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SEPTEMBER 1, 1936 THE MOUNTAIN EMPIRE BULLETIN PAGE FIVE RUTHERFORD PAGE KILLED RACING BEACHEY IGNORED WARNING BY CURTISS TURNS IN TOO CLOSE CIRCLE LOSES CONTROL AND JUMPS DROPS 60 FEET, BREAKS NECK IN SECOND TRIAL LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 22, 1912 (E.B.) - In a reckless effort to overtake Lincoln Beachey, said to be the most skilled aviator in the game, Rutherford Page, 24 years old, who only two days ago qualified for a pilot's license, lost control of his Curtiss biplane here today, leaped from it at a height of sixty feet, and was killed. Page had told Glenn Curtiss and others that he was going to defeat Beachey in the race, "or break my fool neck." Curtiss sought to restrain the youth, telling him that further experience was necessary before he could hope to emulate Beachey. Page, however, ignored the warning and his death resulted. The meet opened at Dominguez Field, Jan. 20, and will continue ten days. Famous aviators who are entered in the events, which include speed, altitude, duration quick starting, acurate [[accurate]] landing, bomb dropping, and night flying contests are Farnum Fish, 17-year-old Wright pilot; Glenn L. Martin, Martin biplane; Lincoln Beachey, Curtiss biplane; Philip Parmalee, Wright biplane; Howard Gill, Wright biplane; Albert Elton, Wright biplane; Blanche Stuart Scott, Curtiss biplane; Horace Kearney, Curtiss biplane; Wm. Hoff, Curtiss biplane; Hillery Beachey, Beachey biplane, and Frank Stites, Curtiss biplane. Novices Fly Novice fliers, in addition to Page, who received their pilot's certificates Saturaday [[Saturday]], and who are participating in the contests, are W.B. Atwater, Al Mayo and Geo. Alexander, graduates of the Curtiss winter aviation school at North Island, near San Diego; and Harvey Crawford, a Los Angeles amateur. Glenn Martin, of Santa Ana, Cooke, of Oakland, and Beachley provided most if the thrills of the opening day with a series of spectacular exhibition flights. Parmalee was thwarted in an attempt to break the world's altitude record when, after reaching an elevation of 5,000 feet, his recording barograph failed to function. Fish captured the first day duration honors with a flight lasting 2 hours, 24 minutes and 1 second. Earlier in the day Fish had been arrested for speeding. He was on his way to Dominguez field and was towing his biplane behind his automobile, when arrested. Gill, on Saturday, soared above the grounds for 2 hours, with a passenger. A recrd [[record]] crowd of 60,000 persons poured through the turnstiles Sunday, the second day of the meet. There were two crashes, neither serious, during the afternoon. The first occurred when Elton, the Youngstown, Ohio, aviator, wrecked his machine in landing, and the second when Atwater raked a wing of his ship against the fence surrounding the field. Fish Swoops Down By an unexplained maneuver during the afternoon Fish, who lives in Los Angeles, caused considerable momentary anxiety to be felt for his safety. The Los Angeles flier had ascended to an altitude of about 100 feet, and was apparently about to repeat his duration flight of the previous day, when suddenly his machine was observed by those in the stands, and on the field to nose earthward and drop rapidly a distance of about 400 feet. Recovering control of his machine, almost exactly over the site where Hoxsey was killed last year, the aviator landed safely and refused to answer any of the questions concerning the incident, which were asked him by the excited newspaper reporters. The premier honors for thrills went to Parmalee and Beachey, however. Having ascended several thousand feet over the field, almost in unison Beachey in his Curtiss, and Parmalee, in his Wright, swooped towards the ground at a frightful angle, bringing the crowd to its feet in awed expectation of an accident, then straightening out like gigantic birds of prey, the pair soared aloft again to repeat the performance. Blanch Scott, the only woman aviator taking part in the meet, made a short flight of 15 minutes duration on Sunday. The 10 yard handicap race between a man, a horse, a motorcycle, an aeroplane and an automobile, was won by the horse, the automobile finishing last. Beachey, with a flag of Japan, fixed to a strut, won the race of all nations. Beachey also won the principal competitive event of the day, a 5-mile mandicap race. Parmalee finished second in this event, and Atwater third. Kearney and Martin were unable to complete the contest, their motors failing to function properly. Page Wins Race Page's death occurred today while he was competing with Beachey, Parmalee, and Martin in a 10-mile free-for-all race. Previously he had won the 5-mile handicap in 6:37 1/2, Hoff's time being 6:53 and Beachey's 6:55. Hillery Beachey, who is Lincoln Beachey's brother, Martin and Kearney were also in the 5-mile contest. Page was trailing Beachey and Parmalee in the 10-mile race, and was pivoting his biplane sharply around the pylons, when treacherous air eddies, generated by a cluster of buildings at one end of the field, caused him to lose control. After his machine had dropped form an altitude of about 150 feet down to 60 feet Page sensing the impending crash, but apparently misjudging the distance to the ground leaped with the probable intention of getting clear of the falling craft. Nearly every bone in his