The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1915-03-24

great science would Be alive today
had they studied the possibilities Of
the glide as did. patiently and scivn-
uhcally.
A. soon a. I found that I could
make the Tremendous glides 20 eartn.
! began 10 reinforce my machine I
doubted every wire. and gradually I
was able 10 come down al sharper
and sharper angles. I went slow.
The others didn't
As the days and weeks and months
went By and / Nas sharpening the
angle Of hat glide. knew the time
would come when I could make a
sheer dive from a great altitude.
Difficulty In Breathing.
At hrst ! bad great difficulty In
breathing. II was hard to control
my senses and TO get used 10 the in
creased air pressure. Gradually !
mastered H. one day. letting only a
few friends know Of my intentions. 4
determined TO make a dead drop from
an altitude Of 5000 feet. Well. q /
had failed ! wouldn't BE- here TO tell
about IL nov. I came straight down
like a stone. As / neared the ground
] turned up the planes nose and land
ed In a distant part OF the field as
gently as a bird.
And I've done IL hundreds OF times
since. No living thing has ever gone
through the air al the rate I went
one day we figured the speed OF the
drop. From an altitude OF 5000 feet
until the time I brought up the planes
nose nea the ground / travelled at
the rate Of l56 miles an hour. Just
tNenty-three seconds II took 10 cover
the distance
The. boys who tried to follow me in
that drop. In most cases. went al IL
blindly. Before taking up the planes
i had been a diriGble balloon operator
for hye years. Study OF the air was
a lad with me. When / took up the
planes ! knew a little more about the
elements than my brother birdmen.
Most OF those killed had never been
OF the ground In anything. Some OF
them didn't even take the trouble TO
look their machines over before go-
ing up. Generally they left Il to a
mechanic. / never failed 10 examine
everything before trusting myself 10
chance.
Warning Not Needed.
i watched Rutherford Page trying
out some of my stunts in a brand
new Curtiss machine. He was fool
lshly brave and I tried TO warn MIN.
He laughed at me. He insisted that
he could do anything did. helped
TO unttngle his dead and broken body
from that very machine a few min
utos later. As we worked TO clear
him OF the maze Of wires and IAN
vas, his mechanician turned TO me
and said.
MIR. Beachey. Rutherford said Just
now. before he went up. he was 90
ing TO Guido your stunts OF break his
neck"
Just an unexpected pun OF wind
and IL was the end. He wouldn't lis.
ten, and he paid the price with his
life. He was doing what they call my
Dutch Rolls"
Phil Parmelee was killed doing my
Figure Eight" I used to complete
the entire evolution with my hands
on the levers. guiding my machine
with my knees and the motion of my
body only. Phil was determined 10
master that He died trying to do Il.
Horace k~earney wanted 10 be the
star at a Los Angeles meet. do
something to outshine Beachev,"
seemed TO be the cry. So he attempt
ed a flight over the ocean from Los
Angeles To a Francisco. where a
meet was 10 follow shortly after. he
took with him as a passenger Chester
Lawrence, automobile editor Of tho
Los Angeles Examiner. \ single pom.