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[[newspaper clipping]] LT. KELLY TAKES ARMY PHOTOGRAPH FROM BIPLANE CRISSY DROPS BOMBS FROM HEIGHT OF 1000 FEET [[3 images - aerial photograph, photograph of plane, photograph of man in uniform]] [[caption]] Lieutenant G. E. M. Kelly, Thirtieth United States Infantry, and a picture of South San Francisco and the bay taken by him from a biplane at an altitude of 1250 feet. The lower picture shows F. J. Wiseman, the Petaluma novice aviator, in his biplane, built by himself. [[/caption]] [[/newspaper clipping]] [[newspaper clipping]] Aviator Wiseman Flies From Petaluma to Santa Rosa. SANTA ROSA, Feb. 18. – Fred J. Wiseman of this city made a successful sixteen-mile flight today from Petaluma to Santa Rosa. The flight was made in a biplane of Wiseman's own design. He left Petaluma at an early hour, carrying with him fifty copies of a local morning newspaper. He scattered the papers along the course of his flight. He maintained an average altitude of from 100 to 200 feet and landed without any trouble in a field just south of the city limits. He was greeted by a large crowd of cheering fellow townsmen. On Saturday and Sunday the young aviator will attempt a series of flights at the Citrus Fair now being held at Cloverdale. [[/newspaper clipping]] [[newspaper clipping]] ONE MORE AMATEUR QUALIFIES IN TESTS F. J. WISEMAN was the only amateur who qualified in the novice tests yesterday, the other competitors failing to make the required flights and all damaging their machines more or less. Wiseman qualified in the two and a half kilometers circular flight and later flew over the half-mile straightaway course. This puts him in the class with Lincoln Beachy, the Curtiss amateur, and makes him a sharer of the purses offered for division among the novices who qualify. Wiseman operated his own machine, which was built in Berkeley. The machine is a modified Curtiss and weighs about 700 pounds. It is operated with an eight-cylinder engine of eighty-horse-power. The machine is wing-warped for stability and has double vertical and horizontal rudders. The chassis is of the wheel-and-skid type. When Wiseman started on his flight in order to qualify for the two and a half kilometers prize of $1000 the spectators apparently expected that he would meet the fate of his predecessors and end his career in the swamp on the south side of the soldiers' camp. He headed in that direction and dipped dangerously near the ground, but, by throwing his forward planes up, managed to escape disaster. He made the circular course in good shape and returned to the starting place directly in front of the grand stand, where he was received with hearty applause. [[/newspaper clipping]] [[newspaper clipping]] HE'S COMING HOME IN HIS AEROPLANE Santa Rosa Aviator Says if He Can't Make the Trip that Way He'll Stay Where He Is the Rest of His Life Fred J. Wiseman and his associates have established temporary quarters in this city, where they will carry on the construction of a large lot of aeroplane parts. They are having quite a bit of their woodwork turned out at the Simpson & Roberts mill under charge of Lee Patton of that establishment. Mr. Patton was with Wiseman's mechanical force some time at Petaluma. Wiseman has the distinction of being the first and only amateur aviator in America to build and successfully fly a heavier-than-air machine of his own original design. Yet his flying at the San Francisco international meet placed him and his machine about on par with professionals. While his machine was first being assembled at the Tanforan meet, the question, "Will you 'try' today?" was often asked. After his first exhibition of flying there the question was altered to "Will you 'fly' today?" Being asked when he would bring his air craft to this city, the local birdman replied, "I shall never bring that aeroplane to Santa Rosa by any other route than the 'air route,' and if I can't fly it here from Petaluma it will never come. But I don't believe there are many people who now doubt we can perform that feat and more, too." At San Francisco Wiseman established an official duration record of 49 minutes, double the time required for his promised Petaluma-to-Santa Rosa flight, which he has decided to make some time within the next few days. The local boy's work has been well recognized by all the eastern magazines and aero publications, and excellent pictures appear in most of them. [[preprinted]] 17 [[/preprinted]]
