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PAGE EIGHT
THE MOUNTAIN EMPIRE BULLETIN
SEPTEMBER 1, 1936

FIRST SERVICE SHIP PURCHASED FROM WRIGHTS IN 1909

LIEUT. SELFRIDGE WAS FIRST FATALITY

I.

Shortly before Christmas, 1907, Major George O. Squier, technical adviser on aeronautical matters to the signal corps, was ordered by the war department to draw up specifications for a military aeroplane. 
Bids were then sought by the government, from contractors, for machine capable of the performances Major Squier outlined. Considering the small progress that had been made in aeronautical developments since Dec. 17, 1903, the date of the first flight by the Wright brothers, the requirements were stringent indeed. 
The aeroplane, the Major decreed, must be capable of making a sustained flight of one hour, be able to carry two persons, complete a reconnaissance flight of 125 miles, and maintain an average speed in excess of 36 miles an hour over a 10 mile course.
It must, in addition, be of such construction that it could be readily taken apart, transported o a couple of wagons, and reassembled in 60 minutes. The combined weight of the two persons carried must total at least 360 pounds.

Forty-one Bids

Forty-one persons, it was found when the bids were opened on Feb. 1, 1908, were willing to supply the government with a flying machine, but only three of the proposals were given considerations. These were an offer by the Wright brothers to supply a satisfactory machine in 200 days at a cost of $25,000, an offer from A. M. Herring to deliver a machine in 185 days for $20,00, and an offer from J.F. Scott to produce a completed aeroplane in 180 days for $1,000.
The Wright brothers had been inactive for two years. Now with prospects of the government order, and the assurance of some foreign business, flying experiments were resumed at Kitty Hawk, N.C., in May, 1908. The machine used in these tests was the same as had been flown by them in 1905, with provision made for the operator to sit erect, instead of lying prone, and with an added seat for a passenger. A large motor was installed and a radiator nd gasoline tank of greater capacity.

Curtiss Perfects Land-Water Place At San Diego

SAN DIEGO, Calif., Jan. 26, 1911 (E.B.)-Glenn Hammond Curtiss, the noted aeroplane inventor, who has established a winter aviation camp here, has another aeonautical triumph to his credit. 
Today in a standard fifty-horsepower Curtiss biplane which had been fitted with a system of floats, he succeeded in rising from the water in Spanish Bight, an inlet of San Diego bay, in flying about a mile, making a turn and in again descending to the surface of the bay.
The flight made by Curtiss today is the first time the over-water feat has been successfully accomplished. He was aided in the experiment by Hugh Robinson, a Curtiss aviator, and W. J. Shackelford and John D. Cooper, mechanics. The aeroplane with its pontoon attachments roared through the water at a speed of 40 miles an hour, then as Curtiss moved the control, rose and flew steadily at 50 miles an hour.
In addition to the over-water experiments Curtiss and Robinson are conducting a school of aviation for several army and navy officers sent to North Island for aeronautical instruction. 
The officers are Lieut. Theodore G. Ellyson, of the navy, and Lieutenants Geo. E. M. Kelly, Paul W. Beck and John C. Walker, of the army. A $125,000 appropriation for the purchase of aircraft has recently been introduced in congress, and it is possible that a fleet of modern aeroplanes will soon replace the single, obsolete, 1909 Wright biplane now owned by the government.
Eugene Fly, a Curtiss aviator, recently made a flight from the Presidio, at San Francisco, to the deck of the U.S.S. Pennsylvania. After landing on the warship Ely rose from the deck and flew back to shore. Earlier in the year Ely made a ship to shore flight near Hampton Roads.


12 Flights Made

Between May 6 and May 14 about 12 flights were made, the longest being one of 5 minutes. One the final day of the trails, which ended when the machine was wrecked, a passenger, C. W. Furnas, was taken aloft.
On August 8 Wilbur Wright left for France to conclude foreign negotiations for the use of the Wright patents, leaving Orville to complete the business with the government. 
On September 3, having assembled the aeroplane which he hoped to sell to the war department at the parade ground at Fort Meyer, Va., near Washington, D.C., Orville ascended for a test flight.
After two circuits of the field he made a mistake in the manipulation of the steering lever, in which some damage was done to the forward portion of the runners.

