The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-09-15
CAN TAXI NOW TO
SEE MISS LIBERTY
-
Regular Air Service Is Inau-
gurated With Help Of
Shimmy Queen.
COSTS ONLY 81 A MILE
Daylight Spin Above and
Around Manhattan Sets
One Back $50.

The first aerial taxicab that ever
buzzed over. New York city went whizz-
ing down the Hudson River yesterday
afternoon with Miss Gilda Gray. shimmy
queen. and c. Nicholas Reinhardt, gem
eral passenger agent Of the Travellers
company. in the limousine compartment.
and Pilot Bob Hewitt operating the JOY
stick.
On the rail Of little launch far down
below on the placid bose m Uf the river
Imp. the black bulldog Of c. Nicholas
scratched his left ear with his right hind
foot In perplexity as he watched the
white wings of the flying boat contract
In the distance. Imp had just emerged
from the shelter OF the engine pit Of the
boat, where ne had been playing stone
dead. But now, as the flying boat dis
appeared in the distance, Imp scratched
and pondered and pondered and
scratched. For Imp was deep In the
depths OF canine retrospection and was
scanning his soul anxiously.
Imp was to have had the high priv
llege of accompanying Miss Gilda Gray
(of the "Gaities Of 1919" and the Bal
Tabarin Restaurant-Adv.) and c. Mich
olas himself on the inaugurating flight
of the sightseeing and taxi company. In
fact Imp and Gllda and c. Nicholas had
been all battened down under the
matches of another flying boat for the
trip Imp had been. after snuffing Wig
orously and searchingly a couple OF
times, the first of the three passengers
TO board the strange boat with It's queer
white things sticking out uselessly on
either side of the body.
To no n wit
emphasis and whined eagerly to his
master to come right ahead. c. Mich
olas was at the moment very. very busy.
He was handing the lady into the flying
boat from the tender tenderly. Owing
to the prevailing mode in skirts. a mode
which Miss Gray has no quarrel with,
he wasn't making very good progress.
And Just when the process was most
critical and most interesting a gruff
word of command was heard and every
thing stopped by Imp's theoretical tail
until the camera man had clicked to his
hearts content.
Takes slowly Up River.
Well. when everything finally was set
tied, with Imp prancing excitedly from
lap to lap in the limousine compartment.
Pilot Bob Hewitt gave a final rub to
his goggles, somebody spun the pro-
peller and the flying boat TAXED slowly
on the surface up the river to turn
around and come down into the wind.
The take off. according to the camera
mans orders. was to be near the tender.
The last view of Imp showed that he
had ceased TO prance and was regard
ing the laundering engine and spinning
propeller with interest not unmingled
with respect.
Then the Aeromarine boat turned
around. Pilot Bob gave her the gun, -snd
she came dashing down the river send
ing up great banks OF white spray ON
either side of her. AS she progressed
her speed increased, the engine roared
hoarsely and deafeningly. and clouds of
spray dashed over the lower wing. Then
her nose tilted slightly upward and in
stead of ploughing through the water
she bounced heavily from wave top to
wave top. sSBump. bump. bump. she gath
cred herself for the takeoff Then sud
denly the engine slowed up, the terrific
speed of the flying boat slackened, the
spray died down and the boat dropped
back into the water again and resumed
taxing. She came up to the tender and
Pilot Bob said something about magnetic
brushes being slightly out of killer.
The first passenger to leave the flying
DOdt was imp. his ears ClunB nat 10
his head as a boarding house pancake
to a boarding house plate; he was en-
tirely silent, and as he was lifted out
of the limousine cockpit his feet were
moving him along at least one hundred
miles an hour. theoretically Imp was
leaving that flying boat far in the dis
lance, even assuming that the boat itself
was chasing him at top speed. When
c. Nicholas let his paws down gently or
the flying boat little curls of blue smoke
arose under them. The other passengers
got into the tender less rapidly.
Imp Digs Under Engine.
The launch then motored over to the
other flying boat. Imp had retired t.
the bottom OF the boat after getting of
the plane, but later ventured to poke hi,
nose over the rail. Then he saw the
other hydroairplane. So he went dowr
into the pit and tried to dig his way
under the engine. He was still digging
when Gilda and c. Nicholas got ABOARD
the other plane.
II was not until the staccato roar Of
the flying boat was softened by the dis
lance that Imp suddenly realized that N
had deserted his master. that he haC
| fallen down on the most sacred Of al
I canine precepts. 1t was then that gloom
perplexity and introspection descended
upon Imp and he wrestled inwardly a,
the flying boat disappeared in the dis
lance. He must have decided that h,
was a coward, for he was low and un
bulldoggy all the rest of the afternoon.
Meanwhile the aerial taxicab. IT.
motor roaring merrily. Dollar mile
dollar mile" in lieu of taximeter, spec
down the river to the Statue of Liberty
circled and came back and up the rive
almost to Spuyten Duyvil and then re
| turned to Eighty-third street. An,
while 1t was flying 1t had leaked on
somehow from one of the officials OF tn
company, who Is publicity director oil
his own say so, that there will be dali!
trips around Manhattan Island. a dis
lance said to be nifty miles. for thos
with some nerve and $50. The taxis ar
run by the same company which op
crates the New York-Atlantic City line
The service will be from IL A. M. I
twilight on days when the weather