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[[stamped]] FLYING PIONEERS BIOGRAPHIES OF HAROLD E. MOREHOUSE [[/stamped]] 234 Fowler flew to Gilroy again and returned at the 25th to enter the Air Meet at Tanforan Park, San Francisco from the 25th to 30th. Also flying in this event were Silas Christofferson, Lincoln Beachey, Roy Francis, Tom Gunn and Thad Karns. There Fowler made some altitude flights and did his full share to entertain the crowds. Flying around San Francisco and vicinity through January and February, 1913 he was carrying passengers and making over-city and cross-country flights. About this time he changed from a Hall-Scott 60 H.P. to an 80 H.P. engine in his Gage Tractor, and was making arrangements to install floats for water flying. About March 1st Fowler signed up with a movie company to fly over the Panama Canal with a camera operator to get aerial pictures from Panama to Colon. For this flight the Gage-McClay Company made pontoon equipment to replace the regular wheel landing gear. Fowler made his first flights from the water at San Francisco on March 28th and was delighted with the tests. Following this the water equipment was removed and the land gear replaced, then he made several flights carrying passengers, including his mother. The equipment and personnel for the Panama expedition shipped out of San Francisco on the S.S. Alameda about April 1st, and upon arrival he made the first short test flights at Panama on April 12th. Tests continued and on April 25th Fowler made two extended flights in that vicinity. The first was over the city and nearby villages and the second over the fortifications in the bay and up the canal entrance as far as the Pedro Miguel Locks. On April 27th Fowler and camera operator R. A. Duham made the first non-stop flight across the Isthmus and used almost one-half mile of film securing the first aerial views of the Canal Zone. With a full supply of gas and oil he first circled for 45 minutes to gain all the altitude possible, then headed for the Atlantic, an airline distance of about 50 miles. Near Culsbra they encountered strong, turbulent winds that retarded their progress, and Fowler circled at times to obtain better pictures at various points. Just as they reached Colon at 2,000 feet they ran out of fuel and Fowler glided to a landing after being in the air 1 hour, 45 minutes. The actual crossing took 55 minutes. 6