The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-06-19
THE START FROM PARIS.
Fifty AeropIanes Took Wing From the
Aviation Field.

EAtty ACEOlltdHe75 look wing 1EOlil AA16,
Aviation Field.
| Paris, June lefty aeroplanists
took wing early Sunday from the avi-
alton field at Vincennes on the first
stage of the European circuit race,
which calls for a flight to London and
return with stops at various places go
ing and returning.
Dawn at Nincennes saw a crowd es-
timated at from 100000 to 1000. 900
persons massed around the military
exercise field to witness the start. Six
thousand soldiers and 1000 police,
most of them mounted, were on hand
to keep the field clear.
A single gun fred at 5:45 o'clock
signalled the commencement of the
preIiminaries to the race. The Able
Larehough was just finishing the mass
at an improvised altar in one of the
aeTop!ane hangers for some of the avi-
ators who desired spiritual prepara-
ton for the perils of the day. M. lie
Martin, who, within the hour. was dy-
ing, was among those who knelt for
the blessing.
The second gun sounded at O'Clock
and Maurice Tabuteau, Pierre Vedrine
and M. Bathiat, who already We're in
position, whirled away within min
ute of each other, amid wild cheering
The aviators started from three par
allelograms from one to three minutes
apart. Last to leave was Emile Train,
whose machine recently killed Minister
of War Berteaux and wounded Pre-
mier Monis.
The wind was rising at the start
and LIE Martin. who was one of the
most experienced aviators in France,
rocked about a good deal as his ma
chine cleared the ground and swept
away. His aeroplane HAD reached the
woods quarter of a mile beyond the
barriers when it was observed to pitch
swiftly downward and into the trees.
The biplane was broken badly as it
fell at the foot of an oak tree. A
! corner of the motor struck LIE Martin s
mead, crushing his skull and his right
leg also was fractured in two places.
The aviator was barely alive when
he was taken away by Red Cross sur
geOns and expired a few minutes after
reaching the hospital.
Something was wrong with the steer
| ing gear of LIE Martins machine. II
had acted badly earlier in the morn
ing and Roland Garros, who helped adj
just it, advised LIE Martin not to go
I'D.
Disaster overlook Captain Princetau
almost at the start. He had scarcely
got well into the air when one of the
planes of his machine caught fire.
Pr1ncetau was seen struggling to undo
strap that bound him firmly in MS
seat so as to be free to jump as he
glided toward the earth Before he
could loosen the belt, however, the mo-
tor exploded and flaming benzine COW
cred him. He did not utter a cry, and
when the wreckage fell to the ground
the captain was dead. His body Yves
fearfully burned. Captain Princetau
probably had been asphyxiated by the
first burst Of the benzine flames He
was one of the most courageous and
capable aviators in the army.
Princetau had been a lieutenant since
1900, and was gazetted a captain in the
official gazette, for exceptional SER
vices rendered to military aviation
A tragic coincidence of Princetau s
death was that at the exact spot where
he fell. Laffort, the French aviator,
and Pola, a passenger, were killed last
December in the competition for the
Automobile clubs prize for a fight
from Paris to Brussels, and only a few
yards away the French minister of war
met death four weeks ago.
Ten of the competitors, Tetard,
Gaget, Duval, Contnet, Charlix, LIE
Bouret. Romance, Iandron and Eup-
ling. although they started officially,
never got beyond the limits of the
field. Either on account of the gusty
wind or because their machines de-
veloped eccentricities, they came down
and gave UP their chances for winning
the contest.
Sixteen styles of mOnoplanes and BIZ
DlaneS were used.