The Parma herald. (Parma, Idaho) 1903-1917, 1910-01-13
.CURTISS OPENS
AVIATION MEET
knabeashue and Beachy In NrIeibles
Make Successful flights.
Psulhan, the Frenchmzn. Disregsrds
all Rules and Makes Three Spleen
did Flights in Bi-Plane-Graat Az
atom Park at Los Angeles Scene
of Wild Enthusiasm. sSal3

Los Angeles, Jan 11.--Making a sud
den and dramatic appearance while
10000 people were watching the slow
flight of two dirigible balloons at Avia-
ton park yesterday afternoon, Louis
Paulhan, the noted French aviator,
threw the great throng into frenzy
Of enthusiasm and excitement by a
spectacular fight in Farman biplans.
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 abont 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 dirigible, swoop-
ing down upon the grandstand and
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. !, had made a flight and
several times Roy Knabenshue and Lin
coin Beaehey had assembled in two
small dirigibles and Unanswered Their
craft, but nothing to thrill the specta
tors happened until Paulhan unexpeet
edly sailed into the game.
Beaehey and Knabenshue were pilot
ing their dirigibles around the course
when the daring Frenehman appeared
suddenly out Of a gully hidden from
the view of the grandstand, eircled 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 fights he gaze an ex
hibition of remarkable control over his
machine, gracefully making SHARP
turns, now dipping almost to ths
ground to scatter in fight a group Of
officials gathered in the field, agar
skimming the grandstand only few
feet above the heads of the spectators
ascending, descending, and finally ap
preaching from the rear the tent tina
housed his aeroplane, Just before clear
ing the Bop he alighted within 100 fee
of its entrance.
Promptly at / O'Clock Glenn II. Cur
tiss was out upon the starting stretel
! to open the international meet with
christening fight for a new monoplan
/ 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 tn
west, made a short flight up the course
returned and alighted at the startini
point. The distance, estimated by tn
judges at fve-eighths of a mile, Wa
covered in 2S-03 seconds. The great
est height reached was 80 feet Tn
machine was under perfect control an
the great American aviator was &C
corded a thunder of cheers for his feat
Next Charles F. Willard appeare
upon the course in his Curtiss aero
plane No. l, and after a short prelim
mary flight, attempted to circle tn
official course, which is a trifie NOR
than a mile and half in length Ris
ing to a height of 20 feet, he main
tanned this altitude until half the dis
lance had been traversed, when hi
motor gave cut and the aeroplane dc
seended. He was in the air l minut
and % seconds, the longest fight eve
made by a heavier-than-air machine o
the Pacific coast up to that time Afte
readjustment of the motor, Willar
arose again and completed the course
Curtiss, using the machine wit
which he had made the previous fiigh
then eireled the field, an estimated di.
lance of one and one-eighth miles. i
l1:51. His maximum altitude was 20
feet, the highest flight on this coas
up to that time.