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In August, 1905, Knabenshue flew his dirigible "Toledo II" at New York City's Central Park. Great crowds gathered to watch the first dirigible flown over New York. So great was the curiosity about this new contraption by New Yorkers that almost all business and street traffic in the area was at a standstill. Throngs followed the course of the great dirigible as it hovered over the city. The "Toledo II" was 69 feet long and contained over 7,000 cubic feet of hydrogen which supported a framework. It was propelled by a 10 H. P. air cooled engine mounted on the framework which turned a 10 foot diameter propeller at about 150 RPM. He gave a great performance during the flight, but upon landing he snagged a tree in Central Park. Although the police were persuaded not to arrest him, spectators climbed the tree and carried away parts of his dirigible as souvenirs. In 1905, Knabenshue also piloted an airship from the flower garden of the gay White City at Chicago. Knabenshue said, "At White City I made five or six flights a week, depending upon the weather. I would get the nose pointing upward by standing near the rudder at the tail end. When the balloon started rising, I would skip along the struts to hold her at even keel." Meanwhile, in late 1905, Lincoln Beachey also decided to build his own dirigible and left Baldwin's troupe and came East to Toledo, where he joined Knabenshue. Immediately, he began the construction of his dirigible in facilities also used by Knabenshue. Knabenshue then decided to build another airship and re-turned to the warner climate of California to complete the job before Spring.
Transcription Notes:
"warmer" at the end was accidentally typed as "Warner"