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Beach, South Amboy, New Jersey. While at Shouth Amboy, Brookins completed Collier's training and resumed flying alone and carrying passengers. On May 9th the New York Aero Show opened at Grand Central Palace, and Brookins flew Mr. Collier from South Amboy up the Bay and Hudson River to 96th Street, where they landed alongside the U.S.S. Washington. They were welcomed aboard by Rear Admiral Osterhaus, and after a brief stay all went ashore for lunch at the Aero Club of America. Then the Aero Show was formally opened. 

On May 18th Brookins flew at the Altoona, Pennsylvania Fairgrounds and again carried authorized mail. From there he flew at the Detroit Yacht Club, Belle Isle, Detroit, Michigan, doing promotion work and carrying passengers to introduce water flying to club members. While there he also introduced William Scripps, yachtsman and publisher of the Detroit News, to the joys of flying which resulted in Scripps buying a Burgess hydro. On June 19th Brookins raced Lee Counselman, of the Chalmers Motor Car Company, in his speedboat around Belle Isle and easily won the event. He also carried Willian Kuenzel, Detroit News photographer, on several flights. many excellent air photos were taken of Detroit and vicinity. Beginning July 17th, Brookins flew for four days at Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada, celebrating the opening of a transportation company. There he carried many passengers on the first hydro flights ever made in Canada. Later, when William Scripps took delivery of his new plane, Brookins taught him to fly on the Detroit River. 

As the 1912 fall flying season ended Brookins went to California to spend the winter at his ranch in the San Fernando Valley, and there apparently decided to give up professional flying. In early May, 1913, he was copilot and assistant to Roy Knabenshue in the first test flights of Roy's new 12-passenger dirigible at Pasadena, California. Brookins continued to work with Knabenshue and his airship activities during the summer and reportedly learned to operate it. 

The flying urge returned to Brookins in the spring of 1914 when he entered into a partnership with Ralph Newcomb, Bob Fowler's former mechanic. They