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Elmira Airport last night as a restless crowd waited for Wolf Hirth, German gliding expert entered in the national glider contests, to put in his appearance.
When the intrepid flyer finally brought his motorless craft down to a difficult landing in the eerie light of bonfires, flares and automobile headlights, he was given a thunderous greeting by the spectators who feared he had been lost in the hills or compelled to make a forced landing.
His flight was the highspot of the opening day of the meet, which is to continue for two weeks. The flights here, with the possibility of the new records being created, are attracting the attention of aviation enthusiasts all over the United States and in several foreign countries, notably Germany.
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Flies Large Glider
Hirth, flying the largest glider in the meet, took off from South Mountain at 6:05 p.m. as an entrant in the placement event. Once aloft, however, he found soaring conditions ideal and instead of heading for the marker in the center of the airport, turned west toward Mount Zoar.
After circling for altitude three times he winged about and flew over the take-off field several feet in the air. He swung in a great circle to Mt. Zoar and repeated his altitude-gaining flight maneuvers, returning to the take-off plot each time at a greater height.
As night fell he remained over the hills to the west of Elmira up the river valley where he was in sight of the airport which at that time had been lighted by auto headlights and a giant bonfire.
Up Nearly Hour [[centered//bold]]
When his ship finally bumped to a stop he had been aloft twenty seconds short of one hour.
The plane came in at a fast clip, scarcely ten feet above the upturned faces of the crowd. The bonfire had been lighted in the center of the field, to illuminate the topography of the runways. The craft hit hard, bounded into the air, seemed about to capsize, and then settled to a neat landing under th [[sic]] skillful handling of its pilot.
Hirth stepped from the ship and laughed off the anxious queries of his fellow pilots. He explained that he had been endeavoring to stay aloft an hour, and was slightly crestfallen when he learned that he had fallen twenty seconds short of the mark. He landed fifty feet from the goal flag.
Jack O'Meara, pilot for the Goodrich Glider Club of Akron, O., and Edward T. Allen, formerly a test pilot at McCook Field, who took off before Hirth, also landed without mishap.
Hits Goal Flag [[Centered//bold]]
O'Meara left South Mountain at 5:34 o'clock. He sailed up the Chemung River valley towards Mount Zoar and then leveled out over the flats headed for the airport.
He gave the crowd a thrill when he passed over the Pennsylvania Railroad a scant five feet between
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each car admission and turned the money over to him.
Sherman P. Voorhees, chairman of the executive committee, introduced Manager Walker to the crowd at Field No. 3. Mr. Walker explained that inasmuch as this was a series of contests for the purpose of making records, and not an entertainment feature, gliders would not take off until the wind was of the required intensity and moving in the proper direction. He then introduced a number of the aviators who would participate.
Radio Weather Reports [[centered//bold]]
The Elmira Radio Amateurs' Association had a portable receiving apparatus on the field and furnished weather reports every half-hour. When these continued to be discouraging, Manager Walker gave up hope of trying for a soaring record, and ordered the group to South Mountain for the placement event.
L. F. Ross of the Cleveland Pneumatic Tool Company, Cleveland, was official referee, while H. W. Halverson of Washington, one of the Navy's former "High Hat" squadron members, was official observer for the National Aeronatical Association. Mr. Warner and Dr. Klemperer witnessed the tests. Another interested spectator was Ronald Gall of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, donor of the major contest prize. Mr. Gall is a former Associated Press representative and a decided aviation fan.
Mr.Warner, of New York City editor of "Aviation," was on the field in the capacity of official timer. Mr.Halverson, formerly of the Elmira Airport staff, is secretary of the N. A. A. Private Flying Club committee of which Mr.Warner is chairman.
Fritz Ackerman, celebrated German pilot and designer, who, with his associates, built practically all gliders of merit to come to America from Germany, also is here. Mr. Ackerman is expected to be a contestant.
The distinguished guests at the exhibition Sunday included Mrs. Ralph S. Barnaby, wife of Lieut. Barnaby notes Navy Pilot who will arrive here Thursday.
Lieut. O. H. Reynolds of Syracuse. pioneer in gliding activities there, came to Elmira for the day. He is author of books on gliding.
The flights of Sunday were ocvered for the screen by a Universal Newsreel cameraman.
Late Sunday night B. E. Frank-
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Donald F. Walker, manager, in response to numerous inquiries as to when the pilots might be expected to take to the air.
"We are absolutely dependent upon wind conditions, and flights cannot be announced in advance," he said.
Planes Arrive At Port During Glider Contest
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The largest number of airplanes to visit Elmira Airport over a week-end in several months landed at the local field Saturday and Sunday.
Elevn [[eleven]] pilots, flying as many different makes of planes signed the log during the two days. Two or three flyers came here for the National Glider contests.
