The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-09-05
WILL FLY FROM
COAST TO COAST
Robert G. Fowler First Aviator
to Enter for Hearst $780,
600 Prize

New York. Sept. 5.-Robert c. Fow-
Ter, an unknown but skilled aviator of
Los Angeles. Cal, is the first formal
entrant In the coast to coast flight
contest for the $4,000 prize offered By
William Randolph Hearst. G. Fred
Grundy, a millionaire California sports
man. has been training Fowler I'm Los
Angeles for the 3200-mile trip. and is
defraying all expenses. Fowler who
is twenty seven years old, will fly the
Wright blplane on which he is finishing
his postgraduate flight course at Day
ton, O. He will start from San Fran
cisco on Sept. 10. He will follow the
northern route of the Southern Pacific
railway. crossing the sierra Nevada
range In the neighborhood OF Collfax.
Cal. at an altitude of 600 feet. His
route leads by the way of Reno, New.
for sixty miles over the Great Salt
Lake In Utah. crosses the Rocky Noun
tains between Laramie and Cheyenne.
Wyo., passes via omaha, Des Mones,
and finally north toward the Mohawk
valley I'm upper New York. and finish
ing along the Hudson river. over which
Atwood has just completed his rec
ord breaking flight from st. Louis to
New York.
Although the aviator is given thirty
consecutive days To finish the flight,
Fowler Is confident that he can make
the distance i'm twenty-slx days fly
ing at an average of fraction more
than 1913 miles daily. His schedule
calls for flights of from 200 to 300 miles
daily. but he calculates that he will
be delayed at intervals by impossible
weather conditions and by the neces-
sity for unavoidable repairs. In his at
tempt, Fowler will be aided by a most
and deliberately planned cam
paign. A special train providing ac-
for the aviator and his
cntourage will follow him closely over
the entire route of the flight This |
train will carry two mechanicians and |
two other mechanicians will constant
ly travel from seventy-five to one hum |
dred miles i'm advance of the aviator |
for emergency needs There will be
enough spare parts to build three COM |
plete Wright biplanes. There will also
be three complete Wright motors not
which in part or as a whole
can be utilized at any point where they |
are necessary.
From one side Of the continent To the |
other an effort will he made to have
the aviator in sight by automobilists. |
who will form an everlasting chain OF
guards. II Is said that the flying ma
chine will never be .more than five |
minutes out of reach of the nearest |
help. All along the route of the flight |
fuel stations. lubricating oil supply |
depots. water tanks and all the first
aids that are necessary to flying ma
chine will be maintained.
Young Fowler has never figured i'm |
aviation news. But he is wellknown |
the United states as pro-
fessional automobile driver. He has |
made several ans-continentaI motor
tours and knows all the routes that |
lead from the Pacific coast to New
York. During tbe past year he figured |
In several very sensational runs be- |
tween San Francisco and Los Ange- |
es.
Fowler and his hacker booked over
The whole field before determining upon |
The type OF machine they would use.
md they carefully examined all Amer
can craft. Fowler made n trip TO
Europe and watched the foreign aero
planes. The result was the selection |
of the Wright biplane.