The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-11-15
RODGERS FIRST
THE ATLANTIC
Took Him 49 Days, but He
Says the Trip Can Be
Made In 80.

w Cal, Calbraith P. Rodgers
ended the first coast to coast
aeroplane fight and established the
greatest cross country record in the
history Of aviation. Rodgers started
from Sheepshead Bay race track, New
York, for the Pacific coast on Sept. II,
and has covered 1921 miles, which
more than triples the previous worlds
record Of 1,265 miles made by Harry
n. Atwood in his st. Louis to New
York flight His journey to the coast
was full of accidents in which his life
was endangered several times. and
weather conditions and delays pre-
vented him from winning the William
r. Hearst prize of $4,000, for which
he originally started as competitor.
Rodgers made several fights Of over
200 miles day. He covered the great
est number of miles on Oct. IA, when
he flew from Kansas City to Vanita.
Okla, $50 miles. The fight was made
with stops at Moran and Russell creek.
where he took on a supply of gasoline
and oil. His longest flight without
stop was made on Nov. 3, when he
flew from Stovall to Imperial Junction
Cal, 1873 miles.
Rodgers an Athlete.
Rodgers is one of the tallest aviators
in the world, standing six feet four
inches in height. He is a member Of
the New York Yacht club, played on
the Columbia and Virginia university
football teams and made a motor cycle
trip from Buffalo to New York in a
day. He won the duration prize dur
ing the Chicago aviation meet in Au
gust.
Rodgers started on his long fight on
Sept. II from Sheepshead bay at 4:25
p. m. and made his first stop at Mid
dletown at 6:19 p. m, covering the
eighty miles in one hour and fifty-three
seconds. He might have made better
time on his first days journey, but he
became confused by the railroad tracks
at Greycourt, n. j., and had flown off
his mapped out route for some distance
before he discovered his mistake. He
was up early the following morning
intent on making the longest one day
fight ever made, but met with his first
accident, when, at height of twenty
feet, one of his planes struck tree
which threw him out Of his course, and
he crashed full speed into another tree
The branches of the tree partly broke
the force of his fall, but his machine
was almost completely wrecked. The
next three days were spent in making
repairs, and he was able to resume his
fight on Sept 81.
With a favorable wind he left Mid
dletown, and, after covering a distance
of ninety-six miles in sixty-nine min.
utes, he had to descend at Hancock be
cause of engine trouble. An approach
ing storm forced him to abandon his
trip for the day. He had better luck
on the 22d, reaching Elmira after GOV.
ering 172 miles during the day. On
the 23d he was compelled to land at
Canisteo, fifty miles further, because
of engine trouble. In making his de.
scent toward what he thought was
farm land he landed in a swamp 50
heavily that the lower part of his BIZ
plane was smashed.
Crashes Into Wire Fence.
He was able to continue his flight on
the Oath, however, but again met with
an accident at Red House, near Sala-
manca, after a ninety-nine mile flight.
He alighted near Red House to repair
a spark plug which bothered him, and
after tuning up he took his seat for a
fresh start. The uneven surface Of
the ground and the peculiar slant of
the wind bore down on the planes of
his machine, and he crashed into a
double line of barbed wire fence. Both
propeller blades were shattered and
one wing was torn to ribbons, but Rod
gers escaped without scratch.
Repairs and a storm prevented a
flight for the next three days, but on
the 28th he reached Kent, O., with a
fight of 204 miles. Another storm on
the Goth kept the machine on the
ground and on the Both he flew ninety
five miles, landing at Rivarre, Ind,
near Decatur. He battled with three
violent transforms ON Oct. 1, in which
his life was endangered several times,
DuC mdudBeu TO redcn Huntington.
Ind, thirty-six miles away.
Rodgers came to grief on Oct. .
while attempting to make a test fight
at Huntington before resuming his
coast to coast trip. His biplane crash
ed into a sharp rise in the ground
when he tried to dodge some telephone
wires, a swift wind preventing him
from gaining any altitude and fore
ing him to pass under the wires. The
accident delayed him the next two
days, and on Oct. he was again on
his way, reaching Hammond, Ind, and
bringing him 123 miles nearer Chicago.
Rodgers had planned to cross the
state line from Hammond to Grant
Park, ILL.,, but weather conditions
forced him to postpone the attempt.
1t was not until Oct that he was
able to make the fight which carried
him into Chicago and 1,199 miles from
his starting point in New York. Up
to that time he had covered the 1,199
miles in total flying time Of 21 hours
nwaA n II.