The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-05-11
CURTISS AERO
FACTORY GOING
To MOVE HERE
Fact Disclosed at Banquet Of
Board Of Trade Last
Evening
Subject Under Negotiation For
Several MOnths-Interest-.
ing Speakers

'T started as tinker, but I was
:. forced to become first a motorcyc
then an aviator. because L found that
nobody else would ride the machines
/ built" declared Glenn H. Curtiss
hailed as Americas foremost birdman
at q banquet rendered by the Board
OF Trade at The Stratfield last night
TO the aviators and committees in
charge of the three-days aviation
meet which began this afternoon at
the Lake Aerodrome.
i That the Curtiss aeroplane factory
now located at Hammondsport, New
York. may be moved to this city, was
disclosed by President Fred Enos of
the Board of Trade, who presided as
toastmaster.
This announcement was received
with loud applause by the assemblage
fcf Bridgeport business men and man.
fufacturers at ttR banquet
To a Farmer reporter, Mr.. Curtiss
slater confirmed this statement and
said that he intends to take a good
look around Bridgeport with Mr.. Enos
and talk over the possibilities.
"Of course we're located in a little
bit of q place now" said Mr. Curtiss.
land our business Is growing so rap
idly that we simply must have better
facilities. At the same time it's quite
la job to pull up the stakes and move.
IL have been in correspondence with
Mr.. Enos for some time and he has
hacquainted me with the many advan-
ftages of Bridgeport"
| Last nights dinner was entirelysin
lformal and was arranged by the Board
OF Trade as a send-off to the three
days which promise to go down in a
very important place in Bridgeport's 8
history.
With the exception of ]. A. D. Nc
Curdy who was detained in Washing
| ton and did not arrive in Bridgeport
until today, the men who are to do
the flying at the Bridgeport meet
were the guests of honor last even
ling. The birdmen present last even
ing included Glenn III. Curtiss, LIN
| coin Beachy, Lieut.. Theodore G. Ely
son, u. g. N, and Lieut.. ]. E. Fickel,
u. q. 4.
Oscar Roseon, wireless expert OF the
lNew York World was also present.
Tie will attempt to break the worlds
5record for sending wireless messages
from an aeroplane at the Bridgeport
meet.
Another well known aeronaut who
occupied a prominent seat was A. Hol-
Hand Forbes of Fairfield, famed as
gentleman balloonist.
Other guests included T. T. Tuttle,
manager of the flights; Henry Lee, w.
w. Bent. Garry Paddock. Joshua Melt
ger. p. L. Holzer. Frank Powers of
Springfield. w. F. Hobbs, M. E. Brew
ster-Greene. Wallace A. Smith. NJ. H.
Rogers. A v. Barber. Sidney e. Haw-
lev. r. II. Havens. Percy Farwell, J.
Morris. w. H. Marigold, J. III. Shan
non, s. j. Griffin. I. L. Belden. ]. S.
Leonard, George Waldo, Jr., Harris
Linsay. F. W. Bolande. F. P. Devine..
F A. Strong A. K. l.. Watson, Henry
3. Stoddard. H. NJ. Lyon, Simon Lake.
II. III. Brautigan, Robert Miller. Frank
d. Bell d. Fairchild Wheeler, A. M.
Cooper, George NJ. Eames, Charles D.
Davis. Fred Enos, ]. L. McGovern,
Richard Howell, w. q. Burnham, Ste
phen F. Boucher. Hugh ]. Lavery, o.
II Brothwe1. Clemens Kloefkorn, G.
s. Garfield. NJ. M. Downer, C. j.
Lake. Frank T Staples. F. A. Bart
lett and Thomas Arnold, Jr
The gathering enjoyed fine menu,
after which TOastmaster Enos called
the asser1blage to order and wittily
introduced the various speakers, the
post-prandial exercises being entirely
informal and of just the right length
to be most enjoyable.
Alderman Hugh Lavery, president
of the Common Council was at the
banquet to represent Mayor Bucking-
ham, He extended a cordial welcome
ITO the visiting aviators and gave them
the freedom of the city.
Mr. CurtisS was the next called up
on. He was greeted with warm an.
plause. Mr. Enos introduced him as
the foremost man in aviation today. a
sentiment which was echoed by other
speakers.
when I started out said Mr.. Cur
tiss. cit was my ambition to be a
business man and a manufacturer. I
irfn h11c in u-I1;
am now engaged. I started as a tin
ker, but 1 was obliged to become first
motor cyclist and then an aviator. be
cause I found that nobody else would
ride the machines I built.
There's one thing I'm certain I can
not do. and that is. to make speech So
I'll end by saying that I'll be glad to-
answer any questions that the gentle
men here may care to ask
A. Holland Forbes, who followed, de-
clared that the audience had just
Heard the longest speech Curtiss ever
made. Mr.. Forbes referred to that his
toric occasion when Curtiss, on being
presented with a medal by the Aero
Club of America. responded with
~Gentlemen, I thank your
Mr. Forbes then described some of
his own thrilling experiences in the
air. notably in the international ball
loon race in Germany, and his tumble
Lieut.. J. E. Fickel u. s. A. who is
helping Curtiss develop a war type
aeroplane for the L. S. army, sketched
very Interestingly the battle in the air
which IS sure to occur, he said, in
the next great war.
He told of the use of the aeroplane
for scout service i'm the war. and said
that IL General Kuropatkin' had had
an aeroplane at the battle of Mukden,
the Russians would have won the
battle, for they would have been able
to detect and forestall the turning
movement which won the field for the
Japanese.
There isn't gun or piece of artil-
lery in use today that can hit an
aeroplane except by the merest
chance declared Lieut. Fickel.
Take an aeroplane flying at a
height of 5000 feet. and at a speed
pf so or 40 miles an hour. The most
efficient gun in the world today
takes about a second to fire a pro-
1ectile this height. And in a second,
an aeroplane can move so or 80 feet.
Furthermore. it need Rot move
straight ahead. If it did, its flight
rnight be anticipated by aiming the
gun a little forward; but the avia-
tor may move to the right of left, J
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