Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-17
Start Made in the Face
of Considerable Difficulty

The flight of Lieut.. Rodgers from Col
lege Park yesterday afternoon was made
in the face of considerable difficulty. The
start was in the middle of the day, sew
raj hours earlier than the flying usually
begins at the park. The wind on the
ground was blowing ten miles an hour
and was worse higher up 1t was
"lumpy" also and when the aeroplane
left the park il was tilted at an angle of
about 80 degrees and was fighting "a
bad quarterins wind, SO that the spec
tators estimated it was not making much
more than four miles an hour headway.
Late in the afternoon telephone mes
sage was received saying that Lieut..
Rodgers had landed at Havre de Grace
at $50. making 1t four hours and twenty
minutes from the start at College Park
1t is only seventy miles air line between
Washington and Havre de Grace. but 1t
is probable that the aero covered about
l25 miles on the flight.
The trip of the machine was rather
surprise to most of the army people. as
il had been generally supposed Lieut.
Rodgers was going to Annapolis He
will go to New York today. where he Is
to start his cousin, Cal 7. Rodgers, on
his transcontinental flight. Cal Rodgers
learned to fly a Wright machine at Day
ton soon after Lieut.. Rodgers learned to
f1y for the navy. Lieut.. Rodgers was his
instructor. Cal p. Rodgers fsas the
aviator who won first prize at Chicago
for the longest aggregate time in the air
during the whole meeting, making a
total of twenty-seven hours and sixteen
seconds.
Flights at College Park.
There was considerable flying at College
Park during the afternoon. Lieut.. Milling.
Lieut.. Arnold and Lieut.. Kirkland all
taking the Wright machines into the
air Lieut. Arnold made the highest
flight Of the day, going up between 3.Un
and 1000 feet. There was only one OF
the Curtiss machines left OH the field.
as the motor of the big Curtiss has been
sent back to the factory for. repairs.
but Capt Beck took out the little four
cylinder Curtiss and made several circles
OF the field without attempting to get
very high into the air.
Toward the close of the day Lieut..
Milling. who has become thoroughly
identified with the Wright machine. de-
cided that he would like to master the
t.urtiss machine as we'll. The machine
was flying little tail heavy" and was
not in the best shape for a pupil. but
Capt. Beck reinquished the operator :
seat to his ambitious pupil and Lieut..
Milling made several straightaway flights
the length of the field. His landings
We're all good and. in spite of the fact
that he was using new machine with a
totally different form of control he gave
every indication that within three or four
days he would be able to qualify for a
pilots license with IL.
The civilian feature of the day was a
trial of the new Rex Smith machine with
the Berliner rotary motor. Paul Peck
was the aviator and took the machine
on several straightaway flights and one
partial circuit of the field. The motor
acted well. though the machine was "A
little tail heavy" and. owing to the short
shaft of the motor. IL was impossible
to adjust the balance satisfactorily. Peck
said after the fight that the machine
seemed to be quite buoyant and very
easy of control.