body was broken. Meet officials immediately ordered the wreckage burned to prevent it from being carried away piecemeal by souvenir hunters. The fliers who were in the air at the time of the accident, finished the race, but all other competitive events were cancelled for the day. Beachey won the event, Martin was second, and Parmalee third. The dead aviator is the son of Wm. D. Page, of New York. The body will be sent to New York for burial, Curtiss announced today. Navy Hydroplanes Have 75 H.P. Motors San Diego, Jan. 15, 1912 (E.B.) - Lieut. Theodore C. Ellyson, who Glenn Curtiss taught to fly at North Island last winter, arrived here today and announced plans for the establishment of a navy air corps base at the island. Lieut. Ellyson stated that he would be joined here in about ten days by Lieut. John Rodgers, Lieut John H. Towers, and Ensign Victor 1910 Amateurs Are Mentioned In New Tome Rochester, N.Y., Jan. 1, 1911 (E.B.) - The 20-page pamphlet entitled "American Amateur Aviation," just issued by the Elbridge motor company of this city, might well have been called the "American Who's Who in Aviation" instead. That Dr. Wm. Greene, Frederick P. Greene and Francois Raiche, of the Aeronautic Society of New York, made flights as early as the fall of 1909, the booklet reveals. Raiche is said to have won the Society's cup for the first member to make a flight. Tre [[The]] Greene machine, a biplane of original design, which was able to carry one and two passengers, was purchased by Wilbur R. Kimball, another member of the society, and taken to Rahway N.J., for experimental work, in January 1910. Early in 1910 Dr. Greene sold a second machine which he had built to Roy Crosby, of San Francisco, and Crosby is said to have made some flights. In April 1910 E.R. Skinner of South Beach, Staten Island, is said to have made some hops along a deserted strip of boulevard and beach. The Mathewson Automobile Company, of Denver, is said to have built a successful aeroplane in 1910. In Rochester Everett McNabb built a Demoiselle type monoplane and made some short flights, and at Indianapolis Captain G.L. Bumbaugh was reported to have flown. At St. Louis, where a number of aeroplanes were built last year, some flying was said to have been done by Howard Gill, Hugh Robinson, J.W. Curzon, and Sparling. At Mineola, L.I., during June and July many flights were made by C.K. Hamilton, Clifford B. Harmon and Captain Thos. S. Baldwin, but of a score of novice machines at the field none had made anything better than a few jumps until J.J. Frisbie, of Rochester, appeared. With two weeks of practice Frisbie made flights of 10 and 12 miles, carried passengers, flew after dark, and in the rain. George Russell succeeded in making some flights at Mineola, as did Philip Wakeman Wilcox, and Joseph Seymour. Other novices mentioned as having made flights in home-made machines in 1910 are Wm/ Evans, Kansas City; J.W. McCallum, Kansas: Michael Paridon, Barbeton, Ohio; B.F. Roehrig, San Diego, Calif.; C.F. Walsh, San Diego, Calif.; J.E. Clark, San Francisco, Calif.; Glenn L. Martin, Santa Ana, Calif.; J.J. Slavin, San Francisco; George Duessler, San Francisco; Cannon Bros., San Francisco; Donald Gordan, Bostonia, Calif.; Lieut. A.F.W. McManus, San Antonio, Texas, and W.D. Lindsay, of Oklahoma. At Mineola in the fall of 1910 flights of varying distances were made by Dr. H.F. Walden, Miss E.L. Todd, Pincus Brauner, Charles Mork, George L. Schmidt, Henry C. Cooke, Nicholas Rippenbaum, Chester Kaufman, E.F. De Murias, Bud Gaskall and William Post. Wm. T. Thomas, of Hornell, N.Y., E.H. Wiseman, of Cleveland, M.F.H. Gouvenour [[Governor]], of Wilmington, C.C. Bonnette, Vermont, and M.B. Sellars, of Fireclay. Ky., also made hops in 1910. D. Herbster, who will bring with them from Annapolis two Clrtiss and one Burgess-Wright hydro-aeroplanes. Towers and Herbster were taught the Curtiss type of control during the summer, Ellyson said. Rodgers learned the Wright system. Hotel Clark Los Angeles Hill street between Fourth and Fifth National Air Race Headquarters for U.S. Army (commissioned) Early Birds Ninety-Nine Club Professional Pilots Assn. National Aeronautic Assn. etc., etc. Special discounts for every member of there organizations off the regular rates of from $2.50 single - $3.50 double. Visit our year round aviation headquarters The hangar club on third floor 555 Rooms all with bath 3 Restaurants Personal Management of P.G.B. (Bud) Morriss This But a Sample Of the tremendous amount of early aeronautica in The Bulletin files-but we can use more and would be pleased to have personal biographical sketches of all old-timers-we would also like to have rewrites of clippings in your treasured scrap book-we can be trusted to return pictures. The next EARLY BIRD REVIEW will be a request edition memorializing the pioneer ARMY and NAVY airman-copies of the ARMY and NAVY edition will be sent on advance order only-25 cents per copy. Rates for memorial cards and display advertising will be sent on request. The Early Bird Scrap Book, which will require six months or a year to complete is in progress, It will thoroughly cover aeronautical development from 1896 to 1915. Price $10. May we have your order-with or without cash- Now. While they last copies of the present edition may be had for 25c each. Address The Mountain Empire Bulletin John Hettich, Editor and Publisher Jacumba, Calif.
