The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-19

l tered. and the vast aviation field elabo-
 fately groomed for the event by the Fed
 eration Aeronautique Internationale, in charge of the race, today swarmed with men famed in the annals of aeronautics, upon whom the eyes of all Europe will be turned tomorrow.
 | France, Belgium, Holland and England. by way of the capitals, Paris, Utrecht, London and Back to Paris again, is the Herculean task laid out for the world s greatest flyers to accomplish While trav- ersing the four countries the airmen will pass over Rheims Lege. Hanover, Ham, burg, Bremen, Wesel Utrecht, Lille, Cal ais, Brookands, Brighton. Rouen and a host of smaller towns
 In addition to the grand prize for the finishing of the race in the whole. more than half the cities on the route have offered cash awards to the aviator who makes the best time to that place from the preceding city. Altogether it is cal- culated that nearly S50.000 will go to the flyers from these special prizes alone.
 The Federation Aeronautique Interna- tionale, the supreme body in the world of air conquest. will declare the winner of the race the champion aviator of the world.
 "Le Journal one of the leading dailies of Paris, deserves much of the credit for the importance which this event has assumed. It was the first to advocate an around-Europe race and started the prize with it's offer of 100000 francs The London Standard next came forward with e250O, and Le Petit Bleu of Brussels sub scribed 25000 francs, as also did the town of Vincennes. Other subscriptions to the lfSt i'm lafa from the municipality of Liege. 150OO from | the town of Calais, 10000 francs from Brussels, a like amount from the town | of Epa and 40,000 francs from the Nether- 1 lands aviation committee. The aggregate of these. over $100,000 in merican money, will be divided among the first three con testants to finish.
 The scene at the aviation eoncourse today was one not soon to be forgotten Probably never before in the history of mans flying have so many heavier-than- air machines been assembled at one time The great Saturday crowd of enthusiasts who filed out of the city to the suburb to witness the preparations for the big event did not experience a dull moment. At times there were as many as half a dozen machines, those of the Bleriot ana Baby Voisin types, held within them ac- tivity equal to that in the huge aerodomes where aspiring air kings toyed and tinlS- cred with their monster Antoinettes or Farmans or American biplanes of the Curtss and Wright types. The thunder of exhaust from the powerful engines played a mimic warfare that could be heard for more than a mile.
 There is one respect in which the race differs from any aerial event ever held The contestants, instead of being limited
 in number of landings, are required to touch earth at 20 different points along the rectangular course This, it is believed will go a long way toward 4orestaing disastrous accidents. as, being compelled to alight, the aviator will have an op- portunity to overhaul his craft and re- pair anything that may have gone wrong with the machinery.
 Naturally the most perilous part of the journey will be the crossing of the Eng fish channel This feat will have to be accomplished twice during the course Of the race, on the way from, Utrecht to London and on the home stretch from London to Paris. where the finish will be.