New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-03-15

heads Of casping multitudes became his
fayoritc diversion, and last summer
found him the most spectacular inquire
in the air world New York had us
fill of him at Brighton Beach IN May
Luck stayed with him for long. Ihere
was many a time after his first heavier
than-air machine was wrecked at ~.
Paul in 1910 that death was only a
whisper AWAY. His most sensational
trick before his retirement was the
din OF death, vertical drop when
held far more of the spectacular imam
the figure eight, the spiral and reverse
the ocean roll and his other ieaIs, -
this very dip Of death by whlch ne
astounded thousands at VIII was tne
fruit Of an accident which nearly cost
him his life.
al was up after the altitude record
at the Les Angeles meet ne SalG'
speakinp Of his discovery. 81 was hlsh
above the clouds. II was very wonder
ful. for below me as far as the eye
could follow was perfect sea o.
cloudy fleece that reflected the sun IN
a dazzling way. ] felt like an angel $50
so much SO that in the ecstacy or the
moment began TO sing aloud. And IN
a twinkling death seemed to creep upon
me and reach out and touch me with
bony finger tip. My motor had stopped
dead,
Birth Of Dip Of Death.
at is beyond my power to describe
my feelings in that dread moment
had been an alrman since was
thirteen. Every move for scli-pres-
ervation flashed before me. began
TO drop, drop, drop win ghasuy speed
Resolved 10 die calmIE, ! Nlte0 tne
nose Of the plane down at an angie
and began TO glide. through inc
clouds | whizzed, the wings Of my
plane grooming as in very agony rom
the strain of the resisting AIR when
rushed through the taut wires OF the
machine until il sounded as II some
unseen angel of death was playing my
requiem on giant harp.
1.-THE memory OF it all is now but
dizzy whirl through space. | know
came down out Of the heavens with the
swish Of "A great condor. ! could hear
the hysterical applause as | turned up
the nose of the plane 70 ease the force
OF nv drop from the blue. | had come
down In a straight glide at an angle OF
about as degrees. When stepped
down from the machine | didn't dare
WHY, Beachey, your hair has turned
snow white And that was the be-
ginning Of the dip OF Death, the fore
runner OF all that people have been
pleased to call my air deviltry.''
Beachy was born in San Francisco
in 1887, and had hardly reached his
teens when the lure Of the air caught
him. With the Baldwin dirigible he
made a reputation for himself, more
because of his youth than his skill. II
wasn't until 1910 that he began to mas
ter the art of flying in heavier-than-
air machines. His first craft, mono
plane, was wrecked at St. Paul in 1910,
and while he later in the same year
made "A successful fight at Los An
geles. still he ruined a second machine
before he WAS through.
ClrcIed Capitol Dome.
However, he had learned in his eK-
periments, and in the spring OF 1911
he came East. He elected to be the
first TO circle the Capitol dome st
Washington, which he accordingly did
on May 4. By June he had startled the
world by Drawing the mists and treach-
orous air currents of Niagara Falls.
After circling 1000 feet above the cat
! sract he swooped beneath the arches OF
{ the upper steel bridge and swept down
| the gorge almost to the whirlpool. The
roar of the waters drowned the whlrr
of the engines, and man and machine
were lost in the spray.
| But Beachey turned and rose again
between the precpitous sides OF the
'ower river and scared TO the Cana
J dian side, where he made a successful
] - a fire. N n
/ birdman had ever cut through the
mists and leaping foam of the rapids
/ that have lured so many adventurers
| to ,heir deaths.
| It was on August 8, 1911, that
/ Beschey won the race from New York
TO Philadelphia, the first long-dstsnce
/ cross country aeroplsne contest ever
held In the United States. He defeat
ed Hugh Robinson and Eugene Ely.
/ His time from Thirty-third Street and
/ Broadway 20 Ninth and Market Streets,
| Philadelphia, was hours % % sec
| onds The airmen made their ascent
| from Governors Island in a tricky
wind TO capture the prize of $4,000.
! He was the most conspicuous figure at
! the international aviation meet at Chi
cago in the latter part OF August.
lie went Up for an altitude record and
broke all previous marks when he
guided biplane ll.51S feet above the
ground.
For two years the youthful aero
naut travelled around the United
States, taking part in aviation meets
Of all kinds and garnering the golden
harvest that was TO be taken from
thousands anxious TO see him risk
his life. He boosted that 20,00o,000
persons had seen him fy. In the tall
Of 1918, while trying out an aeroplane
at Bath, y. Y, he descended 10 salute
four persons standing on the roof Of
building on the field. Something
went wrong ard he came too close,
the planes sweeping all four 10 the
ground, forty feet below. One Of the
party, a girl, was instantly killed.
They Pay to See Sic Die"
His exploits were too many to be
cstslogued. He hunted ducks from an
aeroplane, flying over the Potomac and
dropping to the water TO pick them
up. lie played the CHASTITY Joke of
pretending to fall into the gully at
Los Angeles where Arch Hoxey met
his death. He mssqueraded as a WON
an in wig and skirts and cut capers
in the air before amazed crowds a.
San Francisco and Chicago.
They called me the master bird
man." he once said, but there was
just one thing that drew crowds 10
see my eNhibtion-a morbid desire TO
see something happen. They are pre-
dieting that | will be killed. and none
wants to miss getting in on It. They
pay to see . die. They bet and the
odds ara sls-S, against ny life