Octave Chanute Present

The signal corpos representatives at Fort Meyer were Major Squier and Lieutenants Frank P. Lahm, Benjamin D. Foulois and Thomas E. Selfridge. Lieutenants Lahm and Foulois were attached to the balloon section of the corps, and had recently conducted a series of experiments with the Baldwin dirigible, purchased by the government a short time before. Lieutenant Selfridge has been but recently recalled from detached duty with the Aerial Experiment association. 
The navy was represented by Lieutenant Sweet. Charles Taylor, who has aided the Wrights in the design and construction of their first motor, and C. W. Furnas, who has been their first passenger, were Orville's assistant. Augustus Post, secretary of the Aero CLub of America, was present as an official observed. Octave Chanute was an interested spectator. 
Before a large crowd which had assembled a second ascent was made at about 6 p.m., on Sept. 4. With only a faint trace of a breeze blowing Orville made five circuits of the parade ground and landed directly in front of the tent used to house the machine. The flight lasted 4 minutes and 15 seconds, the altitude did not exceed 33 feet, and the average speed attained was about 36 miles an hour.
On Spetember 8, Orville made two flights. On the longest voyage he remained aloft for 11 minutes and covered about 6½ miles. On this flight he sailed high over the stables which lined one side of the parade ground, and made six circuits of the field. On the shortest trip he was up 8 minutes and traveled 4½ miles. 

Up Over Hour

Having gained confidence in the machine, and his handling of it, Orville, in an early morning flight on Sept. 9, remained up for 57 minutes and 31 seconds, covering 36 miles. Shortly after 5 o'clock that evening he ascended and accomplished a flight of 1 hour 2 minutes and 15 seconds, traveling a distance of 38½ miles around the measured course. The flight was witnessed by about 1000 persons attracted to Fort Meyer by the news of the earlier voyage. WIthin a short time he again ascended, with Lieutenant Lahm as a passenger, for a six minute trip. 
On Sept. 10 Orville succeeded in remaining aloft 65 minutes and 52 seconds, making 58 circuits of the parade grounds. On Sept. 11 he made two flights, the longest being 70 minutes and 26 seconds. On September 12 Major Squier was taken up for a ride lasting 9 minutes and 6 1/3 seconds. Before a crowd of 5,000 which had gathered, Orville flew for one hour and 14 minutes. 
Two weeks now remained in which to complete the government tests and Orville announced that he intended to continue his practice and trials further before attempting the official flights. 
On Thursday, Sept. 17, at 5:14, while cavalrymen restrained a crowd of 2,000 persons from encroaching upon the parade ground, Orville ascended with Lieutenant Selfridge as a passenger. They had been up six or seven minutes, and had made two circuits of the field at an altitude of about 75 feet, when the machine was observed to waver in the air, twist in its course, and nose upwards.

Fell With Crash

The aeroplane fell to earth with a crash. The crowd broke past the soldiers and started to rush across the field to where Orville and Lieutenant Selfridge were pinned in the wreckage, but the troops hastily formed a cordon and held them back. 
The motor lay on top of Selfridge. His head was covered with blood and his breath came in choking gasps. He was unconscious. 
Orville, badly hurt, was still conscious.
"Oh," hurry and lift the motor," he begged looking towards his companion. 
AN ambulance took both men to the Fort Meyer hospital. Orville's injuries consisted of a compound frarture of the right thigh bone, and two broken ribs. Lieutenant Selfridge has sustained a basal fralture of the skull. 
Lieutenant Selfridge died three hours after the start of the ill-fated voyage, without recovering lonsciousness. He was 26 years old, and the son of Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Selfridge, of San Francisco. At the request of his father lIeutenant Selfridge was buried in Arlington. J. A. D. McCurdy, Glenn H. Curtiss, F. W. Baldwin and Dr. Alexander Grahame Bell, the officer's associates in the experiment association, attended the funeral.

Broken Propeller, Cause

Taylor, the Wright mechanic, stated that the accident had been caused by a propellor becoming entangled in a stray wire, and breaking itself. When he regained his composure Orville said he could have righted the machine had he been 25 feet higher in the air. 

II. 

Neither Herring or Scott had came forwards with an aeroplane. The war department now extended the time limit for a military machine until June 28, 1909.
On that date congress adjourned, and a huge crowd of persons came to Fort Meyer, Va., in anticipation of witnessing some flights. The aeroplane followed the same general lines as the year before. It had a double horizontal rudder in front, twin vertical rudders behind, and was pushed forward in the air by twin propellers. Because of the low power of the motor an auxiliary launching device, consisting of a starting rail and tower, was used. 

