The Washington herald., 1910-05-30

! "It is much more dangerous flyin
! water. and ! should prefer to have
! Curtiss has done enough for a while
I fall. but Mr.. CurtiEs was free 10 attempt
the trip this spring, and he went 10
| Albany several days ago and waited for
an interval between freakish winds.
Weather sharps and veteran steamboat
men had told him that he might ne er
get a perfect day. for the Albany Valley
/ is a section of disturbing air currents.
| Day after day Curtiss was disappointed
Folks up around Albany almost got
peevish with him. They heard that he
would be ready TO fly and they would
! turn out Of bed and hustle for Van
! Rensselaers Island where the aviator kept
his machine, only 20 hear that the con-
ditions were unsatisfactory and that MI
Curtiss would not fly that day. Curtiss
almost began TO think he would never
get chance. On Saturday morning the
winds fooled him. and he was a pretty
mad man. All ready 10 cast off at 9
o'clock up jumped a family Of criss-cross
breezes which made 1t useless to try.
But this morning the weather was
about all that a flying man could de-
sire. Mr.. Curtiss was up and out tinker
/ Ing with his biplane and casting an eye
around the horizon. His friends waiting
with him on the little island Just below
Albany were jubilant. The day had
dawned with hardly breath OF air to
disturb even infant leaves Curtiss, who
had been TO bed at the Hotel Ten Evck.
left word TO be called AT 3:45 a. m. as
he wanted to take peek at the weather
and figure on the chances, anyway. He
| never believed that he would be sue
cessful on the first attempt. even if he
got away perfectly.
Takes Nothing for Granted.
When they reported on the telephone
to him that a starlit night was fading
into a still and sunny day. Curtiss was a
| little skeptical He had been tricled so
often by Hudson River weather that he
wasn't banking on anything. Before he
got into his clothes he sent a man 10
the roof Of the hotel TO test the wind
Back came the messenger with the news
X A.LI
was discouraged. and went back 10 he'd
But Jacob Ten Eyck called him again
and assured him that the prospects were
favorable. He asked Curtiss TO meet him
at the island at O'Clock. Vice President
Post, Of the Aero Club. Joined them in a
Few minutes The breeze had died away
into dead calm, but Curtiss was stiu
cautious. He 'phoned to Schenectady 10
hnd out If any air imps were heading
east, and Schenectady said she hadn't
detected enough wind to stir a feather.
while they were still debating. a little
WIND from the South arrived at the
island and gave them "A scare. but II
turned out that the breeze was a local
output and that along down the river
the air was behaving itself perfectly. At
a little before o'clock the biplane was
rolled out Of its house and given a final
tuning UP. over in the New York Cen
tral yards, directly opposite the island.
there was toot Of inquiry from the
special train that was waiting TO race
with the aeroplane on top Of the Stand
ard OIL building a nagman was wig
wagGing signals between the island and
the train. Curtiss seated himself in the
swing-back chair. a balancing trick that
he invented, took a grip on the wheel.
and nodded his head The signal man
swung his flag, and flying machine and
train III out for the South.
Begins Famous Flight.
II was exactly 7.02 a. m. when Crlrt,ss
took the air al Van Rensselaer, Island but
the island is outside the limits Of Albany
and he had to swing around in a curve
over the southeast corner OF the CITY so
as TO make a flying start from Albany
proper. AT 7:03 a. m. the machine made
its technical start Jacob Ten Evck
official timer for the Aero Club. called
the record.
The special train took up so much time
to get up speed that Curtiss was five
miles down the Hudson River and going
like a streak before il was well under
way The special had to do some tan
running to eaten up. and it was not un-
III II had covered twenty-one miles that
1t reached a point almost under the
aeroplane. There were minutes when the
train was ripping of good deal more
than sixty miles an hour but after II
once caught up il only had to Jog along
at fifty-fve-mile clip TO keep in seeing
distance
At the start Curtiss held over the east
ern shore, driving his machine about
1000 feet above the earth. lie was visible
to Albanians for about seven minutes.
and then a light bank of clouds dropped
in behind him and swallowed up the
flying speck. He was over Schodack.
thirteen miles from Albany, at 7:15. thir
teen miles in twelve minutes. rather bet
ter than sixty miles an hour. Cloud gazers
at the hamlet Of New Baltimore gaped
at him at 7.20
Welcome of River Craft.
New Baltimore IS nineteen miles from
the start. Still better than a sixy-mile
clip. He glanced down occasionally 10
see the welcome OF the Hudson River
boats. He couldn't hear the noise they
made The throbbing of the motor and
the whistiing Of the air as the great
wing of the biplane cut through it drown
ed all sounds below him. But steam was
shooting from the whistles of the big and
little boats. and he could make out the
hsures Of the passengers as they waved
hats and handkerehiefs at him.
Augustus II. Post timed him going over
Stockport. twenty-four miles south Of
Albany. and the watch showed that he
had flown the distance in % minutes. The
aeroplane was going steady as a clock. |