The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-08-11
A GREAT AVIATION
MEET FOR CHICAGO
Will Open Saturday with Two
Score Great Birdmen.
as Contestants.
(National News Association)

(National News Association)
CHICAGO, Aug. 11-More than two
score of the most daring bird-men OF
two continents are assembled in Chi
cago and everything is in readiness
for the greatest aviation meet in the
history of aerial navigation which will
begin here tomorrow at Grant Park
The big hotels in the vicinity of the
aviation field on the Lake front are
rapidly filing up with visitors and it
is expected that by tomorrow the
transient population of Chicago will
and, attracted to this city by the meet
The organizers of the meet, among
whom are some of the wealthiest and
most progressive merchants of this
city, have spared neither money nor
trouble to insure the success of the ev-
ent and have made it sufficiently at
tractive from a financial point of view
to attract aviators of renown from sew
en- great nations. France will be repre-
scented by Roland Garros, Rene Simon
and Rene Barrier, noted throughout
Europe for their daring feats; the
English contestants will include
Tom" Sopwith, known as His Ma
jesty's Own Altman" Other noted for
eign aviators who will fly during the
nine days of the meet, are j. A. d. Nc
Curdy, the Canadian aviation veteran.
Abraham Ragordsky, Russian, who
has been flying under the auspices of
the Russian Aerial Club; John ]. Fris-
bic, of Ireland; Edmond Audemars,
the famous Swiss aviator, and a num-
Der of others.
The list of American aviators who
Capt. Thomas Baldwin, dean of Ameri-
can aeronauts; Charles X. Hamilton,
who made the first flight from New
York to Philadelphia; Eugene Ely,
who flew from the land to the deck of
a battleship and back again; Hugh A.
Robinson, who was the first man to
loop the loop on a motorcycle; Harry
N. Atwood, who recently won renown
by his flight from Boston to New
York and from New York to Washing.
ton and his daring stunts" in the cit
les mentioned; Lincoln Beachey, who
made the first flight over Niagara
Falls; F. E. Post, the Milwaukee avia-
tor, who formerly held the amateur
altitude record; ST Croix tombstone,
the Chicago aviator with long record
of daring and successful flights
Charles F. Willard, James v. Martin,
Charles F.. Walsh, Arthur Stone, Jim
N.Y. Ward, Ladislaus Lewkovicz,
Lieut.. Andre Roul, and Howard LIE
Van, the youngest aviator in the Unit.
ed States, who is only seventeen
years of age.
Government Interested.
The United States government has
taken official cognizance of this meet
and the War Department has detailed
Major Samuel Reber of the signal
corps and number of officers of the
army to attend the meet and make OBJ
servations. The commanders of the
two gunboats in Chicago harbor, the
Nashville and the Dubuque, have re.
ce1ved orders to hold themselves in
readiness for any emergency during
the meet, eventually act as escorts for
daring aviators, attempting a flight
across Lake Michigan.
The aviation field in Grant Park is
one of the best equipped ever seen at
any meet of this kind. The grand
stand seats 10000 persons and judging
from the advance sale of seats there
will be few vacant seats during the
week. Elaborate preparations have
been made to provide medical assist
ance in case of accident or sickness
and corps of physicians and sur
geons, with large number of assist
ants and nurses will be on duty in and
around the aviation field during the
entire duration of the meet.
The events will begin each day al
$3.50 in the afternoon and will contin
ue until seven o'clock. The program
has been SO arranged that there will
be no waits between events and there
will be something to be seen all the
time. The program for the week in
cludes forty-eight separate events, in
GLIDING four cross-country and cross
water flights, in which s12,OOO is of
fered in prizes. There will be twelve
speed events with total of $4,000 in
prizes, with separate prizes for mono
planes and biplanes in. all but two Of
the events. In the passenger-carryine
contests prizes amounting to $4,000
will be competed for, not counting a
number of special prizes for variou.
| special feats. There will be five alti