Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1911-06-29
ST, HENRY MADE
TWO AIR TRIPS
WITNESSED BY LARGE CROWD
FROM INSIDE AND OUT.
Flights Made Without Serious Acct
dent. Winds Strong and
Variable

Tuesday afternoon the much her
aided exhibition of aviation, was CIV
en- by Robert C. St. Henry in his
Curtis bi-plane flying machine. The
machine was taken to the jamestown
fair grounds from the railroad sta
ton, about o'clock p. m. and It was
after six o'clock before the final prep
arations for the fight were complet-
ed 1t takes over four hours to prop
erly put the machine into condition
for use, after being dismantled. Ev-
cry nut, every bolt, every wire guy
and every part of the machine is gone
over carefully and thoroughly, to see
that all is taut and in proper shape
for the safety of the aviator. Some
of the most distressing fatalities in
which aviators have lost their lives,
have been due to carelessness in
some slight particular. The machine
is propelled, as all know, by a COM
paratively small rudder, which acts
in the same capacity as a propeller
for a boat. This propeller revolves
when the engine is working, with
great rapidity and Tuesday the ma
chine was started near tree in the
rear of the machine. The wind from
the propeller made the limbs and
leaves of the tree bend and wave as
If in a hard storm.
St. Henry made two pretty flights
and the third flight was delayed, and
finally abandoned on account of a
broken wheel, due to the striking
of the ground when alighting from
the second fight. The ground was
uneven and the wheels struck some
old burrows which threw the ma
chine upwards and preventing its
lighting at the place intended and
carrying it further toward the south
| end of the grounds, being stopped
only with some difficulty before
| crashing into buildings beyond the
| race track. A new wheel was secur-
! ed and the aviator announced his in
tention to make third fight but as
the crowd was leaving the grounds
and the landing place itself was so
unfavorable, the managers decided to
omit the third flight.
The first flight consisted of sim
gle round, the machine rising grad
ually into the air about 800 feet, far
over the tops of the trees along the
James River. After going southwark
| towards the asylum bridge, the avia-
tor turned to the left and changed
! his course to the west, sailing over
the heads of many of the spectators,
who were getting free show without
contributing to the expenses of the oc-
casion outside the gates. When
little west of the fair grounds he a
gain changed his direction and came
! sailing down towards the grand stand
! alighting short distance east of the
grand stand, near the south track
! of the race course.
The second flight was made soon
after the landing of the first, and in
this fight he made two trips, about
in the same manner as the first flight.
The caller asked the spectators to
: give attention to the est. Henry dip"
a graceful lowering of the car and
rising again into the air. the car
came too near the ground and the
! uneven nature of the ground made
the striking of the front wheel an
unexpected part of the dip" which
spoiled the subsequent rise into the
air again and almost caused serious
accident to the machine, before 1t
could be stopped. :.
. The currents of air above the valley
were strong and variable, much more
so than the spectators would believe
! Judging from the location on the
ground. The broken contour of the
! James River Valley causes strong air
currents above the city and they are
more variable than on the level prai-
! rie. where the winds sweeps more
steadily in one direction or another.
The stir currents Of air above the
city Tuesday were plainly shown IN
!, ths action Of the machine in making
its turns to the west from the south,
, , and to the south from the west.
AS it was there were two very fine
exhibitions Of the flying machine,
showing the speed with which the car
!. is diven high in the air, and the COM
plete control Of the machine guiding