Viewing page 14 of 105

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1911.
[[diagonal left-hand corner of page copy missing]]

[[column 1]]
[[?]]ders
[[?]]ungs at
[[?]]Ovington,
[[?]]quate of the
[[?]] Technology,
[[?]] cross Rhode
[[?]]nd here. Gov-
[[?]]rst to greet him.
[[?]]g had been wait-
[[?]]rits from 2 o'clock
[[?]]ening to interesting
[[?]]ins of the race from
[[?]]ore the monoplane con-
[[?]]on could be seen.
[[?]]utes before 4 a tiny speck
[[?]]ible in the clouds, in the gen-
[[?]]ction of Laurel Hill from the
[[?]]Officials with powerful glasses
[[?]]d up the monoplane and the crowd,
[[?]] being warned by the announcers to 
[[?]]t ready, began to devote its entire and absolute attention to finding the birdman.

  For a few moments the naked eye could not see the speck, but gradually it grew into something that looked exactly like a bird. Coming down gradually from a height of about 2300 feet, Ovington flew his machine over a part of the baseball field, and, still high in the air, over Laurel Hill, toward the park. When abreast of Fenner's Ledge, he dropped perceptibly, and from this point made a long, steady and graceful glide to the field.

  Ovington did not waste any time in selecting a landing place and dropped lightly to earth just outside the half-mile track at a point near the half-mile post on the old mile circuit. His landing was perfect, and considering all conditions, was remarkable. Immediately  the crowd at the park surged, over all boundaries and met the birdman with a most cordial and whole-hearted welcome, almost before the propeller on his machine had stopped revolving. 

LIKE GIANT DRAGON FLY.
  Ovington's big monoplane, when it soared in toward the field, looked like a giant dragon fly, and having discovered this likeness some time ago, the aviator named his machine accordingly, the "Dragon Fly." Ovington also liked the number 13, and this explains why he was assigned that number by the Harvard-Boston meet officials. He would have no other.

  As the tiny speck at first located developed into a bird-like thing, the crowd became intensely interested. Never before had such a sight been accorded to Rhode Islanders in their own State. The craft appeared to come from the clouds, and did not seem to rise out of the horizon. 
The setting for the sight was nearly
============================
WHAT IS GOING ON TO-DAY
___
Theatres: Bijou--Motion pictures and illustrated songs, until 10:30 p. m.
Bullock's Theatre--Vaudeville, motion pictures, until 10:30 p. m.
Casino--Vaudeville, motion pictures and songs, until 10:30 p. m.
Empire Theatre--"The Fascinating Widow,"  8:15 p. m.
Imperial--"The White Squaw," 2 and 8:15 p. m.
Keith's--Albee Stock Company, in "Spooks," 2:15 and 8 p. m.
Nickel--Motion pictures and illustrated songs, until 10:30 p. m.
Providence Opera House--Dante's "Inferno," 2:15 and 8:15 p. m.
Scenic Temple--Vaudeville, motion pictures and songs, until 10:30 p. m.
Westminster Theatre--"The Girls from Happy-land," 2:15 and 8 p. m.
Rhodes-on-the-Pawtucket -- Dancing, afternoon and evening.
Rocky Point--Shore dinners daily.
R. I. State Fair at Hillsgrove. All attractions open.
_________
THE WEATHER.
___
Record of the Journal Thermometer for the Past 24 Hours.
Highest, at 12:30 p.m.  [[?]]  83
Lowest, [[at]] 6 a. m. yesterday ....56
At 2 a. m. to-day.....61
___
Weather conditions yesterday could not have been improved upon, in the opinion of the people of this city. It was an [[/column 1]]

[[columns 2-5]]
[[headline and photograph covering 4 columns space]]
TWO VIEWS OF LIEUTENANT MILLING--ALOFT AND JUST AFTER ALIGHTING AT PARK
[[image: photo showing houses and trees in lower fourth of shot, top center is a biplane in the sky, and foreground right is a young man with close-cropped hair, a red nose, white shirt and cardigan.]]
[[/columns 2-5]]

[[column 2]]
perfect, the white fleecy clouds being set off by patches of clear blue sky. As the monoplane came nearer and nearer to the field, all the time settling toward the earth, its lines could be distinguished, and some of the incredulous in the crowd then for the first time actually saw that it was a man-bird and not a real bird that was heading toward the field.

  Smoke bombs had been sent up to direct Ovington to the field, but as he drew close these were stopped in order not to interfere with his flight in any way. The crowd began to cheer long before the air craft came within hailing distance, but the pent-up enthusiasm could no longer remain dormant.

  Hardly had the wheels of the monoplane touched earth before the crowd, as one man, decided to try to shake hands with the bird-man. It was useless to try to clear the field and the thousands gathered about the canvas and wooden "bird" to examine its construction. Ovington was met by members of the reception committee and as soon as a passage could be forced through the crowd was taken to the clubhouse.

  "Hello, Ovie," was a general expression all along the line, and the ever-genial aviator responded with a laugh. One of his first remarks was that the field was excellent, that the crowd was enormous, and that he was glad to arrive here so as not to disappoint the thousands who had collected.

