The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-09
SIXTEEN AIR LOOPS
BY MADCAP Filler
A.. smith. 81. Gives New York
IFS Most Hair Raising Aero
Spectacle.
FIRST CURATOR At NIGHT

A., smith. 'he iwci;y -~orc-year-o!d
.,,,ior who TUNED nlploi's nj the San
r. .r.is.o fair. refuted last night for
III, h.r.ct Of blasc Now Workers the
,,.,,, axiom that There's nothing new
r,5e, .l sun Ne showed them what
u,.,.m''.,d to- be the most daring and
,oh,lty hl; of flying that had ever
h.,p done ON me Atlantic coast.
st,fius IRON the GROUNDS OF the Co
,,,,hj. YACHT club. at E.ighty-sixth
,,,,,i and tn. IIu ison River, he mounted
IN l, grt OF $500 feet, then turning
,br no.c ~ his biplane downward We
mad, sN,r,L complete loops in the air.
yoir,nIcd swiftly to the ground n
,,oIprl within ten feet OF his starting
mini \ brilliant blaze OF magnesium
ich,.d his course through the sky.
10 say that the flight was witnessed
Nc millions would be no ~cxaggeration.
The startnG level was packed with
eager ones. who eluicd the reserves from
m. SiSty-elghth street police station
nuJ.r Cant. Boyle and thronged about the
rIpes tina, enclosed the machine. Thou
s,rds lined the wall along Riverside
pri,e and thousands more were perched
OIL the roofs of apartment houses. show
lnr IN Sold maSso. against the sky. 1t
uJs the same throughout the city. Az
far away ~ Brooklyn the roofs n
open places were packed.
Flight Seen From N%OntcInir.
Jersey was so Interested hat ten
m nu,,s after the daring aviator mad
laulei a telegram of congratulations
came from Montclair. twenty-five miles
.w,y. saying that the flight had been
.r,a perfectly.
The exhibition MAS "A spectacular one.
7, vls \ o'clock to the second when
Smith. prrched behind his wheel. gave
g.. word for half a dozen policemen
Nro were gripping the framework to let
60 Tn, red flares were touched on and
te sho, of. rolling along the ground for
s5.a. l"o Yards, then sweeping upward
end away.
lie seemed TO have a hard time bat
q ing agaius; a terrific wind. hut steadily
r,a,l upward. circling about. now over
ih, .I.r..y shore and now directly over
tn heads of those on the Manhattan
sd. Vt the end Of nine and "A half
mIultcs he was up 1900 feet. Two
witt, lights ON his machine went out
ga four red lights took their places,
The sight, seen from more than half a
a., below. was weird.
N the end of fifteen minutes he was
u 500 feet. Four brilliant magnesium
.-a,s %, gan to burn. leaving a path OF
s.arks behind. His machine turned
a,rup,ly downward. lie seemed 10 fall
1 hundred feet or more. and several
women ia the crowd below screamed
lAcn he tilted upward, around. over. II
Vas the ''rst loop.
Makes sixteen Loops.
There came more so fast that the path
Of eich led through the sparks OF the
previous one--sixtcen Of them. though
most ~ those who watched lost cou
long before ne was through. At that h,
only stopped because his magnesium
gave out. for In his last loop he was still
l.rtr feet from earth. with room for a,
l,gs tVp more.
rWpnty-two minutes after he haC
g.. tel and seven minute after he hat
begun his first loop, Smith brought hi
machine to "A standstill on the ground
IL, descent was a perfect one. he
dropped sharply to within twenty fee
Of 'hn ground. hen Strengthened out AM
brought up easily between the two re,
lehiS That had been set out as marks.
Ills reception was vociferous. TIL
tl.u'. ~ the thousands near by. tn
FAHH'N VI 200 'itS INV ~ fO'''
from automobiles on the Drive ant
Yachts 800 the river. made a d~eafenini
tppldls"
Smita Is the only aviator who ha
ev'r tried 10 loop al night. His sixteei
loons far exceeded his previous recor'
Of six.
There was no more Interested spec
ta'or In the 'hrong han the younI
fier's wife, Mrs. Aimee Cour Smith
srd few were as cool AZ she.
Others who saw the flight were Al
berto Santos Dumont. the Brazilia'
fyer lob Fowler. a California aviator
who is now teaching Harry Payne Whit
ncy 10 'iy, and Bud Mars, the dirigibl
navigator.
The machine that Smith used was
Cur,iss type biplane of his W con
siruction, fitted with an AerO-Marin
tN cylinder motor of Is horsepower.