The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-07-02

From the New York Sun.
Rodman Law, who for about year
| has been going about the country jump
ing off high buildings and bridges, added
new stunt to his repertoire last night
when he jumped from an aeroplane in
full flight at an altitude of 5000 feet. He
tried the same feat once before, but not
from such a height, and he looked for
ward to the exhibition of last night as
the browning event of his brief career as
a tumbler from high places He accom-
plished 1t without injury to himself ana
without interfering to any appreciable
extent with the manipulation of the aero
plane.
The man who was in charge of the ma
chine was Harry Brown, Boston youth
who got his training with air machines In
England and whom Law selected as
about the most careful aviator he knew.
The flight and drop were made on the
plains of Long Island. about three miles
southwest of Hicksville. Everybody with
In fifteen miles that owned an automo-
bile appeared to be there and moving
picture concern that is to weave a story
about the fight for the benefit of its pat
rons had its cameras at points of van
tage.
In all his jumps heretofore Law has
simply bundled his parachute up and
leaped off into space, scorning the usual
careful arrangement of the ropes that
hold the big umbrella. Stevens himself
got the parachute ready yesterday. He
folded the twenty-five foot spread of
nd
around it a sheet of canvas which he
tackled to the under side of the lower
pane The stays had been changed on
the machine so that there was Just room
enough for Law to slip through from his
seat beside the aviator. trapeze was
attached TO the parachute and in addi-
ton Law had a belt about his canvas
protected waist. 1t was figured out that
when he dropped the weight of his body
would rip cut the lacks and free the para
chute.
1t was GAO o'clock when Brown and
| Law were seated in the machine and the
! big prCpellers were started. The aviator
made u perfect getaway and began to
send her up slowly. He swept over to-
ward Mineola and then back in a wide
circle, appearing to get into the upper
air more easily when he had the wind be-
hind him, which should not be so, accord
ing TO those who know He had expected
that 1t would take him nearly half hour
to reach an altitude of 1900 feet, but just
| at o'clock the long legs of Law could
be seen reaching below the lower plane.
He got down on one of the runners ON
bi.,I tha,, Lat inns 1 10 mr. 1ei
| length and dropped.
! Law had figured out that it would take
drop of at least 100 feet TO open the
parachute because it was tightly packed
and water had run into it from the radi-
ator. To those watching below it seemed
| that the parachute opened almost the in
slant Law save his weight TO it, There
was Il fiutter of torn bits of canvas In
| the air and then a bellying of the big
| piece and ever, body felt bit better as
| they saw the jumper whirling around and
around under his parachute. The wind
took him nearly a mile before he touched
the ground just two minutes after he let
CO.
| When II was seen that Law had got
away with his stunt, far as the open
| ing of the parachute was concerned,
every eye WAC turned to Brown Just
what effect that sudden releasing of a
weight of 200 pounds would have on his
biplane Was problematical. He appeared
not TO have noticed the departure of his
companion. and after crcling to the north
| he glided back to the starting place with
! u shout 10 those who were running to
meet him. He said he felt no change
=, when Law dropped away, but that he
| had inclined the machine slightly up
ward just before the jumper slid down
| between the stays,
| Law was gathering up his parachute
when the half dozen automobiles that
went to bring him back reached him. He
said 1t was good stuff this jumping from
an aeroplane, THAI he landed without a
| scratch, and has demonstrated something
that may DO valuable to the aviators in
the future.