Sets Duration Record

There were no flights made on the 28th. A new motor gave trouble and other difficulties encountered. Finally, on June 29, after 12 feet had been added to the starting rail, and 60 pounds to the starting weight in the tower, Orville took off for a brief hop 3,960 feet. Over trial trips of increasing length were made until, on July 20, he was able to establish a new American duration record by remaining in the air for 1 hour and 20 minutes. 
Orville announced now, that on July 26 an attempt would be made to pass the government requirement for a one hour flight with two men aboard, and on that day 10,000 persons, including President Taft, assembled at the parade ground. In a preliminary flight the dropping of the launching weight was dispensed with, the plane rolling along the rail under its own power, skimming the grass for a few feet, then rising into the air. Orville made the first circle of the field at an elevation of about 25 feet, then claimed to 75 feet for the next two rounds, and landed with a succession of dips and swoops. 
In the meantime a gusty wind of 15 to 20 miles an hour velocity had sprund up causing the duration flight to be postponed until the following day. On the 27th the weather was even more unsettled. A high wind lasted throughout the day until late afternoon. Then there was a shower, followed by a calm spell.
At 6:35:40 p.m., when the calm showed signed of persisting, with Lieur. Lahm aboard, Orville steered the aeroplane aloft for what was to become the longest two man flight on record. Seventy rounds of the parade grounds were made, and the duration mounted minute by minute to a total of one hour. Seventy rounds of the field meant a total distance covered of about 50 miles, and the assembled throng cheered and waved an acknowledgment of a great accomplishment.
Five more times Orville and his passenger sailed around the course, at an average altitude of 75 feet bobbing up and down in the breeze, adding 12 minutes and 36 seconds to their time aloft, and besting Wilbur's passenger carrying record, made in France the year before. 
Wilbur was an interested spectator. As the machine skidded across the ground in landing and came to a stop he rushed out from the crowd and warmly congratulated his brother. 

Speed Test Passed

On July 30, after several postponements because of weather conditions, the speed test was undertaken over a rugged, wodded course, extending five miles across country to a captive balloon tethered at Shuter's hill, near Alexandria. 
Lieut. Foulois was the passenger on this flight. The official time for the ten mile round-teip was 14 minutes and 42 seconds, an average of slightly better than 42 miles an hour. Inasmuch as the war department had inserted a clause in the purchase contract whereby $2,500 would be added to the price to be paid for the machine for each mile of speed in excess forty miles an hour, a bonus of $5,000 was earned on this voyage.
Shortly after the flight of July 30, the Wright aeroplane was accepted and thus became the first heavier-than-air amchine to be acquired by the government. The equipment of the signal corps, which had been entrusted with the development of the aerial arm at this time, in addition the one aeroplane, consisted of the Baldwin dirigible and several free and captve balloons. There was one balloon house at Fort Meyer and another at Fort Omaha, Neb. At Fort Omaha there was also an electroyisis plany for the manufacture of hydrogen case.

1909 Aero Organization 

The 1909 aeronautical organization of the signal corps under Chief Signal Officer Brigadier General James Allen was Maor Squier, theoretical expert and adviser; Lieut. Lahm, chief of the aeronautical section; and Capt. Chas. de F. Chandler, and Lieutenants Foulois, Winters, Bamberger, Dickenson, and Humphries, commissioned personnel.
Lieutenants Lajm, Humphries and Foulois were the first officers assigned for training one the heavier-than-air type of craft. Wilbur Wright, following his September appearance at New York, in connection with the Hudson Fulton celebration, returned to Fort Meyer to instruct the embryo airmen. On Oct. 9 Wilbur slid off of the starting rail for a trial trip of 3,280 feet. On Oct. 11 he made a complete circle of the parade grounds. He was then ready to proceed with the training course.
The officers proved apt pupils and progress was rapidly made to a point where, on Oct. 30, Lieut. Foulois and Humphries were given sole charge of the machine and sent aloft without the more experienced hand of Wilbur at their side.


Greetings to the EARLY BIRDS
from the CONSOLIDATED AIRCRAFT CORPORATIOM
LINDBERGH FIELD
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA