The Washington herald., 1921-11-20
DARE DEVIL STUNTS
THRILL THOUSANDS
AT BIG AIR MEETING.
Variety of Aircraft
Startles Students With
Gamut of Deeds.

Island, " Y, recently brought forth
a demonstration OF a great variety
Of airplanes, about thirty in all, Of
various types and sizes. some OF
which had been flown to the held
from distant localities. The pur-
pose of staging this event was TO
afford an opportunity to the public
to study the latest types of air
planes, through exhibition of aVia-
ton equipment and demonstration
flights.
The Curtiss Airplane and Motor
Corporation furnished the largest
exhibit, with three Orioles, three
JN's and the historic -pusher type
biplane on which Glenn H. Curtiss
in 1911 won the race for the Cor
con Bennett trophy by attaining a
speed of forty-seven miles an hour.
This old plane looked exactly as II
did ten years ago, the only change
therein being the installation of a
lOO-hOrsepower Curtiss NN engine.
Pilot Bert Acosta took il up and
raced over the field at a speed In
the neigrborhoOd of eighty miles
an hour. and seemed to be enjoy
ing the experience.
Two J. L. all-metal monoplanes
and one Fokker. powered with 1885,
horsepower engines and all making
well over 100 miles an hour. carry
ing six passengers. besides the pilot
created considerable interest, as did
the Looming Model % flying yacht
Can Land on Tennis Court.
One of the most interesting ma
chimes shown was the Fsrman
Sport" two-seater tractor biplane.
This ship, which is fitted with the
60-horsepower lie Rhone engine, put
up a remarkable performance when
the pilot. Capt. d. H. Robertson,
took off time after time after a run
Of 40 or so feet and pointed her
nose up to an angle OF As degrees
and continued climbing in this posi-
tion straight as an arrow. The
pilot demonstrated the low speed
the mochine is capable of when he
brought her TO what looked as the
stalling angle, and the ship. having
lost nearly all her relative speed
(not to be confused with air SPEEDY.
simply started settling in a man
ner which reminded one of a per-
son walking down a flight of stairs.
This was a valuable demonstration
of the low speed at which some air
pAdit are tdpdble OF ldHulHSr d
feature which has an important
bearing on the safety of air trans
port. 1t is obvious that an airplane
which can land at twenty-five or
thirty miles an hour and take Off
after a run of ten or fifteen yards
is ideal for cross-country flights,
for, as Capt. Robertson remarked. II
could be sat" down upon a tennis
court if the need arose.
High Lift Demonstrated.
Another highly significant DEM
Onstration of commercial flying was
furnished by the Lawrence Sperry
Aircraft Corporation. This firm
demonstrated its high-lift mono
plane wing. mounted on the fuse
lage Of Canuck biplane fitted with
9O-horsepower Curtiss QX-5 engine.
To what extent the Sperry high-lift
wing improved the carrying ca
racity Of this machine, which is
two-seater when fitted with biplane
wings, was shown when Lawrence
Sperry took the ship off with tour
passengers after a run Of 800 yards.
The useful load in this case was
1000 pounds, and the weight of the
machine empty 100 pounds. The
climb, S officially recorded by an
observer Of the Aero Club of Amer
lea, was 1000 feet in minutes.
1900 feet in 81 minutes, 1000 feet
in Ills minutes and $500 feet in Is
minutes. The speed. as measured
over two-mile course, was G2
miles an hour. Considering the low
horsepower used, the performance
strikingly illustrates the CONNER
afQT do n feh
lift wing.
The Lawrence Sperry Aircraft
Corporation also exhibited a Mes
senSer type airplane, built to the
designs Of the engineering division
Of the air service and intended for
quick communication work; also an
Avro two-seater.
Uses Two Quarts of Oil.
The L. NJ. Laird Company, of
Wichita, Kans., showed great en-
Laird Swallows" to the Aero Club
meet. The hree-passenger OX-5
engined ship, piloted by Buck
Weaver, chief pilot of the firm, left
Wichita on October IL at 7:10 a. m,
making its first stop at Kansas City,
where an air mechanic. w. II.
was PANFNNN ~ H4AN NSA AANN
as far as Chicago
Ten hours was the actual flying
time Of the Laird Swallow from
Chicago to New York, seventy-two
gallons Of gas being used between
these points. The oil consumption
for the entire flight from Wichita
10 New York was only two quarts.
BY far the smallest airplane pres
ent on the field and in the air was
the Mummert biplane, fitted with a
Lawrence two-cylin-
der horizontal engine. This little
highly stream-line single-seater was
a revelation to many visitors in
showing how small an airplane can
be built to fly.
Marine Craft shown.
Two s. v. A. biplanes and two
Dim airplanes of the Air Mail
Service heightened interest in the
meeting through their evolutlons,
and three Curtiss Orioles added
military touch to II by doing for
nation flying. The military eie-
ment was further emphasized by
the arrival from Quantico. Va. of