Viewing page 29 of 122

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

The Aeronautic Society of New York

Dr. Julian P. Thomas, Vincent F. Lake, Lawrence J. lese, George F. Chamberlin, Walter E. Brown, Harry R. Burt, Stanley Y. Beach, Harold H. Brown, A. B. Levy, E. La Rue Jones, O. A. Danielson, C. F. Blackmore, Dr. S. B. Battey, Geo. A. Lawrence, Edward W. Smith, Curt Schmidt, F. E. Boland, Adrian Beckert, Thos. A. Hill, A. E. Horn, J. R. Loveday, Harry A. Lewis, G. C. Gillespie, Herbert G. Scott and Paul F. Mottelay.

The charge for admission to this Exhibition was $1. As before, most of the visitors came in through the broken fences. Commissioner Bingham, who was then at the head of the police department, very kindly lent the assistance of a very large staff of men, both on foot and mounted, who did excellent service. But around so great a space, practically without fences, not even a regiment of soldiers could have kept back the crowd who swarmed in everywhere.

In connection with this Exhibition a very complete set of rules was prepared governing contests of aeroplanes and all other kinds of aeronautical competitions. It was the first set prepared in this country, and is likely to be used very largely as the basis of all subsequent sets.

A week later another Exhibition was organized by S. Y. Beach. It also reunited in a financial loss. W. H. Martin remained with his glider. Mr. Curtiss made a flight similar to the one on the previous Saturday. Some motorcycle events were added. The charge for admission was 50c.

The Directors decided that it was inadvisable to risk the considerable cost that Exhibitions ran into, necessitating a charge for admission, until, at any rate, the art in this country had advanced somewhat further, and that, in any case, the condition of the fences at Morris Park did not justify them in again taking the risk on those grounds. It had been the hope of the Directors that the exhibitions, while stimulating the interest of the public and encouraging inventors, might also assist in the formation of an experimental fund for the Society for the provision of more workshops, sheds, etc., for buying more motors for the use of members, and for preparing testing devices and other useful aids for the benefit of all. It was very much to their regret that they saw this hope unfulfilled.

[[image - drawing of three flowers]]

As no further exhibition was to be given at Morris Park, Mr. Curtiss applied for permission to take the Society's machine to Mineola, L. I., to practice some long flights there over the safe, wide Hempstead Plains. Consent was immediately granted. Although the delay entailed meant a very great loss to the Society, its keenest desire was to do anything it could to help Mr. Curtiss along, as he was entirely dependent upon this machine for any practice he could get to enable him to take part in the contests at Rhelms. Members of the Society were astonished, a day or two later, to gather from reports in the newspapers that, instead of the Society receiving the recognition due to its courteous act, the machine was supposed to be in charge of the organization which is closely linked with Mr. Curtiss' manufacturing company. Mr. Curtiss was said to be making the flights at Mineola under the auspices of that body, and the representatives of that organization were speaking of the machine as either belonging, or about to belong, to that institution! The Directors of the Society had, however, always, since the formation of Mr. Curtiss' company in March, been aware of the peculiar nature of the association between Mr. Curtiss' partners and the body referred to, and their experience had taught them to be in no way surprised. It was obvious that Mr. Curtiss was not entirely free to follow his own wishes.

Poor as were the flights at Morris Park, they were sufficient to show what the machine could do, if boldly handled. Mr. Curtiss was, therefore, entered to represent America at Rhelms, and at once set about building a duplicate of the Society's machine with which to take part in the great international contests. By the courtesy of the Society he was enabled to continue practice at Mineola right down to the morning he sailed for Europe.

28