Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-11-28
FRENCH AVIATOR
KILLED RECENTLY
WAS A PIONEER
Captain Ferber Regarded BY
Military Experts Much as
Langley and WdghtS Are
Considered IN America.
lA..arl.l.a Pee. csrr..paaasne.l

the French army who was killed some
I time arr hf Inc Fan of his aeroplauc
Is accented as the pioneer 90 French
militar. aviation. aud the French mil
iafy experts of today look upon Fer
Der much as DO America. Professor
Langley ana the Nr.shts arc consid-
cred a. the pioneers of flight There
7 Is 4 strange chapter rotating % Fer
{ Der and WrIshts, which VIII some daN
ea into the history OF aviation when
+ the Story ia told IF how within the
/ last decade men first rose in the AR
after sunly trying co DO So for tnou- [
sands III years. Ihe facts OF the story /
are given hy one who participated 10
them
some ton or twelve years ago Wal .
ter Weilman, OF Chicago, conceived (
the idea OF flying "a the north pole
hy means of dirigible balloon. This (
was before Pcurys final trip. and the Z
north pole was the goal OF venture I
and scientific achievement. Wellman
had seen French dirigibles make long I
flights. and he sought the opinion OF I
the pioneers OF flight az O. the FEAST +
bilty ri his plan, and later mad MS I
airlgiblc built here Captain Ferber
was one of those whose opinion was
sought
Captain Tcrher was then chief Of I
tho French aoronautic service with
headquarters az q military park near
Paris Here he had erected tail
steel mast from which hung cable
attached to "a miniature aeroplane. no
ono had been able 70 make an aero
plano rise In the air, but Captain Fer
Der was experimenting constantly +
with this anchored oeroplane which
swung round in a wide circle from its
ulvot at the top OF the steel mast.
Views on North POLE
When Ferber's opinion was asked
on the north pole project he obliEingly
gave H. writing careful summary or
the dangers ana possibilities, but on
.hc whole approving the plan as
within the range OF possibility liaF- +
ing given this opinion he asked some
thing In return, and a few days later
"a letter was received from him, read
ing substantially like this.
~ have been much interested in
the American project of reaching the
north pole by dirlgibe. But there Is
something which interests me even
more than that ana would be glad
II you could give me some help on H.
Vague reports reach me That two
Young men named Wright nave ac-
tually risen in the air without the aid
OF a balloon and ia overwhelmingly
machine they are said to live at
Dayton. O. Could you put me ~ re-
lation with them, preferably through
some one who writes French
little was then known of the young
men referred TO. and iu order to meei
Captain Fcrbers request Inquiry was
made of the Alliance francaise, the
in America which has
A number of branches throughout the
country The secretary promptly re-
iponded with the name and Captain 7
lterher at once wrote to Dayton IN 8
French asking for details VI the re- 3
ported performances of the Wrights a
md to DE put In direct communication
with them The pioneers who were !
ieeking the same end on both SIDES
# the oceun were thus brought to-
.ather and from that time forward
Captain Ferber and the Wrights were
IA very close relation over the pro
,ress each WAS making.
Generous to Mlights.
II remained for Ferber TO aqlSnowl-
'dgc himself yanquished by the Amer
cans. and he was one of the first IN
europe to give generous and COM
,lete credit 60 all the claims firs. ?
made by the Wrights as To their pri'
ate flights, before their work was
publicly made known 20 the world.
after, as head of the military aviation
ervioo of France, he was instrumental
n bringing them 20 Europe, where
heir first demonstrations were made 1,
u French aero fields. leading TO unit =
.crsal acknowledgment thut they had ;,
n fact conquered the air This took =,
orm IN q national tribute, a huge sill a
cr statue of the Victory of the Air, !,
moving the winged victory support .
"a hy an ucroplane instead Of her 4
traditional wings. Captain Ferbor dle- N
mounted his mast ana anchored ae- u
'uplaue ana thereafter used the n
Amerloan device. until French inven- "
urs began their development of mon u
,pancs and other devices. q
The French aviation experts still q
.ctain IN their archives letter which Ii
hey called document historique," !
Il is signed by Wilbur and Orvillc a
Wright. dated at Dayton, December 4
49, 1905, before their public flights q
1ad been made, and giving some of v
ne Information captain Ferber had &
been seeking The letter says, IN -
part. 4
We are elad To give YOU the names h
VI people WHO were present and saw ii
jur tlights early In October but We O
prefer thut you sirosi}d not make This q
public for fear that these people Will /
be- tmportuned for Information. but i
you are at liberty TO write TO them. I
The flights were accurately registered q
by an anemomcter, one Of the flights v
NJ thirty-nlue klometers being in u
Jweny-nine circuits on seven
cnths radius OF the field. The
speed was about the same for all the
flights. being about one kilometer per {
minute, ln The flight Of October y
and a. The acroplane was kept at a =
height of twenty-five meters above y
the ground. but IN our previous flights +
Ne have gone milo after mile without {
mounting more than three or four 5
meters When Wc fly low the speed 5
seems much greater" {
The uumCs of seventeen citizens OF
l1nNfNn are given iu fhe Latter rs mere