Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-06-01
THOUSANDS TO
SEE 0TTUMWA
AVIATION MEET
People for Miles Around
Will Flock to Wildwood
Park to Witness Wonder
full Feats of Airmen.
WILL ARRIVE HERE
MONDAY MORNING.

Over Rock Island on Spe-
cial Train to Prepare Tor
Three Days Meet.
Thousands Of people are expected 10
flock here for the international ava
ton meet which opens here next tues
day afternoon at Wildwood park.
Elated over their success in securing
two Of the worlds greatest airmen 1or
fights here, the local committee III
charge of the meet is going to Work
with vim that promises great results
Several representatives OF the
Moisant international aviators are al.
ready in the city and last night over
the long distance telephone r. l..
Young. general manager of the Moisant
aggregation, stated that the advertls'
Ing manager of the company would ar
rive this evening.
Nothing will be left undone to make
the meet the greatest ever held in tins
section of the country. Every oil,
board within a radius Of sixty miles OF
this CITY will be papered, while thou
sands of banners window cards anu
heralds will be distributed prior 10 inc
opening Of the meet.
Information from Des Moines lask
night was to the effect that the fplrd-
men are ready for the opening meet
there. They have been resting up In
that city tor several days and as re, e
suit It is thought that their flying VIII
he even more spectacular here than It
was in st. Joseph, Omaha and other
cities recently visited by the noted
sky men.
The aviators will arrive here Mon
day morning, it Is thought. they
travel in their own special train with
especially constructed cars Tor the
shipment Of their fragile machines.
The aeroplanes will be unloaded in
the Rock Island yards and hauled out
to the grounds on wagons. they are
shipped "knock-down" fashion with
their wings and other OF the most
fragile parts taken OF, IN order 70
prevent them from being broken. So
systematic is the operation OF the
Moisant company, however, that Man
ager Young's men can get the
machines ready for flight in two hours
after they arrive in the city.
First Flights For Speed.
The first flights made here will
probably be speed tests as both Barrier
and Simon are famous for their speed
work. Simon has only recently
equipped his monoplane with new
set of wings built especially to make
an attempt to break worlds speed
record. The plucky little birdman al
ready holds several records. At New
Orleans last December he circled a
one mile course in fifty-seven seconds.
This feat has never been duplicated.
Simon is without question the
worlds greatest exhibition flyer and he
gives promise of being the star Of the
Ottumwa meet His dip Of death is
absolutely the most reckless airman-
shin ever seen in this country. Climb
ing to height of 1,500 to 5000 feet.
the Fool Flyer" as he is known. shuts
off his motor and drops on glide. AS
he descends the crowd holds it's
breath for no one can fail to realize
would see a smoking heap Of debris
and another aviation tragedy. AS
Simon rushes earthward he gathers
speed until it is calculated that he is
being hurled through space at rate
Of nearly 100 miles an hour. Just at
the critical moment. when 1t seems to
the crowd that he has lost control OF
the big monoplane and will be dashed
10 pieces, he leans backward with one
desperate pull and changes the course
Of the machine, heading it again up in
to the air. Very often he has waited
until the wheels skinned along the
ground before ascending. Time after
time Manager P. L. Young has remon-
strated with him. urging him to be
more careful, but like other dare.devils
he becomes more reckless every day.
Barrier to Soar High.
Rene Barrier, who will fly the same
machine in Ottumwa in which the late
John B. Moisant circled the statue Of
liberty, has ventured to much greater
heights than Simon. Barrier is the
winner of the Castle Moro prize Of
fered by the Cuban government and is
holder of several speed records.
He will make at least one altitude
flight here If weather conditions are
propitious. On these flights he has
frequently ascended with his regula-
ton aviation clothes only to run into
q strata of freezing air up above that
twice at Memphis, Tenn, froze his
motor and caused him to make a hur-
ried decent