The pilots and their ships are as follows: "Sam" Bishopo Mansfield, a Waco; "Al" Brooks of Neward, N.J., Wasp powered Stinson; Wesley Harvey of Scranton, Command-Aire; Wolf Hirth of Germany, flew here from Syracuse in a Klemm, made in Germany; Lieutenant Harold Mull of Cortland, Buhl; Lieutenant T.E. Hanrahan of Selfridge Field, Mich., Curtis P-1; W. B. Moore of Harrisburg, Fleet; Stanley Kulp of Caldwell, N. J., Stearman; R. M. Thompson en route from Detroit to New York, Avian; J. W. Lewis of Scranton, Pa., Eagle Rock; and Arthur Pierce of Paterson, N. J., New Standard.
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Cigar manufacture in the United States has decreased by one billion since 1921.
Sidelights on National Glider Meet [[Bold//headline]]
[[3 column article at bottom of paper]]
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"Have a sandwich, Warner?"
"Sure, don't care if I do," said the former Assistant Secretary of the Navy in Charge of Aeronautics.
This oft-asked question and answer coming from the present editor of Aviation, a guest at the National Glider Contests Sunday, kept things in a happy mood for the crowd that witnessed flight preparations on East Hill.
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While we're speaking of enthusiasm it might be well to ass that one man in Chemung County is more interested in preserving the placidness of his hillside farm than he is in the first National Glider Contests.
Adolph W. May was considerably [[cut off from paper]]
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[[photograph of unknown man in a hat]]
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arranged and that the flyers might take off at daybreak, condition warranting,
At 9 a. m., a dead calm prevailed and the contest was postponed until 11 a. m. Several pilots made a tour of the series of fields to find nothing stirring, not even the wind. Some spectators brought lunches and cooked them beside the fields.
It was not until 2 p. m. that pilots went to the hills with their machines. When these were set up, down went the wind and it was decided to move to South Mountain.
At one time officials fixed Sullivan's Monument Hill as an ideal spot nd [[and]] many motored to the park.
Wolf Hirth, the German youth who might be termed the "Lind- [[cut off from the page]]
Jurors Summoned For Trial Duty In County Court [[headline//bold]]
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Trial jurors to serve during the October term of Chemung County Court were drawn Saturday in the office of the county clerk. Thirty-six men, residents of the county are ordered to report to the Court House, Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 10 a. m. They are as follows:
Selaer E. Ayers, 807 Winsor Avenue; LaVern Baker, Wellsburg; Charles W. Bennett, 709 Laurel Street; Ernest H. Benson, jr., 315 Glen Avenue; William Brown, 209 West Third Street.
Wilbur W. Carey, 232 East LaFrance Street; Percy A. Chapman, 214 West Eighth Street; William H. Cleveland, Breesport, R. D. 1; Thaddeus O. Crandall, Lowman, R. [[cut off from page]]
How to Reach the Starting Point
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No. 1 Sullivan's Monument Park.
No. 2 Smith-May Farm, Jerusalem Hill Road. Take right opposite school house top of hill.
No. 3 Field midway between Jerusalem Hill road and Watercure hill road on cinder road running along crest of Jerusalem Hill.
No. 3-X Same road field near junction of Watercure Hill road and cinder road on William Greg farm.
No. 4 Carr's hill northwest of Horseheads- take Watkins road, turning to left on dirt road just beyond quarry, follow dirt road one mile.
No. 5 On Corning road, beyond Big Flats turn left one mile west of Big Flats on back road to Corning, cross bridge first road to left after crossing bridge.
No. 6 Same as No. 7, follow past barn same as in No. 7, take first turn right then turn left twice and next road to right.
No. 7 Coleman Ave., Hill to O.E. Boyd farm at cross-roads turn in at barn and follow lane.
No. 8- South Creek road toward Troy, take first left hand road beyond underpass, up South Mountain follow to Walsh farm. Glider take-off points will be marked within a radius of three miles from main highway. Watch for signs. Glider contests depend upon prevailing wind for location of starting point.
[[continued from Jurors Summoned For Trial Duty In County Court]]
Street; Allan B. Hill, Broad
-ard 570 Cypress Street; James H.
[[Photographs at top right of paper with the below caption]]
Events and prominent people at the opening of the National Glider Contests are graphically pictured above as caught by the The Star-Gazette camera. At the upper left us shown Wolf Hirth's glider as it appeared in flight over South Mountain, Mr. Hirth in the cockpit of the craft is shown in the oval inset. Donald. F. Walker (left), manager of the National Glider Association and Edward P. Warner, editor of Aviation, are pictured at the upper right. Leading pilots and aviation authorities at the meet are in the group at the lower left. They are: left to right, Dr. Wolfgang Klemperer, Louis F. Ross, flight referee; Lieutenant Edward Allen, Jack O'Meara, Albert Hastings and Mr. Walker. Mr. Allen who flew a glider in Sunday's meet is shown speaking with Dr. Klemperer in the right center photo. Mrs. Ross, wife of the referee and first woman glider pilot in Cleveland, O., is shown at the bottom right with Mrs. Ralph S. Barnaby, wife of Lieutenant Barnaby, first man to make a glider flight from a [[???]]Transcription Notes:
The typo "th" instead of "the" in the second paragraph under Up Nearly Hour is correct
