Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-17
Successful Flight of Machine
Purchased for Army.
CIRCLES THE SPEEDWAY
]. A. D. McCurdy of the Curtiss
Team Gives Exhibition.
WITNESSED BY DIPLOMATS
Height Of 500 Feet Attained-Two
Flights Made in Choppy
Breeze.

J. A. D. McCurdy Of the Curtiss team
New the big Curtiss war aeroplane, just
completed for the Signal Corps of the
United States Army, over the speedway
IN Potomac Park this morning for the
benefit of army and navy officers and
members of the diplomatic corps.
1t was not publicly announced that a
flight would be made, as McCurdy said
he did not want a crowd, so the party
that witnessed the flight was compare
lively small. but was select. The big
machine is built for passenger carrying,
but McCurdy took nobody up with him,
saying casually that he did not care
particularly about the passenger. but
that he did not want to risk the machine
He has flown q machine Of that type
before. but this was the first time he had
ever been in the one he used today In
fact, this was the first time the machine
had ever been OF the ground.
Necessarily Postponed.
Preparations were made for the first
flight to take place yesterday. but the
weather was too bad, and the demonstra-
ton was postponed until this morning.
The machine was brought from the ex-
position building, where it has been one
of the exhibits in the aeroplane show.
1t was hauled to the field and McCurdy
met it there at 9 O'clock. There were
scarcely dozen people on the field at
the time. The day was apparently very
fine. There was a six-nile breeze blow
Ing. according to the records of the
weather bureau. It was cold. varying
from q to 80 degrees between and 10
o'clock.
It had been very still early in the
h,,f kho ~~ixy
the sun. and by 10. when the flights
stopped, the wind was blowing at the rate
of eight miles an hour on the ground and
considerably worse higher up. McCurdy
said after the flight that the upper air
conditions were bad and that the breeze
was gusty and full of "holes."
There was no time wasted In prelimi-
naries. The airship was rolled out to
the polo held. the grass circle inside the
speedway. The propellers were started
and with run OF a little over 100 feet
the machine went into the air.
Makes Rapid Flight.
In single circle Of the mile track the
aviator had reached height OF $50 feet
and circled the field. out over the river
and down to the point Of the little penin- |
eua that forms the end Of Potomac
Park. 1t was a pretty exhibition Of fly
ing partly over water and partly over
land. just above the location that lit
tie over a year ago was adjudged to be
too restricted and dangerous for flying
when Washington was endeavOring to get
the International aviation meet held here
McCurdy was in the air altogether ten
minutes on the first flight. Just before
the end he made a feint at coming down. |
When about 100 feet from the ground
over the west end of the field he cut out
his motor and gently alighted. The ma
chine rolled along the ground and the |
little crowd swayed forward for a closer |
view. Then the aviator started his mo-
tor again and slid into the air, where he |
made couple Of rounds Of the field be-
fore coming down.
Witnessed by Foreigners.
The crowd grew during the exhibition. |
The first flight was made at 9:25, but be-
fore the second was started at 10 o'clock |
there were present Col. Baron de Bode, |
military attache Of the Russian embassy; |
Lieut.. Col Inouye. military attache OF
the Japanese embassy: Commander HI |
raga, the japanese naval attache; Capt. !
Saito. the special aviation observer sent |
to this country by the japanese govern |
ment; E. w. Fraziar, who also has been
sent to this country as an aviation ex-
pert by Japan: Capt. de Chambrun. the |
French military attache; Senior Gayangos, |
the Spanish sa. std1is minister; I,, Gen. Leonard
James Allen. chief signal officer; Gen.
Crozier, chief Of ordnance; Secretary of
War Dickinson, Capt Cowan of the Sig
nal Corps. Capt. w. l. Chambers of the
navy; David Fairchild Of the Department
of Agriculture, Charles J. Bell of the
Washington Aero Club, Jerome Fanciulli, |
representative of Glenn Curtiss; Howard
Gill of Baltimore, representative Of the
Wrights: James A owens. representa-
$tx.o of a hrYVnn Of h.
ington. Thomas T. Tuttle of the Curtiss
Company. Hugh Sterling of the Rex
Smith Company, Raoul La Mat of the
aeroplane show and Capt. Charles ]. Fox
OF the National Aviation Company.
The members Of the diplomatic corps |
inspected the machine after the first |
flight and chatted with McCurdy. He
said notwithstanding the conditions were |
bad in the air the machine handled WELL |
Reaches Height Of 500 Feet.
The second flight was started at 10 |
o'clock. 1t lasted only eight minutes and |
covered about the same area that had |
been flown over before. The aviator went |
higher. however, reaching about 500 feet, |
judged by the height Of the Washington
Monument, which was in the background !
AS soon as the flight was over the
aeroplane was put on a truck and was
taken back to the Exposition building to
remain for the balance of the week.
There was an interesting incident at the
aeroplane show yesterday afternoon.
The same machine was the attraction.
and was being inspected by Baron de
Bode Of the Russian embassy when
Lieut.. Col. Inouye Of the japanese en-
bassy also came out to see it, The two
representatives of the lately hostile pow
ers bowed pleasantly. but carried the in
tercourse- no further. Both were looking
over the machine for war purposes.