The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-05-01
RUSHING WORK
ON AERODROME
Committee on Police Make
Plans - Lieut.. Fickel Will
Conduct Target Shooting Ex-
perimenfS

Additional forces of men and horses
were put to work at the Bridgeport
AerCdrome this morning to rush the
preparations for the aviation meet on
May il, IL and 13. Vast changes have
already been made in the grounds, and
it is doubtful if anybody once famil-
lar with old Nutmeg Park would rec
ognlze it in the aerodrOme.
More than two hundred large trees
have been removed under the direction
of c. j. Lake, owner of the aerodrome,
and dynamiterS are at work blowing
out the stumpS. A large adjoining
tract has been added to the field MAX
ing, possible a two mile circuit for the
aeroplanes without having them go
outside the fence The addition to the
grounds has been cleared of trees in
the last three days and an army of
rcadbuilders is now engaged in max
ing this ground suitable for the park
ing Of automobiles
George NJ Games, Eugene F. Rus
sell and Richard Howell, who COM
prise the committee on police, visited
the aerodrome yesterday afternoon
and laid plans for handling the enor-
nous crowds which are expected to see
the flights. Fences are to be erected
surrounding the old race track and
other fances will mark the boundaries
of the automobile space, the grand
stand enclosure and the general field.
Provision is also being made for the
safety of pedestrians by having a sep
arate entrance for those who walk and
those who go in automobiles.
The automobile road is 100 feet wide
and there are gates for incoming and
outgoing autos Another road will
be built in a direct line from the troll
ley car tracks to the field entrance for
pedestrians.
Mr.. Russell, who attended the inter-
national aviation meet at Belmont
Park, last October, expressed himself
as being greatly pleased with the
Bridgeport Aerodrome as compared
with the Belmont Park, and said that
the facilities for handling crowds are
the best he has seen.
One of the most interesting features
of the aviation meet and one that has
caused most general comment, is the
military experimental work which is
being planned. Lieut.. Jacob Earl
Fickel of the 29th U. S. Infantry, who
will conduct the target shooting ex-
periments, is the first man to fire a
rifle from an aeroplane. He conduct
ed successful experiments of this ma
ture for the first time at Sheepshead
Bay race track New York, flying with
Glenn H Curtiss, last August when
he hit a small target repeatedly from
an altitude of 500 feet. He later car
ried on similar experiments at the
aviation meet in Boston.
Commenting on his work Lieut.
Fickel said: 81 believe that target
shooting is one of the most important
of the military aeroplane experiments
that have been conducted. 1t is
certainty that the next war is going
to be fought with armies having aero
plane forces and the first great battle
will be a battle in the air. The aero
planes will not all be on one side, and
as they will be used for advance scout
ing they will meet before the armies
come within distance of them.
while the aeroplane will necessar-
lily find its greatest use as a scouting
machine. the flying scout must be
armed in order that he may protect
himself not only from an enemy on
the ground but also from the air scout
of the opposing army. For this rea-
son it is necessary to know just how
plane in flight at targets in the air
as well as on the ground. The i'm
portance of the rifle shooting may be
when it is known that the
experiment has been taken up by the
armies of other great powers. AL
though to my knowledge no expert
ments have been conducted where the
target mas DeeH an dSi idl oiic- IHS
day is coming when every military
aeroplane will be equipped with spe-
cia, machine guns designed for work
in flight and every step towards this
end is important"
Lieut.. Fickel has made a special
study Of tn eaeroplane in its military
uSes and is widely known for his orig
inal ideas upon the subject. Besides
the experiments he will conduct other
experiments will be carried
out at the Bridgeport meet.