MECHANICS TAKE MACHINE.
  Ovington's chief mechanic had been [[C3?]]
[[/column 2]]

[[column 3 (below photo)]]
at the clubhouse, Milling took his place, the engine was turned over by the assistants. For 150 feet or more the biplane hopped along the ground like a lame bird, but getting sufficient headway, the pilot tilted his planes and the machine soared easily into the air.

  The army birdman circled over the field, going over behind the grandstand into the wind in order to climb well into the air before heading for Boston. Coming around the other end of the seats, Milling went off, apparently on his final course, and the crowd started out of the field.

  It was then seen, however, that the biplane was turning, and it headed directly back toward the field. Officials thought that something might be going wrong with the engine, and that Milling was going to land again and make repars. Police cleared the field in a hurry, and all was ready had a landing been contemplated. 

Milling was merely seeking altitude for the run-out, and, as it is easier to climb when going into the wind than with it, he made the turn for that purpose. Having reached a point well over the centre of the field, Milling turned outward again, and this time set sail direct for the finish line at Atlantic. Within a minute or two he was a mere speck above the horizon and in a few more he had vanished into the clouds and the dusk of evening, then falling.
___
WINNERS BORNE IN TRIUMPH.
[[/column 3]]

[[column 4 below photograph]]
crowds cheered themselves hoarse. It was the grandest finish of the biggest event of the meet, and it had been won by a Boston-born and Boston-bred boy.

  At the finish of Milling's flight a distinctive touch of color was added. The sun had set and dusk was creeping over the marshes, while the haze was setting in from the sea. A bonfire was started in the middle of the field, blazing rockets were sent into the air and redfire was burned here there and everywhere.

  Finally out of the after glow of the evening, to the southwest, came the shadowy outlines of a swiftly moving biplane. It was Milling and again the hosts rose to their feet and sounded the cry of victory. Milling came down and vaulted from his seat into the arms of the meet officials and friends, who, as with Ovington, tossed him to their shoulders and carried him about the field. 

  Ovington's finish of the cross-country flight caused him definitely to decide to enter the Pacific-Atlantic aeroplane race. To-night he announced that within two weeks he would be on the Pacific coast and ready to start across the country for the $50,000 prize for the first aviator to cross the entire country in an aero[[plane?]]
[[/column 4]]

[[column 5 (below photo)]]
tum, was not permitted to waste any moments in speculation over the cross-country fliers between the start and finish of the great race. 

  Beatty, Sopwith and Grahame-White were almost constantly in the air throughout the afternoon, while Harry Atwood returned from the mishap which took him out of the cross-country, flying the same biplane which he had repaired, and spiraled about the field at varying altitudes for an hour or more.

  The first official field event of the day was the quick starting contest, which ended in a dead heat at 10 3-5 seconds between Beatty and Sopwith, both flying the Wright. Another trial gave Sopwith the victory with a flying start in 9 4-5 seconds, while Beatty cut his mark by three-fifths of a second. Ely got off the ground in 11 1/4 seconds.

  In bomb dropping Sopwith got an average of 15.4 feet, Beatty 16.2 feet and Ely 62.4 feet. Sopwith was also victor in the accuracy test in landing, his distance being 81 feet, compared with 318 for Beatty.

  The figure eight speed event about pylons 1 and 4 developed some intense rivalry, which finally resulted in Grahame-White protesting Eugene Ely's mark and the announced determination of the latter to quit the meet, an act easy of accomplishment, since the latter's original contract only called for flights up to the close of the meeting to-day, the flying for to-morrow and Wednesday being postponed events from the rainy spell of last week. [[/column 5]]

[[column 6]]

ENORMOUS CROWD
CHEERS BIRDMEN
___
Narragansett Park Scene of Great Welcome to Aviators.
___
LANDINGS AND FLIGHTS SEEN
___
Cars and Automobiles Carry Thousands to Aviation Field.--Ovington and Milling Cheered by Enthusiastic Watchers.--Governor and Staff Greet Airmen's Daring Feats. 

  The enormous crowd which assembled at this, the first aviation meet ever held in this State, was able to see clearly all the phases of the landing and the flight homeward of the two daring aviators yesterday.

  The advance guard of the thousands and thousands and still more thousands of the keenly interested, began to arrive at the park at about 2 o'clock, the cars carrying their limit of passengers on each trip from the city. 

  Then there were the automobiles, a continuous procession which flashed through the entrance gate and were diverted in their passage through the grounds to the parking space at the south of the track. There, accommodations had been set apart for the motorists and the cars stretching around the track for a distance of practically one-third of a mile, stood three deep.

   was one of the biggest assemblages of motor vehicles ever seen in the city, nearly one thousand.

  As the spectators passed through the turnstiles they were directed to the grandstand, which rapidly filled up to its last inch of space. Then came the overflow on the space in front of the grandstand, and when that space was filled to its limit the crowd which was steadily growing larger and larger with the continuous arrival of cars from the city, spread to all the available space along the fence, marking the boundary of the old race track.

