brookins Describes Sen
sations and Tells Of His
Worlds Record
Ascension.
rRz telegram 70 The Tribune. l

Atlantic City. July 10.-Rather than
| disappoint the thousands of persons who
had gathered on the beaches TO see him in
the air, and despite the fact that wind
/ which was almost 2 gale was blowing
over the ocean, Glenn H Curtiss took a
f7ve-nlinute fly IN his aeroplane here late
| this afternoon. He took the trip against
| the advice Of the officials of the Aero
Club and went into the air knowing that
if through any r2ishap he should fall into
/ the water there was no protection for him,
as the roughness Of the sea had driven in
the stakeboats and made IT impossible
for the lifeboats to stay out
AL through the day a good breeze blew
from the ocean As the afternoon grew
older IT increased to half gale. Mr.. Cur
! tiss saw that each incoming train dis
charged crowds, who made at once for
| vantage points on the beaches. He waited
for some time, hoping that the wind would
die down. but it did not, and he finally de-
| cided to take a chance and satisfy the
spectators with a short flight He as
cended without much trouble and made
| several circuits over the water He an
| nounced that early tomorrow morning he
would try for the ffty-r1ile fight record
weather permitting.
Stakeboats Driven In.
stakeboats marking the ftty-n2ile course,
which had been naoored some distance from
shore, were forced to make for the shelter
| of the land, owing 10 the rough water 4
new course has been laid out along the
beach front and will be marked with flags
on the beach in Lower Chelsea. the south
ern end, and on a Boardwalk shop above
the ocean pier, the upper end Of the run
will he he
In addition 10 the ffty-n1iIe event to-
morrow. Brookins will try a spectacular
flight in a Wright biplane. He will prob
ably ride in the machine as 2 passenger,
while Frank Coffyn, pupil of the Wrights,
will drive 1t is planned to circle the city
in the plane.
Charles K Hamilton has made no an
nouncement here of any break with Glenn
CurLtss. Mr.. Curtiss said to-day that he
knew nothing of Hamilton plans. Ham
ilton said nothing TO me about this sever
ing OF connections" he said He came
here, / understand. TO try for the altitude
prize, but his engine refused TO work prop
erly. I offered him the use Of mine but
he refused Assto his future movements, !
am entirely ignorant
Hamilton's machine is still here on exhibit
ton. Nothing has been heard from him by
the officials OF the meet
Brookins Tells HOW 1t Feels.
Walter Brookins described to-day how it
feels TO be more than mile up IN the air
with no more substantial support than a
few sticks OF wood, twisted wires and a
few square feet Of rubberoid.
He was as happy as a schooIboy over the
feat he had performed the day before, when
he Sir7rlxr ara al olr 5e
ords in his Wright biplane- The strain of
the flight left 10 il effect on him, he said.
but he added that the feat was a hard,
gruelling grind on both mind and body
The first climb yesterday" said Brook
ms was Just to tune up and see that
everything about the machine was fit for
the work. I went Up about a thousand feet
first, and then came down to make a few
changes in the rigging When I went up
for the big trial could not at once estab-
lish my climbing angle because of the gusty
air current close to the earth. Down close
10 the earth. especially here where high
buildings and piers break up the normal
current, gusts would strike the aeroplane
from al directions, and had to go up
slowly and carefully until 7 was free from
these contrary currents.
When ross into the free upper air there
was twenty-rlile wind blowing The only
time I felt the rush Of the wind on the
climb was when I turned into the teeth of
the wind after going with the wind At
these turns I was going AT q siyty-r22ile-an-
hour speed, and this, combined with q
twenty-r1ile wind carried me at these turns
along at q rate of seventy-fve or eighty
miles an hour. II was then especially that
the sharp, cold air dug into my bones and
made my teeth rattle
Swept Toward the Sun.
After coming down first with the wind
was swept away over 10 the west, over
Chelsea and Eentnor and toward the sun
Il was then the real climb began
fitting the plane back 7 felt for the
climbing angle. or that angle which will
force the plane UP at maximum speed and
with the greatest efficiency The climbing
angle must be felt by instinct We have
tried to figure it out and 70 send the plane
up air forward to mathematical calcuIa-
tons, but best results are got simply by
feeling the right angle The knack cannot
be explained or taught. It is entirely UP to
the aviato~-
In travelling over the ocean the air was
distinctly cooler than over the land, and
if It had been total darkness I could have
told whether was over sea or land BY the
difference in the temperature When I
looked down from above the ocean I could
see nothing but a bucket of emptiness. g
blank OF mist beneath. There was not q
cloud in the sky, either, 10 point out my di-
rection TO me to sid me in esta blishing my
climbing angle
"As looked down on the land, however,
could distinguish objects fairly well.
The houses IN Atlantic City looked all
huddled together and the place was mass
Of red splotches, which was caused, no
doubt, by red brick buildings and red
roofs But I did not spend great deal
Of time looking at the scenery, for I had
the hardest kind OF work in running the
machine for the greatest climbing eff
cheney
Before went up 1 had determined that
would go 800 feet and then Quit It
was when 7 was up over the Eeinze pier
ard when my aneroia showed me that
had gone above the 900 mark that had
a bad scare I noticed that the engine
missed two explosions and, turning TO
look 81 my gasolene stick found that 7
had but little fuel left. I brought the
plane 70 2 horizontal position in order to
tell exactly how much gasolene was left,
and in doing SO I had TO descend some
hundred feet Then I started a race TO
get over the base lire so that my height
would he observed through the transits
and be offcisl
far below I turned cut TO sea and began TO