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construction that it could be readily taken apart, transported on a couple of wagons, and reassembled in 60 minutes. The combined weight of the two persons carried must total at least 360 pounds.

Forty-one Bids

Forty-one persons, it was found when the bids were opened on Feb. 1, 1908, were willing to supply the government with a flying machine, but only three of the proposals

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Curtiss Perfects Land-Water Plan At San Diego

SAN DIEGO Calif., Jan. 26, 1911 (E.B.)—Glenn Hammond Curtiss, the noted aeroplane inventor, who has established a winter aviation camp here, has another aeronautical triumph to his credit.

Today in a standard fifty-horsepower Curtiss biplane which had been fitted with a system of floats, he succeeded in rising from the water in Spanish Bight, an inlet of San Diego bay, in flying about a mile, making a turn and in again descending to the surface of the bay.

The flight made by Curtiss today is the first time the over-water feat has been successfully accomplished. He was aided in the experiment by Hugh Robinson, a Curtiss aviator, and W.J. Shackelford and John D. Cooper, mechanics. The aeroplane with its pontoon attachments roared through the water at a speed of 40 miles an hour, then as Curtiss moved the control, rose and flew steadily at 50 miles an hour.

In addition to the over-water experiments Curtiss and Robinson are conducting a school of aviation for several army and navy officers sent to North Island for aeronautical instruction.

The officers are Lieut. Theodore G. Ellyson, of the navy, and Lieutenants Geo. E. M. Kelly, Paul W. Beck and John C. Walker, of the army. A $125,000 appropriation for the purchase of aircraft has recently been introduced in congress, and it is possible that a fleet of modern aeroplanes will soon replace the single, obsolete, 1909 Wright biplane now owned by the government.

Eugene Ely, a Curtiss aviator, recently made a flight from the Presidio, at San Francisco, to the deck of the U.S.S. Pennsylvania. After landing on the warship Ely rose from the deck and flew back to shore. Earlier in the year Ely made a ship to shore flight near Hampton Roads. 

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nas, was taken aloft.
On August 8 Wilbur Wright left for France to conclude foreign negotiations for the use of the Wright patents, leaving Orville to complete the business with the government. 
On September 3, having assembled the aeroplane which he hoped to sell to the war department at the parade ground at Fort Meyer, Va,. near Washington, D. C., Orville ascended for a test flight. 
After two circuits of the field he made a mistake in the manipulation of the steering lever, in which some damage was done to the forward portion of the runners.

Octave Chanute Present

The signal corps representatives at Fort Meyer were Major Squier and Lieutenants Frank P. Lahm, Benjamin D. Foulois and Thomas E. Selfridge. Lieutenants Lahm and Foulois were attached to the balloon section of the corps, and had recently conducted a series of experiments with the Baldwin dirigible, purchased by the government a short time before. Lieutenant Selfridge has been but recently recalled from detached duty with the Aerial Experiment association. The navy was represented by Lieutenant Sweet. Charles Taylor, who had aided the Wrights in the design and construction of their first motor, and C. W. Furnas, who had been their first passenger, were Orville's assistants. Augustus Post, secretary of the Aero Club of America, was present as an official observer. Octave Chanute was an interested spectator. 
Before a large crowd which has assembled a second ascent was made at about 6 p.m., on Sept. 4. With only a faint trace of a breeze blowing Orville made five circuits of the parade ground and landed directly in front of the tent used to house the machine. The flight lasted 4 minutes \and 15 seconds, the altitude did no exceed 33 feet, and the average speed attained was about 36 miles an hour.
On September 8, Orville made two flights. On the longest voyage he remained aloft for 11 minutes and covered about 6 1/2 miles. On this flight he sailed high over the stables which lined one side of the parade ground, and made six circuits of the field. On the shortest trip he was up 8 minutes and travelled 4 1/4 miles.

Up Over Hour

Having gained confidence in the machine, and his handling of it,  Orville, in an early morning flight on Sept. 9, remained up for 57 minutes and 31 seconds, covering 36 miles. shortly after 5 o'clock that evening he ascended and accomplished a flight of 1 hour 2

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Selfridge as a passenger. They had been up for six of seven minutes, had made two circuits of the field at an altitude of about 75 feet, when the machine was observed to waver in the air, twist in its course, and nose upwards.

Fell With Crash

The aeroplane fell to earth with a crash The crowd broke past the soldiers and started to rush across the field to where Orville and Lieutenant Selfridge were pinned in the wreckage, but the troops hastily formed a cordon and held them back.
The motor lay on top of Selfridge. His head was covered in blood and his breath can in choking gasps. He was unconscious.
Orville, badly hurt, was still conscious.
"Oh," hurry and lift the motor," he begged looking towards his companion.
An ambulance took both men to the Fort Meyer hospital. Orville's injuries consisted of a compound frarture [[fracture]] of the right thigh bone, and two broken ribs. Lieutenant Selfridge had sustained a basal fracture of the skull.
Lieutenant Selfridge died three hours after the start of the ill-fated voyage, without recovering conciousness. He was 26 years old, and the son of