Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-08-25
Big Machine Placed in Commls-
sion at Aviation Field Saturday
FLIGHTS STOPPED BY CROWDS
So Many People on Field Yes
terday Trips Had to
Cease
HAVE REGULATION FIELD
Will Be Marked and Chartered
for Government and Com
merciaI Flying
HAVE REGULATION FIELD

The first commercial aerial pasSen-
ger carrying business to be started in
this part of the state was begun Sat-
urday when the American Curtiss''
plane Of the Garretson Company pt-
loted by former Lieutenant William
b. Garretson made numerous success
full trips over this city and the sur
rounding country.
Twenty persons were carried as
passengers during the twenty-four
hours. the size of the crowd which
collected at the Koch landing field
finally compelling the aviator to stop
flying Sunday afternoon. More than
5000 persons from this city and
Woodbridge visited the field at Spa
Springs and crowded the 1900 feet
landing field SO that it became unsafe
to maneuvre the airplane.
The plane flew over the home COM
ing celebration at Woodbridge, circled
above the Railway reformatory
where a baseball game was in pro-
gress among the inmates, passed over
Colonia hospital where it was watch
ed by the soldiers, and included in
it's course Plainfield, Metuchen,
South Amboy and Tottenville. Staten
Island.
'The heaviest persons I took up
yesterday weighed 1856 pounds"
Lieut.. Garretson said today. The
machine worked perfectly, and while
I couldn't hear what the passengers
tried to say while we were flying they
all said Fine, Great and SO on,
when we landed. While the weather
| is warm the only additional clothing
| is helmet equipped with goggles.
| At times we went as high as three
| thousand feet, but most of the pas
sengers simply wanted to cover as
much ground as possible In order to
see the city and country from the air.
Everybody who went up yesterday
was an enthusiast and there were
several who wanted to make flights.
but couldn't on account Of the
| crowds" the pilot said.
'The field here is to be made a
Irregular commercial landing field on
the New York to Washington route
| The government Is anxious to locate
as many fields as possible in all parts
| of the country and already some of
the fields have been SO DESIGNATED:
The Garretson Company have offered
their field as regular commercial
landing supply apd repair field and II
is expected that it will soon be mark
ed charted.
"The field of the Standard Aircraft
factory at Elizabeth has been marked
J-78 in huge white letters across the
field and has been charted as one OF
the regular landing fields for mail
planes, army planes or commercial
planes for repairs, gasoline. ETC., as
an example of the government
plans. If the government can obtain
fields not more than ten miles apart
all through the country, which
are suitable for landing, ever
il not regularly used for that pur-
pose, the air will be relatively safe
| When a plane is a mile high it will
coast seven miles ON the wind with
| the engine stopped and If fields are
within that distance there need bt
no landing in tree tops and on crowd
ed places"
The flights yesterday were all
made without the slightest hitch, nc
i attempt being made at fancy flying
although Lieut.. Garretson took the
i course in aerial acrobatics while ir
the army.
Work has already been started or
the erection of the new wooden han.
gar for the machine. The plane Is q
Curtiss JIM 4-D. of the type used al
the army training schools and L
known as the American Curtiss." A
speed of seventy-five miles per hour
in still air can be maintained with 9
free load of 500 pounds, the machine
itself weighing about 1900 pounds II
addition. The plane is propelled by 9
90 Horsepower motor and has a Al
foot wing spread.
| Flights will be continued, weather
permitting until winter
/ Among those who made flights Sat.
urday and yesterday were Miss Jean
ette Garretson, the first woman to fly
over the city, and James Clevenger
the first boy to make a fight here
| Others who went up were: George
Stillwell, John Haynes, Henry Koch
Jr., Peter Rhoda, Alexander Kupas
Mrs. Thomas A. Garretson, e. A
Frost, Leonard Cook. Charles Turek
John Melko and C. Zember of thi,
city and Martin Snyder, w. 8. Os-
borne, j. j. Brown and William
Zember of Woodbridge.