The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-07-10
GIANT GAS BAGS.
Seven Big Balloons Are Ready
for the Start
In the Elimination Race at Kan
sas City, Mo.
ARE EVENLY MATCHED
Each Is of About $4,000 Cubic
Feet Capacity.
Silver Cups Will Be Awarded
the Two Leaders.
ARE EVENLY MATCHED

Kansas City, Mo, July 1O.-SeVen q
ant balloons, piloted by widely known
American aeronauts, today tug at t'ie'-
rnoorings in the aviation heid alon7
the Missouri river here and await 'i.e
starting signal in the National palio'n
rare. At O'Clock this afternoon oi
as soon thereafter as atmospheric cor
ditions will permit, the starter A. D.
Lambert, president of the St LOUIS
Aero club. will officially release tee
first struggling air craft At Intervals
Of five minutes thereafter, until the laSl
balloon shall have cleared the grounu'
a contestant viii be set free-
This is an elimination contest FOR the
purpose Of selecting two pilots 10 rep
resent the United States in the James
Gordon Bennett cup race. which starts
from Kansas City next Octoper o. -
thar race, which is an international
event three pilots, the two leaueIS III
fbe National meet and Alan h f1dW-
1e,T viii sail under the stars and stripes
It was Hawley who piloted the AlherleI
II TO victory in the Bennett cup rage
last wear by making a spectacular nl9hl
Of III 1900 miles into the Canadian
,,-i15e on account of this performance
he is eligible to fly in the international
contest this year without making d
preliminary trip.
The Entries
The entries in the National race 1ol-
low: ,z c.i+,.
Kansas City Aero club-kansas CITY
H E. Honeywell, pilot
ST Louis Aero club-St. Louis ~
Lieut.. Frank P Lahm, pllot; MISS MISS
Sofia William F. Assman, pllou' dHu L
The Million Population CLUB John w.
Aero club of New York-New York,
Clifford E. Harmon, pilot.
Cleveland Aero ciub-Buckeye, ). N.
Wade, Jr., pilot
Topeka II Frank NJ. Jacobs, pllot-
The balloons are regarded as evenly
matched. each being of $4,000 feet ca
distance Travelled alone will be con
sidered in determining the leaders N
the contest Kansas city, on dccoune
Of it's inland location, is believed 10 ne
an ideal starting point for race w
der such conditions. With goou iloltn .
or mort beast wind, followers OF aerOn
antics believe several long Hlgnts %"iI %
he made. In the past many DaIlooIllsts
ea,liry from cities nearer bodies OF Wa
fer have been forced to ahght long
before their gas supplies were exnaust-
ed because they feared they might pc
carried out into a lake or an ocean;
Alighting in water in TINS race VIII
disdualify the contestant.
Prizes to Be Gained.
The honor of competing in the Ben
,att cun race is, of course, the DIS
MUM for which the pilots in the contest
today are striving, but there are oInT'
Drizes to be gain. Each pllot, regaru-
less of his showing in toe meet, VIII pc
given 500. silver cups VIII Ne d"eiU a
ed the two leaders.
one of the entrants. Lieut.. Frank
p Lahm. won the Bennett cup the
first time 1t was ever raced for. That
race started from Paris on September
40 1906. He flew to Whitby, Eng
land. a distance of AIS miles. Last
year he again was an entrant IN the
race. That time he sailed the balloon
he is plotting today. the St. Louis N,
$50 miles. Lieut. Lahm has been
long connected with the army.
At present his duty is that of instruc-
for I'm aeronautics at F't Riley. KAN
Truly Clifford B. Harmon, who has
entered the New York, loves to fly
His father-in-law. Commodore e. c.
BENEDICT, is said to have offered him
100000 to quit flying, but Harmon
never seriously considered taxing the
bait. Harmon is wealthy in his own
right. He is both a balloonist and an
aviator
Capt H. E. Honeywell has made
165 balloon trips, more than any 9TH
er entrant. His most noted flight
was from Chicago on July &. 1908,
when he crossed Lake Michigan, Lake
Huron. Lake Ontario and Lake
Champlain before alighting- In an
attempt to win the Lahm cup on
Nav 10 1910. Captain Honeywell be-
came becalmed while lowering over
Lake Michigan. After several hours
his craft was finally carried up and
across to the Michigan side. where he
made a safe landing He manufac-
tured the balloon Kansas City, which
he is sailing in this race.
Assman's PeriIOus Flight.
One of the most perilous balloon
flights ever made in this country was
that of William T. Assman from San
Cover a st
February "a. in an attempt to win
the Lahm cup. A few hours after
he ascended his balloon. the Miss
Sofia was caught up in a snow cloud.
At one time the bag reached an alti-
tude of 5000 feet. Assman was in
the air twenty-five hours and twenty
eight minutes. making an average
distance of 3215 miles an hour.
The efforts of John NJ. Berry pilot
OF the Million Population club bal
loon. have been centered. in the main,
upon perfecting a steering apparatus
for a dirigible balloon. He has made
several short flights.
J H. Wade, jr., is credited with be-
ing a. courageous balloonist Many of
his fights have been made in the great
lakes section, where each ascension is
fraught with great danger. He has
experienced several narrow escapes
but has never been seriously injured
Frank NJ. Jacobs of Topeka was but
recently licensed a pilot, but he is said
to be absolutely fearless.
,A From every city that has a repre-
sentative in the race delegations were
present when the aviation field gates
opened. three hours before the time
for the first balloon to rise St. Louis
sent a crowd on a special train.
Seats for approximately ten thous-
and persons are provided in the avia-
tion field, which was but recently COM
pleted. Room is also set apart fo- a
thousand automobiles. Sixteen thous-