Viewing page 284 of 372
This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.
1907 April 6 Saturday at Baddock 107 Transcript Boston 9 Feb 1907. Aero Club of America Soon to Make Offer -Hope of Inducing Wright Brothers to Compete ------------ New York, Feb. 9- From New York to Chicago by aeroplane, with not more than ten landings, and the trip to be finished within a reasonable time, probably will be the test of efficiency set by the Aero Club of America in offering a prize for conquest of the air large enough to attract inventors and aeronauts from all parts of the world. Already a considerable part of the prize has been pledged to a syndicate composed of prominent members of the Aero Club, and the project doubtless will receive a further impetus at a dinner of the club on March 14. When the great prize for airplanes is formally offered by the club it will effect a crisis in the situation so far as the Wright brothers of Dayton, O., and other inventors are concerned. The prize will assuredly be large enough, so that there can be no excuse for refusing to compete for it if an insufficient confidence to risk his life, regardless of negotiations with governments or individual capitalists "It is the judgement of the Aero Club, after giving careful thought to the matter," said Cortlandt Field Bishop, its president, "that an aeroplane to be worthy of serious consideration must be able to maneuvre satisfactorily by flying in circles or in any given direction and back to the starting point. A straightway flight is not enough to prove its scientific or commercial value. Nor would a flight of less than thirty seconds amount to anything as a test. A speed of at least twenty-five miles an hour ought to be maintained. As otherwise such a machine would have little value. "It has from the first been evident to the members of the Aero Club that the future of aerial navigation lies in the development of airplanes. The limitations of ballooning are apparent to everybody who has studied this phase o the question. Even dirigible balloons cannot be greatly improved over their existing form, it appears, and it remains only to develop airplanes as being the only thing practical and having a commercial value. "It is the intent of the Aero Club to bring about a crisis in this matter of aeroplanes. If the Wright brothers should persist in maintaining their policy of silence and refusal to give a public demonstration of their invention we must look to other inventors, of whom there must be many who are on the right road to success. "It is a regrettable fact that the claim of the Wright brothers are generally discredited abroad, but the members of the Aero Club have great faith in them and confidence that they have accomplished all the results credited to them by their friends in Dayton. We sympathize with them thoroughly in their present difficulties. They certainly have a right to receive remuneration for the time and money they have spent and the tremendous risks they have run, and it is a fact that the Aero Club is now at work on a plan to give them a reward commensurate with their deserts. "At the same time no money will be put into any idle scheme. The success of such an invention must be assured beyond any reasonable doubt. On this point there is an interesting report that within the last year the Wrights gave a successful demonstration of their flying machine within fifty miles of New York, for the benefit of a New York capitalist. "It is within the realms of possibility that such a demonstration will be given, at any rate, to a limited number of men in the near future. It would be provided that none of these witnesses shall have any technical knowledge, so that there may be no risk of the Wrights losing their secret, but the committee would be composed of men whose reliability is unquestioned and whose names would carry weight in all parts of the world. The doubt which still surrounds the achievements of the Wrights in some quarters would by this means be eliminated if they proved the success of their machine, and they would be everywhere given due credit for having solved a problem which has [[b]]affled man for so many centuries." Scientific American New York 9 Feb 1907 Aeronautical Notes. Members of the Aero Club of America will go to Washington, D.C., and make a balloon ascension at that city on Washington's Birthday. They expect to interview a sufficient number of people to form an affiliates club in the capital city. The announcement has just been made that a wealthy American gentleman has given the Aero Club a prize running up into the thousands for the first flight in this country of a motor-driven aeroplane. The amount of the prize and the conditions under which it will be contested for have not as yet been announced. Altogether, the prizes offered in Europe and American now aggregate over $200,000, which should be sufficient inducement for inventors having a perfected machine to make some public demonstrations. The Wright brothers, of Dayton, Ohio, were in New York recently, and they stated that they were building two new machines, one of which would be capable of carrying two people, while the other is intended for long distance flights. No doubt these gentlemen intend to compete for the prizes that have been offered. The Aero Club of America announces that, owing to the generosity of certain citizens of St. Louis, it will be enabled to offer a number of supplementary prizes to the contestants in the Bennett international Aeronautic Cup Race, to be held in that city on October 19. These prizes are in addition to the International Aeronautic Cup and the $2,500 offered to the winner. They include $1,000 for the contestant making the second greatest distance $750 to the third; $500 to the fourth, and $250 to the fifth. These prizes will be given in cash or plate, at the option of the winner. It is probable that the Aero Club will offer a separate cup to the aeronaut who remains in the air the greatest length of time, while the German-born citizens of St. Louis have promised a special cup to the representative of Germany who makes the best record in the race. The American team will be chosen by a committee from among about a half dozen entries. Three balloons, or other type of flying machine will represent each country, and it is expected that representatives of England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain will take part in the second contest. By a decision of the Secretary of the Treasury under date of January 16, 1907, it has been decided that airships and balloons may be imported into this country under bond for the purpose of competing in the race. Free entry under bond by non-residents of the United States will be limited to balloons for the purpose of racing or taking part in specific contests, but not for display at shows of any kind. A consular invoice to cover such balloons must be obtained before departure from the United States consul at the city where the goods are shipped. On this consular invoice there must be affixed a declaration of intention by the oath of the owner, or his agent, to the effect that these balloons are shipped into the United States for the purpose of taking part in the Gordon-Bennett International Aeronautic Cup Race. This consular invoice and certificate must be presented at the time of entry into the United States. The Air Club of America has appointed Messrs. Niebrugge & Day, 121 Pearl Street, New York, to act for the contestants in this contest. It is suggested that balloons should arrive at the port of New York at least two weeks before the date of contest in order that they may reach St. Louis in ample time. It is also suggested that Mssrs. Niebrugge & Day be given notice at least a week in advance of the shipment, with name of steamship. These gentlemen will make arrangements with some surety company to issue bonds to cover the customs dues. The balloons must be exported from the United States within six months from the date of entry.
