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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 the 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 2, 1912. There he flew in the annual Chicago Meet September 12-21, and made a remarkably 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 at Cicero a few days before the starting date, using the Type EX Wright. His license, No. 175,, was dated October 2, 1912. The first part of the Meet, for landplane events only, was held at Cicero Field. The latter part was 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 most experienced aviators in total winning. September 29th Wiggin left Cicero by air for Peoria, Illinois, for an exhibition engagement, and on the way he experienced engine trouble and was forced to land at Washington, Illinois, with a cracked cylinder; in landing he broke a propeller. At this time he was still flying Cal Rodgers Type EX Wright plane.

That month Wiggin headed South for the winter, first to his hometown, Atlanta, Georgia, where he made a number of flights, then on November 28th he flew at Anderson, South Carolina, getting up to 9,000 feet. December 5th he made a 30-minute flight to Columbus, Georgia, then went on to Jacksonville, Florida, for a two day engagement. Early in December Mrs. Rodgers and Wiggin formed the Rodgers Aviation Company at Atlanta, Georgia, and began booking