Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1912-05-24
HPlANE CRASHED
LlNT0 HORSE STALLS
Spaulding's Machine Smashed
at Valley Fair Grounds
Gust of Wind Responsible for Wreck
Successful Flight Friday.

That Irah d. Spaulding was not Sc
riousy hurt or killed when he attempted
a flight in his aeroplane on the Valley
talr grounds Saturday morning seems
nothing short of miraculous. His ma
chine, except the engine, was badly
damaged, the canvas was torn in places,
the propeller demolished and the front
part on which the aviator sat was smash
ed into bits when he fell a distance of
about 20 feet and crashed into the north
end of the old horse sheds at the east
end of the grounds. Spaulding came
out of the wreck unhurt.
1t was just 9.44 o'clock when the pro-
peller of the biplane began to whirr
around in preparation for the flight
which was advertised for 10 o'clock to
take the place of the one which did not
occur May IL, because of the weather
conditions About $50 persons were on
the grounds and during the rest of the
morning probably less than 300 people
went there, and of this number fully one
half were boys under II. As soon as
the birdman saw that the engine was
working satisfactorily he gave the word
to his mechanicians to let go and
the machine started. 1t left the ground
twice, apparently working all right but
just is the aviator lifted it to clear the
inside fence at the east end of the en-
closure a gust of wind struck the north
plane, tilted the machine and sent it
out of its course. A moment later the
front extension crashed into the horse
shed with a noise that could be heard
a long distance. The propeller continued
TO whirl more than minute and then
stopped. BY the time the mechanicians
and the crowd reached the scene Mr..
Spaulding was standing by the wreck
exhibiting a chara cteristic smile and pre-
parind to pick up the debris
~ once handsome biplane was a sad
sight. The metal work of the planes
was bent in several places the left
hand side being damaged more than the
other, the propeller was reduced to
worthless pieces and the front extern
sion on which the aviator had been sit
ting, was smashed to splinters. The
seat was thrown completely off the main
part of the extension, part of which
had torn away the lower boards on the
stalls and could be seen from the other
side. The S0-horse- power motor was
not damaged Two of the horse stalls
were completely wrecked and so great
was the force with which the machine
struck that a wire cut into one of the
top boards fully three inches. Mr.
Spaulding and his mechanicians began
work without delay and just one hour
after the propeller was started the ma
chine was standing outside the horse
sheds ready to be dismantled and taken
to the Peltier farm on the Putney road
Mr. Spaulding was anxious to make a
flight Saturday as the conditions APP
peared to be favorable and he wished
to give a good exhibition. On Friday
night he left the grounds in his machine
about 1920 o'clock and flew several
minutes over Prospect Hill. He was
seen by many persons. He came north
as far as the Universalist church, turn
ed around at that point, returned to
the fair grounds circled Prospect Hill
again, and on returning to the fair
grounds made a perfect landing
The horse stalls which wrecked the
D16ane were not the long row at the
extreme east end of the grounds, but
those which stand just outside the track
and are covered with tent cloth dur
ing the fairs.