CHAMPION OF THE AIR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2902, 27 October 1909, Page 78

CHAMPION OF THE AIR.

FARMAX'S THRILLING PLIGHT. | A graphic account oi the contest on the i Plain of Betheny, ncai Rheims, where M. I Farman won ths Grand Prize of Chamj pagno (£2000) fey , flying the longest dis1 t:-.noa yet covered by aeroplane, is' supplied , by ila- Percival Phillips to jhe Daily Express. The spectacle began (be writes) at 4 i o'clock, when Roger Sommer, having ; raken on foircr hours' supply of petrol, j opened the rhrottle of his Wright, and 1 POioded a note of c-Ka.llen're as he fped i past the sh.eds of vivals roi.ards the line. Three rririutes behind hiirn came Farj r)on. fortified vith 70 litccs (15 gallons] ' oi petrol, and 25 litres (43 pints) or oil. i ■ siting his course with th-e deliberation o! c. driver prepared to stay up all night, ii , 'is^Ksary. 1 Hz w.is buzzing down tih-e track aftei , -■<o.5 i m-er. and -we were w-p telling with in t:\reft when a scatt-feriiig (?,ievv to the lefi crime to us with Uhe first notes of th< song cf the Antoinette. Sh-e was glid a:>g upward to X'>" own place in the skiss and there \\s=; La>thaim, loimgin,? back ii the cushioned =«at. steerLig with., his fee' and waving a farewell wich both hands U the croud. j He pur-i'ed ..he two biplanes relent I ifssly. ,md as all three competing l 'ani'.' a^'C'" 1-'1 -' the ohir.l e i«'.2 of the course i we h.;.c! :in .hti- of those fleeting, bu fijpr«:ne!y thrilling piotur-cs cl a neck -and 1 r. ».'-: re.i.2 bc-t^tt-n <?wift-w:i' -t<\ a.ii'sl'.i;^. 1 The cb^uou^ d^n^er of i'he speotac! ! iAIkJ t'i i.ho hit en-sit y of the inteiest, fc ! Par.'han had b-p-en wrecked a few hour L.'fore in similrr condition.-. i — Farmap Gair >c: . — I As t-he;. c-iiie round the ijost. Somrr.e I v\ ii ah? id. -svhile above him, just behind ' iji.t liavinc; ihe oirt.si.de position, was Fax ' man. overt. .» king him sterdily. lhe An \ toinette wa« al lt;u-t 100 ft above them, a.m i was s«£iinin>g on both eveiy ?iecond. | Nomiysr wa* the first round t-he pill-ai lint as hs headed straight for the- fipishin lins to romplete the first round, Farma. fame abve-ist. anj just above. So the continue. i neck and neck, with Lathar peering dov. n oa bath. Firty feet beyond the line the Auto: n.ette pas-«d tlfem, all three still at di: ferent aJtitud'&s. Farman -dad r.ot like thi* procession. H fell out and veere.l behind the timekeeper lodge, and came batk to the cotu»e whe the others had passed. After two rounds Sommer dropped, an IjaXha.m. and Farman settled down to wea each otheir out. The superior bpeed ( the Antoinette was s»ho\rn by the lax. that sh-e did 70 kilometa-es (43| miles) i r.ne hour two and a-half minutes, an Faran-an a moment a,fterwards finished i kilometres (37£ miles) in exactly the san time. Arrayed before us we now had a sun t'mary of all that man has accomplished i

' Ms fight for the mastery of the air — the * Antoinette, tlie v&ry ejabodament of speed auiid grace, the fastest in the world; -a - Bleriot monoplane, carying Belagrango around in a lower current; and finally t£ie unlovely biplane, struggling gamely to j keep Farm&n in the air. ' Latham kept cm spJ-ondidly, unt-il just r.-> he was beg-J^ning the twelfth round a slight di2f«<rt boc';si>2 a.p-pareni in t>he N apparatus coctroiiing oce wing, aad he desesndtd, having done 111 kiloaieLres {69 mites) in alaout one boor and 41 n^Jmites. j All eyes were now fixed on Farnian, whe, althouyj) forging along more slo-wly, \va<3 iiSV6i"tl:e!i3Ss piling up ten-kilometre circuits with s.tesdiise&s w-hich filled, the hearts of 'iis friends with hope. j He complete.;' his first hiuKhreVJ kilo- , metres in a trifle 'more than an hour and j a-half. When he finished 120 it was ■ apparent that Paulhan was in danger of losing even second place for Uie prize. j In the grey 'twilight, with a leadenuaze enwrapping him save when he flashed around tbe western end of the rectangle, > he fixiishicid has * fourteenth rouiid, and Paulhan's record of 81 miles -went dowii to third places Fcrman diid this jotirney ;n; n Zhr 22min 51sec. ' ( We coxM jusfc pack him out in iha rapidLy-rjd^ancing darkness, kls knees | ci-'awn up almost to his chin, his head • b:nt as though to protect hes eyes agair^ , rte chill night wind which swept agJjii>st ! him when travelling tovraidis the post. 1 ! Now hs was ap»roach.iog the world's recoil — the record (96 miles) made so by Latham at tfce same time ' tbe prevous night. ' \ The vanqrisfcie-d captaii oi the Antoinette watched the -final stogss of Farman's flight with disa.ppointn>3flt stamped in every line of his tired face. The supreme j prize vva/3 slippiiig from his, grasp with I eveiy revolution of Farman's propeller. ! Tiie crisis came at 7 o'clock. Farman , wes witbin ar arm's length of his rival's record, as he slipper 1 into the haze towards Bethany parish church an -begin-nin-z the fifteenth round. We waitfd in silent suspense. Hopes ; for -Fa.rman iisteiTningled with regret ihat Luthani, who had fought so gallantly, j thould again suffer the bittamees oi defeat at the eleventh hour. Minutes passed' slowly ?,s we strainer", our eyes to the "other sida of the plair. " , j — New Record. — [ • Swddcnb we saw him, a mere dot of • wh ; ;te c'ancing through th« mist. He wes higher than bekxre, and we knew already ', that h« herd M-on. ' H« passed, the line, and Latham lifted • his voice with the rest of us. For the i third time this week wa cheered the holder . 1 of a nsw ,voi-!d's record. ; At half-p:-.--* 7. when the official control of the -aces ended' for the day, Farman hid done 100 kilometres (112* miles) in* i Shi 4min 56pee, and although the time- , keepers shuit the office, and the course was I pitch dark, he continued 'his flight. He could h2irdly see tbe posts, bat insisted on remaining in the air as long.as . j possible. , i Farman thus won tHe first Champagne . ; prize, in. addition to smashing 1 tbe" . worlds records, for distance and. time in [ thft'aii-. , ' ; Latham is second and Pul'han third. ! ! Favman completed 19 circiKit^, making [ , 186 kilometres (116^ niiles) ia shr 16mih. t