Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-08-13
International Contest Begins in the
Windy City for Eighty Thou
sand in Prizes.
ARMEN OF WORLD CoNTENDNG
Actual Speed Events Will Be Feature
of the Meet.
soUALLY WEATHER DELAYS GAME
0vington Wins Twenty-Mile Mono
plane Event.
EVERY MAN PAID FOR EFFORT
- Rules Give Minimum of Two Dollars
Minute Tor All Time He is iR
th, Air I'm Daily
FLIGHTS.


CHICAGO. Aug. 12.-Louis Mitchell was
the first aviator to leave the ground this
afternoon in the first event OF the Inter
national aviation meet a speed content.
He was followed by Thomas sopwith, J.
e. Turpin, James Ward and Eugene Ely.
c. p Rogers went up a moment later,
and the six flying about 500 feet made
several turns around the pylons marking
the course, one and third miles.
Captain Ward and Turpin carried pas
sengers four-mlle breeze which barely
could be felt at 3 o'clock by this time rad
shifted to the northeast and was blow.hg
fifteen miles an hour A. S. Walsh, an
added starter, got away behind the other
six. The seven machines stayed close
together around the course.
The first accident in the aviation meet
this afternoon occurred when Arthur Stone
in a Bleriot monoplane, while attempting
to rise from the ground with a passenger
completely overturned and fell to the
!, ground from a height of fifty feet without
any injury to anyone.
Late in the afternoon the weather be-
came squally and misty. At AIS only four
OF the original starters were in the air
The machines landed so frequently and at
such unexpected points that the ambu-
lance corps was kept busy rushing over
the field to care for possible accidents. No
serious ones, however, were reported up to
that time
James " Martin, in Crahame-W White
machine, ran into a fence in the southest
corner of the field. Something seemed to
bewrogn with his engine However, the
ambulance was sent across the field.
Exciting Race Begins.
Thomas Sopwith drove the SECOND mono
plane to rise and the two began an excit-
ing race. Sopwith gained steadily going
up the wind, but regularly lost his place,
when the wind was at his back. The two
monoplanes kept with 200 yards of each
other about 500 feet in the air and going
at high speed.
Lincoln Beachey, trying to make up time
in the y-mile biplaue raea. supplied
the thrills by making a dozen trips around
the course flying not over ten feet from
the ground, repeatedly cries went up from
the grandstand that he had struck earth,
but each time the aviator raised a little
higher from the earth, increased his speed
and continued in safety.
Ovington won the twenty-mile monoplane
event. making the fifteen needed laps In
2S minutes and 81 seconds. sopwith fin
ished in 1861.
AviatOrs Up Early.
The thirty-five aviators, the best known
In this country and Europe, were up at
daylight making their final preparations
overseeing the last possible touches TO
their machines and assuring themselves
that no mechanical defect would prevent
their having a fair trial for the $4,000 in
prizes to be given.
The meet is the first big demonstration
the middle west has seen and Is to be a
genuine competition not a mere exhibition
OF flying. II will embrace races and con-
tests every day contests in accuracy in
flying over prescribed oources. In quick
stopping and starting in alighting, maneu-
yering, IN passenger carrying and in such
I, warlike development as sending messages
and dropping bombs
The program was framed to give every
known kind of flying machine an equal
chance at the prizes. whether Il built
for endurance, stability. lifting power or
ease OF control
Expect to Break Records.
Aviators declare there is every likelihood
that many records viii be broken. All oE
the better known machines, both mono
planes and biplanes. will be pitted against
each other, the aviators many Of them
record holders will have the incentive OF
seeing their rivals in the air and the prizes
themselves have a sufficient value to war
- ant the utmost efforts
At $50 o'clock. the biplanes rose for a
passenser-oarrying speed contest. From 6
TO Z o'clock there were altitude tests for
all Of the cars together with cross-oountry
and over-water races.
minimum OF g minute will be paid
each aviator for the time he actually N
In the air. This IL in addition to the prizes
and other rewards and was arranged to In
sure daily flights and prevent disappoint-
ments.