The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1911-09-06
BEN JOHNSON
RIDES STORM
InAeroplane andNarrowly
Escapes Death.
THE EXPERIMENTAL VOYAGE
Proved Very Delightful to the
Noted Kentucky Con-
gresham.
FIRST MEMBER TO SAIL AIR

Washington, Aug. 31.-Repre-
sentative Ben Johnson yesterday
afternoon rode the storm as the
guest of Lieut.. H. H. Arnold, U. s..
A., at the College Park army avia-
ton field, and won the distinction
of being the first member of either
branch of Congress to try .aeroplan-
ing. incidentally, another record
was broken. The army officers pres
ent declared that two men had new
err ridden in an aeroplane in the
United States in such rough wealth
er. The wind reached a velocity of
ftwenty-eight miles an hour and
storm clouds chased the air naviga-
tors across the sky. almost upset
ting them several times.
The weather in and about Wash
ington was stormy all day. Mr..
Johnson had been promised a trip
in one of the army aeroplanes and
had been asked to come out to the
field to-day. High winds and rain
in the forenoon and early afternoon
made it impossible to go up, but he
received a telephone message at
the Capitol about p. m. from
Capt. Paul w. Beck, U. S. A., that
conditions were more favorable and
he had better come out. He jumped
into an automobile and covered the
ten miles to College Park as quick
ly as possible. The rain had stop
ped, but the wind was as high as
ever.
Lieut.. Arnold did not want to as
-cend and Capt. Beck was doubtful,
too. But Mr.. Johnson insisted, de-
claring that he had been disappoint-
ed several times before and he was
willing to take the risk.
"All right, step in" said the
birdman, and Mr.. Johnson did so.
They gradually reached q height
of 700 feet, circling the field as they
went up. Then Lieut.. Arnold head
ed northward along the railroad
tracks of the Baltimore & Ohio in
the face of the wind. They went at
a forty-mile-an-hour clip for more
than three miles and then swung
around and started back over the
same course. AS they passed over
the aviation field, going with the
wind, their speed was eighty miles
an hour.
In turning again, gust of wind
struck them, and for moment it
looked as if the machine would
surely turn over and the two men
would be hurled to their death from
a height of 700 feet. They hung on
like grim death as the aeroplane
tipped over at an angle of 90 de-
grees. Lieut.. Arnold pulled a few
levers and suddenly they found
themselves sitting upright again.
After they descended Capt. Beck
said he thought they were gone as
he watched the aeroplane from his
position on the ground.
There were many cross-currents
of air. and seven times they drop
ped into "holes" and fell perpendic-
ularly from fifty to seventy-tive feet.
Time and again the high wind
caught the front planes and nearly
tipped them over backward. Lieut..
Arnold said it was the hardest work
he ever did trying to keep from
falling and steering in and out of
the air Instructions.
When it was over Mr.. Johnson
thanked his pilot most heartily, and
all of the army aviators congratu-
lated him on his nerve. Mr.. John
son enjoyed himself immensely.
Zone of my ambitions has been
fulfilled" he said smilingly last
night. 81 have wanted to go in an
aeroplane ever since began read
ing about their success in the news
papers. 1t is every bit as interest
ing as l thought 1t would be and
would like to try it again.
There can be no doubt any long
er of the value of aeroplanes in war
fare. In these days, an army or
navy that is not equipped with a
sufficient number of them for scout
ing and dropping of bombs is no
army or navy at all. Their value is
incalculable. They are. in fact, in
dispensable.
While they did not say anything
about 1t, the army ayiators are