MANY ROOST IN TREES.
  On the stable buildings at the east side of the park directly opposite the grandstand, hundreds found perches and roosted along the ridgepoles for the hour or more that elapsed before Ovington made his appearance. Trees outside the park will filled nearly to the breaking point with a fruitage of human beings and telegraph and telephone poles were also crowned with the ambitious seeking to observe the doings inside the inclosure. 

  Across the street from the main entrance of the park there were several hundred automobiles drawn up in a parking space and a large crowd found there a vantage point whence to see the aviators as they swept from the heavens to the field.

  A conservative estimate of the enormous crowd that assembled within the park made by one of the aviation meet officials was that fully 25,000 persons were present when the first birdman swooped down on the field from the northern sky. It was a good-natured crowd, and one prone to take itself anything but seriously. Fay's Band, playing at intervals between announcements of the progress of the flights, kept the people in happy mood and prevented the interval of waiting for the appearance of the first aviator from becoming monotonous.

  A detail from Troop B, First Squadron, Rhode Island National Guard, acted as a cavalry patrol in the park. The troopers, under command of Capt. J. J. Richards, included Sergts. Fred Nield, John Rancourt, Samuel Hart, William Eagleson, Corps, Arthur Gardiner, George Aldred, Eugene Bonner, Ernest Goodrill, [[next line half cut off]]
[[/column6]]

[[column 7]]
Again and again the voices split the air, drowning the ferocious efforts of the automobiles in their noisy welcome. Ovington stretched himself as the car ran along the ground for a few feet before it came to a stop, and grinned cheerily at one of the officials who had been standing nearby and who had waved him to the landing place with a white handkerchief.
  "Gee. That was fun!" he declared as he unstrapped himself from his seat between the wings of the machine and stepped out on the ground. Then he reached into his pocket and fished out a pipe with a bowl nearly as big as the elbow of the kitchen stovepipe, which he proceeded to "load" vigorously with about an ounce or so of tobacco.

  By that time the impatience of the big crowd had become strung to the breaking point and there was a rush from the grandstand side of the track to the inclosure where the aircraft stood. This point was well over toward the half-mile post on the track.

  From all parts of the grounds there swept a stream of men, women and children, all anxious to get their first glimpse at close quarters of an aeroplane. With the track inclosure fairly black with people, it seemed as if there should be a bare grandstand, but observation showed that the rush from the stand had made hardly any effect upon the crowd there. 

CROWDS INSPECT AEROPLANE.
  The army of the curious crowded about the monoplane and gazed in awe at the intrepid air pilot. Some of the more ambitious in the crowd reached out and touched the blades of the propellor or whatever part of the machine they could reach. Shouts of "Good boy, Ovington!" caused the aviator to smile and duck his head in acknowledgment.

  Then the officials of the meet informed the aviator that the Governor of Rhode Island wished to meet him, and he started across the field ahead, and only slightly ahead, of a notable procession of humanity. Just before meeting the Governor's party Ovington stopped and, scratching a match, succeeded in setting his big pipe alight.

  With a sigh of satisfaction at the first puff, the aviator stepped up to the Governor and the aviation officials and was welcomed by the Chief Executive of the State. He was then escorted to the official headquarters where he sketched the details of his trip to an interested audience.

  In the meanwhile the aeroplane was the centre of attraction for a big crowd which trooped across the field and laughed good-naturedly when the cavalrymen sought to restrain it.

  Just before it was announced that Milling was nearing the city, Ovington shook hands with the official party and was escorted to his machine. in the centre of a dense crowd he started the motor. There was a sudden blast and those who had been standing close by lost their hats from the unmuffled explosion.

  The flying of the hats caused a spontaneous movement backward among those who stood at the centre of the circle and this movement caused sundry other hats to be jarred off. For a moment the scene was laughable from the judges' stand.

  Then, a lane being cleared through the crowd, Ovington's motor started barking and a second later he was on his way across the white mark and circling above the field twice before the flight in a direction northeast on the last leg of the race.

MILLING COMES INTO VIEW.
  Ovington was still visible when there came a shout that Milling was in sight. The army aviator came within range of the thousands of pairs of eyes at a point considerably west of that whence Ovington had shot into view. It was easier for the crowd to pick up the biplane than it had been to locate the monoplane, and long before the army airman had passed over the northernmost limits of the city he had been sighted by all those who were awaiting his landing at Narragansett Park.

On and on came the aircraft, and bigger and bigger it grew. Milling flew higher than Ovington and did not start to descend as soon as the other man. The cavalry had cleared the centre of the field and as the biplane swept over the [[cut off]]
[[/column 7]]

Transcription Notes:
Nice discreet collage of photographic images. Early Photoshop! Interesting use of plural in 'the pilot tilted his planes' suggesting the word was originally applied to the surface of the wings rather than to the entire vehicle. Earlier in the article the writer spelled the name Beattie, on this page he writes Beatty. mandc: it appears that a line or two may have been trimmed off the bottom of the page.