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intended to sell it. While it was there Wiggin asked permission to taxi it at times when there was no wind, but the first time he  tried it he ran into a large pile of pipe at one side of the field and partially smashed it up again.  After repairing the damage, he proceeded to take it out again the first nice morning when he was alone.  This time as he was taxying about the plane suddenly jumped off the ground, and before he realized what was happening, was ten feet in the air and heading for the boundary of the field.  Remembering that Cal had always said "When you're in trouble and don't know what to do, get yourself some altitude and think it over", he did just that.  He had a faint understanding of lateral balance from the little instruction Cal had given him, so he "eased it around" about a five mile circle and brought it back into the field for a safe landing.  He taught himself to fly in those few minutes, in July, 1912.  When Mrs. Rodgers arrived at the field she was both angry and proud of him.  From that start he continued practicing and in due course developed into a full fledged pilot.

Mrs. Rodgers gave him constant encouragement and backing, and after spending the summer in California he headed east, arriving at Cicero Field, Chicago, Illinois about September 1st, 1912.  There he flew in the annual Chicago Meet September 12-21, and made a remarkedly good showing for a novice, entering most of the daily events.  Since rules of the Meet required that all participants hold a license, Wiggin flew and passed the tests to Cicero a few days before the starting date, using the EX Wright.  His license, No. 175, was dated October 2, 1912.  The first part of the Meet, for land events only, was held at Cicero Field, the latter part at Grant Park on Chicago's downtown lake front, where both land and water events were held.  Wiggin flew from Cicero to Grant Park over the heart of Chicago to continue the Meet.  At the conclusion he was well up with the more experienced aviators in total winnings.  September 29th Wiggin left Cicero by air for Peoria, Illinois for an exhibition engagement, and                                 3