El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-02-24
HAMILTON MAKES FIRST INTERIM
TIONAL FLIGHT IN AEROPL LANE
Continued from Page One.)


he made his initial appearance Tues
day. walked across the track the crowd
recognized him and cheered him for his
gameness and his evident intention Of
making good.
Ike First Flight.
At o'clock the big yellow car was
wheeled across the field TO the point
where It had started for its first sue
cessful flight Wednesday morning, and
its failures on Tuesday. Hamilton
tinkered with the steering gear for
minute, the engine was started on its
monotonous chug-chug, the carburetor
was tested by the aviator and the en-
CINE first slowed down and then start
ed UP to give Il a final test Then,
pulling his cap down close on his head,
the flying man seated himself, gave the
word and was away for a flight TO the
mountains and Mexico. The first flight
was q combination Of a flattened circle
and an elongated elipse- The first flight
around the park was smaller in cir
conference and the second was farther
TO the north and south. Leaving the
ground at exactly SOL p. m, Hamilton
circled twice around the park and re-
turned to earth with a short but thrill
ing glide at sos, having been complete
Iy off the ground full seveE1 minutes
Cheer; Ring In the Air.
The cheering was spontaneous when
the slender young man went off to-
wards the Franklins in his frail craft
in the upper air. He was cheered
repeatedly; the crowd was as eager for
his temperance as if they did not be-
Iieve their eyes and wanted a verified
ton in fact The few spectators who
were permitted inside the field were
even more enthused over the wOnderful
sight. They cheered the man bird dur
ing the entire time he was in the air
and when he slipped back to earth he
was surrounded by a small crowd who
shook hands with him and congratu-
lated him on his splendid flight. When
Ia appeared before the grandstand and
modestly raised his weather beaten
old cap. the applause was deafening.
Hamilton had made good and the
crowd was acknowledging his achieve
ment in an enthusiastic ovation
The Second Flight Greatest.
Thrilling as the first flight was, it
was the second one which proved the
sensation of the day. A few minor re-
pairs were made to the machine, more
gasoline poured into the torpedo shaped
tank over the engine and every part
gone over carefully to see that nothing
was out of harmony A new bamboo
rod was substituted for a split one
which served as a brace for the front
control, q new tire replaced the old
one on the front wheel and again the
daring man with the auburn hair was
ready to fly.
AS his strange craft went Dumping
and rocking along .awkwardly out Of its
element on the ground, the crowd again
cheered and as 1T left the ground for
the second time and a flock Of birds
in the lower part of the field went
scurrying away from the treetops below
him, the excited crowd laughed at their
terror as they flew in all directions to
escape this invader of the atmosphere.
Around Mountains; Over City.
Straight away toward the lowest 1
peak of Mount Franklin he flew, the
engine hammering away with a !
@z-z-z-z'' that told the story of perfect I
harmony TO the trained mechanical ear. |
Rising so gradually that 1t could not /
be noticed at first, the air cruiser went /
aloft until the blue sky showed between !,
the lower plane and the cap of the |
highest mountain peak. Swinging |
around in a sharp circle close 70 the |
nose of old Mt Franklin, Hamilton /
brought his machine back across the |
baseball field like a cross country run /
uer It's shadow cut perfectly |
straight line across the field and it /
continued its flight toward Mexico, the |
people in the grand stand cheering
wildly.
Up-up-up glded the machine as if
riding a cloud Across the river It flew,
only the dark, s1eleton-lke outline OF
the framework showing against the
sky and a dark Dlctch where the air
pilot sat bumped over his steering gear
Tipping. rolling and dipping, the airship
followed the course of the old north
river on the south, over the Mexican
border, until il reached the point where
traffic crosses the stream going to Mex
leo. Here Hamilton made a wide circle
over Fl Paso, returned 10 the river
course and followed it down stream
until almost opposite the grand stand,
then across TO the starting point While
high in the air and far south Of Ethe
ball park, the daring aviator shuf off
his engine and started the sensational
feature Of a sensational flight.
The Triumphant Return.
Here he comes" the crowd shouted
as the biplane appeared from behind
the trees.
His engine. Look at the propell-
ers,' the same crowd shouted an in
slant later.
The oar like blades of the pro-
peller had stopped dead still and the
aviator and his craft, half man ana
half bird, lowered over the river sec
ond. then shot downward like an eagle
dropping upon its prey 1t was the
famous Hamilton glide that the crowd
was Witnessing Down came the ma
chine, the occupant tilted far forward
by the incline Of the planes.
JUST as the wheels were about to
touch the ground the front control
moved a fraction of an inch, the ma
chine SKINNED the ground, then set
tied down and ran along like a fright !
ened colt in a train invaded field. His
great flight OF the day was over ana
the crowd was then permitted to see