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IT WAS SURPRISINGLY SIMPLE. YOU SAT IN THE PLANE. THE MOTOR WOULD ONLY CARRY ONE PERSON. THEY TOLD YOU "THIS IS THIS AND THAT IS THAT" AND TURNED YOU LOOSE TO DO "GRASS CUTTING" AND TO INSURE YOU FROM LEAVING THE GROUND THEY PUT A GOVERNOR ON THE MOTOR. SO YOU RAN DOWN THE RUN WAY ABOUT A QUARTER OF A MILE, THEY TURNED YOU AROUND AND YOU RAN BACK. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO GO ON UNTIL YOU WERE THOROUGHLY FAMILIAR WITH THE CONTROLS.

ON MY THIRD DAY A GUST OF WIND COMING DOWN BETWEEN THOSE BEAUTIFUL HILLS OF THE SOUTHERN TIER PICKED ME UP AND I WENT SAILING ABOUT TEN FEET IN THE AIR. AT THE TIME IT SEEMED LIKE A HUNDRED. FORTUNATELY I WAS ABLE TO GET DOWN IN ONE PIECE WITHOUT HARM TO THE PLANE OR MYSELF, BUT I HAD TASTED BLOOD AND THERE WAS NO HOLDING ME BACK. I BEGGED, I PLEADED, TO HAVE THE GOVERNOR TAKEN OFF THE MOTOR. I REASONED, AND I STILL BELIEVE RIGHTLY, THAT IT WAS DANGEROUS, SO FINALLY AFTER ABOUT TWO DAYS MR. CURTISS GAVE IN TO MY PLEAS, BUT ON THE PROMISE I WOULDN'T TRY TO GO INTO THE AIR.

SO IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF A DAY OR SO BEFORE I COULD TAKE OFF, HOP A BIT AND LAND ON THE STRAIGHT WAY. THESE DATES I CAN'T REMEMBER, BECAUSE AT THAT TIME THERE WERE SUCH FAMOUS EARLY PILOTS AS BUD MARS, CHARLES WILLARD, AGUSTUS POST, GENE ELY AND THEY WERE REALLY FLYING ALL OVER HAMMONDSPORT, BUT I DO REMEMBER WHAT I CONSIDERED BY FIRST REAL SOLO FLIGHT. ALTHOUGH I HAD HOPPED IN THE AIR MANY TIMES BETWEEN AUGUST 18 AND SEPTEMBER 2ND. THE DATE I REALLY WENT IN THE AIR, CIRCLED AROUND SEVERAL TIMES AND LANDED, THE PROUDEST AND STILL MOST SCARED GAL THAT EVER FLEW A PLANE, WAS SEPTEMBER 2ND AND THAT WAS THE DATE I ALWAYS CONSIDERED I REALLY FLEW.