The Washington times., 1921-06-15
AERIAL
VAGRANI, DEFlES
army OFFICERS
(continusd from First Pass.)

wanted to try >ths life Of bird for
. few minutes. Riddick touched
them for 3S each and began nIling his
pocket ~ we'll ~ the insatiable gas
tank.
At Monroeviiis. also In Indiana, ne
found sixteen persons who were will
Ing to pay S3.Bo each for . little
Joy ride in the clouds Here Rid
dick hlisd himself with the best chow
In town and purchased for his sturdy
steed = brimming hagon OF gasoline
with . real head"
HIS OLD BOAT R0ARs ON.
The ship psrksd up instantly and
roared joyfuliy on to Kenton. Ohio.
before II gave up. Here Riddick was
unable to fnd anybody who wanted to
part with his shsckels for . flight.
So he purchased . tank full Of gas
and shook the dust of the town from
his tail skid. Before leaving Ohio he
collected another IS tribute and
plugged on toward Wheeling, w. Va.
However. Old Sol decided to call
II day and left him flying ON In
the gathering dusk with but three
gallons Of gas In his tank. He ac-
cordingly landed on the top Of .
conveniently nat mountain nsar Ola
Concord. Pa, whore he stretched his
come and invite him to supper.
Finally an old farmer came up the
hill, gaped at the ship from all pos
sibls angles and q lot of impossible
ones, rubbed his nose, and gave the
pilot the wsll-known up and down.
SON." he said, you can't have q
nerve In your body. Come and have
supper with me-"
SO Riddick had . good supper and
a long nights sleep In q wonderful
feather bed. In the morning he
soaked his host IS for 4 hop and,
when he had landed. another farmer
took a chance. also At s..
After collecting all the loose
change in West Virginia Riddick tore
up the atmosphere on hts way to
Washington and. at 3 o'clock Sunday
afternoon. he put his wheels down In
q vacant lot on Massachusetts ave.
nue. extended. to the conformation of
residents and the portion Of the po-
lice department within raliying dis
tance.
where am To- he muttered In the
general direction of the least ave.
stricken resident. as he flashed an
anu ufShSu
peck OF oil and SCOT from his fea-
lures. Then. without waiting for
the bystanders to rally from this
quip. he proceeded to take stock once
moro and found that he had very lit,
tie gas in his tank but that he had
S35 in his pocket. He also found
that he was very near the home OF
his father. sthe Congressman. who
lives at 3011 Dent Place northwest
TAKES MOTHER ON FLIGHT.
os he abandoned the plane temper.
| arily and went home. where he d.
vided his attention between chow and
conversation until bedtime.
Monday morning he persuaded hi,
mother to take q little flight with him.
so they hoped of from the Massachu-
sets avenue, extended. real estate and
few over to Boiling Field. whore the
army men raised their eyebrows, al
has been said. Mrs. Riddick said she
| enjoyed II thoroughly and that she
wasn't q bit afraid. Whereupon some
more eyebrows were seen to move
slightly.
Riddick put his name in the avia-
tors handbook In the summer OF
1919. when he carried air natl be-
tween Washington and New York
while in the service he put in more
dying time than any pilot. He new
without q Qualm through some o!
the nastiest weather the Atlantic
coast was capable of producing and
raised much hair and estimation for
the air mail on September 10 OF tha.
year. when he flew from Now York
to this city In fog so thick that he
was unable to see more than rs
yards ahead.
SKINNED WAVES IN HUDSON.
Flying over New York Bay, he
found that the fog was thinner close
to the water and so flew at a height
of from ten to fifteen feet. his wheels
at times touching the tops of the
waves. Twice ships loomed ur
| barely a hundred feet ahead and he
was forced to clear them by 4 wild
hurdle. He hoped high over New
Jersey and followed the Delaware, at
a height Of a few feet all.the way to
Chesapeake Bsy and on to Baltimore
whore he again rose for the last lap
to College Park, Nd.
During the war he acted as an in
structor for army pilots in this coun'
try and in France.
He resigned from the airmsil serv-
| ice In September. 1919, to enter the
commercial aviation neId, in which he
has been engaged since that time.