Viewing page 20 of 24

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

then bought the plane he had been flying from Plew, and used it for a time in his first exhibition work.

Ward flew his first public exhibition at Birmingham, Alabama, November 21 [[strikethrough]] st [[/strikethrough]] and 22 [[strikethrough]] d [[/strikethrough]], 1910, with Eugene Ely. On December 1st to 5th he flew at New Orleans, Louisiana, with Ely, McCurdy, and Post and made a fine showing for a beginner, making one flight to 3,000 feet in his 25 [[strikethrough]] H.P. [[/strikethrough]] h.p., machine. He was then the youngest exhibition flyer ever employed by Curtiss. December 15th to 18th he flew at Atlanta, Georgia, with Ely and McCurdy, then on December 25th flew at Jacksonville, Florida, with McCurdy.

January 3 [[strikethrough]] d [[/strikethrough]] to 6 [[strikethrough]] th [[/strikethrough]], 1911 Ward flew at Charleston, South Carolina, again with McCurdy, and there he was the hero of the event. The crowds went wild over the wonderful flying of this young lad. He made one [[strikethrough]] 40 [[/strikethrough]] forty-minute flight over Forts Moultrie and Sumter in his 4 cylinder Curtiss biplane, landed on the beach in front of Fort Moultrie and delivered a message to Colonel Marsh, Commander of the base [[left margin]] Fort? [[left margin]]. On his return flight he flew over the Island of Palms, Castle Pinckney, Sumter and the village of Mt. Pleasant, going about one and one-half miles out to sea and attaining an altitude of 3,500 feet.

Ward and McCurdy then flew at Shreveport, Louisiana on January 14th and 15th, and January 29th to February 5th they were joined by Beachey and Russell to fly at Camp Columbia, Havana, Cuba. Here Ward was flying a new, more powerful plane with an 8-cylinder engine. After this event Ward and Beachey remained in Cuba and filled eight additional dates before returning to the United States. On March 8th Ward circled the Atlantic fleet off Guantanamo while flying at nearby Caimanera, Cuba. They completed the exhibition contracts at Manzanillo, Cuba, on March 22nd and then returned home.

Ward and McCurdy flew at St. Augustine, Florida, April 2nd to 5th, and April 27th to 29th Ward flew at Nashville, Tennessee, with Beachey and McCurdy. [[strikethrough]] and [[strikethrough]] There, he won a prize for altitude which was one of his specialities. On May 4th to 7th he flew at Wichita, Kansas, with Ely and Witmer and May 10th and 11th they were all in Hot Springs, Arkansas. May 12th and 13th he was at Forth Smith,

2