The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-08-26
TEN MINUTE STORY
Continued from Iage NJ

Had not the mysterious creature OF
the air claimed my poor mechanic as
its first earthly victim, he would now
he standing here beside me upon this
platform, to corroborate my unsup-
ported testimony with his own verbal
report of the most extraordinary ex-
perience that ever befell mortal man.
As your honorable body well knows,
! have secured patents from time to
time for inn rovements in the Gesler
engines with which my aeroplanes
have been fitted for the past two
years. BY enlarging the plane surface
and fitting four blades to each pro-
peller instead of two, l have been en-
eJled to increase the speed record to
I9716 miles per hour, this having been
officially accomplished at the July
Palm Beach meeting. Having estab-
lished a new speed record, which
confidently think will stand for some
months, l determined to try for new
altitude records, but in view of the
numerous unfortunate accidents re-
sulting from experiments in the up
! per ether, l determined to secure
safety at all hazards. | therefore re-
constructed my last im[ orted GARNER
tri-pane so that the improved ailer
ons invented by Santuza could be ap-
! Piled not only to the main planes, but
to the forward controlling and lifting
planes as well. This preserved the
lateral balance to such a perfect de-
gree that it was easily possible to
make turn in eight seconds in
25-mile wind, without banking the ma
chine more than 80 degrees. | found,
also, that by fitting the new plane
with three propellers, three Gesler en-
Cines, and three gasoline tanks of am
Ile size, | could feel reasonably GER
tain that my power would not be eX-
bausted without warning, for single
turn of the lever would put any or all
of the three engines in operation, sin
gly or together, and if l wished to
economic on power could climb
with only one propeller, holding the
others in reserve for possible acct
dents or in case l wished to combat
any of the strong air currents some
times encountered above the 12,OOr
| foot level.
1t was clear August day, late in
the afternoon, when John and a couple
of hangers-on wheeled the big tri-
plane out of the hangar at Belmont
Park, the beautiful Long Island avia-
ton ground where aerial history has
been made in the past two years. Both
John and l were determined that be-
fore another sun should rise we would
bring back as a tror by from the air
record for altitude that would never
be broken. How little we knew at
what a price we would succeed, or
through what dangers we would pass
before | returned to that dear old han
gar where we had chummed together
and experimental so much.
l was determined to go after the
record at nightfall because so far
above the clouds the suns rays prove
triie too glazing. 1t was undoubt-
eddy the tremendous light from the
sun which affected the sight of poor
Renegal when his machine fell from a
height of 14,S00 feet when he tried to
exceed his own altitude record at San
Francisco. Therefore I determined to
do my high flying at night, when the
moon was at the quarter and gave
just enough light for us to see clearly
and distinctly after we had passed
from the lower levels.
The gasoline tanks were carefully
filled, the engines tested, a supply of
light provisions Placed in the basket
between the two seats, and the oxygen
tanks carefully strapped in place on
both of us, with the connecting tubes
and the helmets under the arms ready (
W ~ "PpiAOu NACu we lou pdSS6u luG
l5,OOO-foot level into the upper strata
where the rarefed air made the oxy-
gen tanks a necessity.
Egerton Brooks, the official secre-
tary of the Montauk Aero Club, per- (
sonally adjusted the official Paragraph
of the American Aeronautical Society,
and sealed it with his own seal.
81 hope you will get the record
above $4,000 feet" he cried, as the ma
chanics began to start the engines.
1T is a new Anglers Paragraph, ad-
justed to register up to $4,000 feet.
though of course no living thing could
attain such an absurd height. You
will notice that it is surrounded by
cork, so that if you fall into the water
the record will not be injured or lost"
Giving Brooks a hearty hand-shake