Viewing page 15 of 23

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

In late December Brodie and Harry Powers left to operate a winter flying school at St. Augustine, Florida. There, in addition to the school activities, winter resort passengers were carried. Reportedly they also had a Bleriot monoplane there in addition to the Farman.
     They returned to Cicero in April, 1912, and Brodie flew in the usual season's opening day meet on May 30th. Also flying for this event were Max Lillie, Farnum Fish, Paul Studensky, George Mestach, Lloyd Thompson and Andrew Drew. Brodie remained very active at Cicero during the 1912 season. On June 2nd he flew his pilot license tests at Cicero in his 50- [[STRIKETHROUGH]] horsepower [[/STRIKETHROUGH]] h.p., Gnome-engined Farman biplane and on June 19th was granted License No. 135. In July he conducted the initial flight tests on the new Smith monoplane, with a 6-cylinder Smith radial engine, and continued to fly this plane occasionally for the balance of the season. He also flew a Curtiss biplane some that summer. During the summer and fall he engaged in exhibition flying at various suburban Chicago areas. Brodie entered and competed in the 1912 Chicago Flying Meet at Cicero in September, and that fall started the Standard Aviation School at Clearing, Illinois, using the grounds formerly used as the Gordon Bennett Race Course, still flying the Farman plane. He had a small class which he continued to instruct as late as the fall weather permitted. 
     In the spring of 1913 Brodie started school operations again and on April 19th he was killed instantly in a crash at Clearing while making a check flight in the Farman before taking up a student. He had made one circuit of the field and was preparing to land when he nosed in from a low altitude. He was badly crushed under the engine which had been torn from its mounting. Brodie had planned to give up active flying soon and turn his attention to building planes, and had one of his own design under construction at the time of his death at age 27. He was survived by his wife and two sons. Burial was in Montrose Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois. 
                       3