Viewing page 51 of 102

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

-45- [strikethrough] 48 [strikethrough] 49
the aid of the wind. We circled and started for the park. Except for the slow speed due to the head wind there was no difficulty and we were soon directly over the ball grounds. At a low altitude I dropped the rope and shut off the motor. It was a simple matter to pull the ship down to upon [strikethrough] the ground.
FIRST CALIFORNIA MOVING PICTURE [underline]
A man with a moving picture camera had taken two hundred feet of film of this flight. It is recorded in moving picture history that this was actually the first moving picture to be taken in the State of California.
This last demonstration was heralded as a great success. All the local newspapers gave it a prominent headlines and an un-usual amount of space to the fights with a complete description of all the equipment. Tom was delighted, but I felt we could do much better.  I knew it was possible to fly directly into the park and that we could make a more interesting demonstration.
on January 5, 1905, I determined to make a completely successful flight. As on the previous Sunday, we had a huge crowd which patiently waited until it could witness this twen-tieth century wonder.
The start was made without trouble and the little motor was humming steadily as we sailed over "Central Park." Turning to the right at this point I steered over Boyle Heights and then back to the park. As before, I returned very low and passed over the high tension wires with but a few feet to spare. Suddenly, by moving forward, I pointed the nose for the ground and arrived nicely within the boundaries of the ball park. Everyone was well pleased, including myself, for I had been able to control the airship just as I wished.