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summer while at Cicero he had also flown the new 50 Gnome motored Lillie tractor designed by Chance Vought. On December 27th Thompson went to the Wright School at Simms Station, Dayton, Ohio, to complete the training of a former Lillie student, Mrs. Richard Hornsby, who had gone there to complete her training after the Lillie School closed due to Lillie's death.

During late January, 1914 he went to Los Angeles to assist and supervise the construction of a new 80 Gyro exhibition tractor intended for looping, which Charles Day built for him. It was finished on March 28th and April 12th he made his first loops at Griffith Park Flying Field, Los Angeles, to become the second aviator in the United States to loop an aeroplane. April 18th Thompson made arrangements to contract exhibition work with Lincoln Beachey at Chicago. May 15th he was back at Cicero with his new machine and flew his first loop engagement at Overland Park, Kansas City, Mo. on May 30th and 31st, making two flights daily.

Thompson flew and looped at Peru, Indiana June 24th and 25th and on July 4th had an accident at Kansas City when he lost a wheel on take-off and turned over, partially wrecking the machine, but he was not hurt. He gave daily exhibitions at Kansas City through July, except the 26th, when he was at St.Joseph, Mo. On August 6th, 1914 he broke the American altitude record at Kansas City, flying to 15,580 feet. Through the summer months Charles Day was with him as an assistant, and Thompson taught him to fly. On August 10th he looped at Moberly, Mo., August 12th at Marshall, Mo. and on August 29th, with day as a passenger, he looped at Kansas City. On September 3rd to 6th he looped at Hibbing, Minn.; October 31st over Washington D.C., then moved in to Raleigh, N.C. Through November he was in several towns in Texas. 

During the latter part of 1914 Thompson was also working with Frank Bryant of the west coast, experimenting this the first "sky writing" experiments, which later became the SKYWRITING CORPORATION. On August 6th, 1914 Thompson set a new American altitude record of 15,600 feet at Kansas city, Mo. flying a Day tractor with 90 H.P. Gyro motor. In early spring of 1915 he contracted for a new Sloane exhibition tractor with 90 H.P. Gyro rotary motor in New York for the activities of the coming