A Record Flight in America.

Progress, Volume V, Issue 10, 1 August 1910, Page 342

A Record Flight in America.

Mr. Curtiss, the American airman, won the prize of £2500 offered by the New York World by flying from Albany to Governor's Island, New York, a distance of about 150 miles. The time he took for the journey is given as 2hrs. 45min., but this is not official. Mr. Curtiss started from Albany at 7.2

a.m. in perfect weather. Attaining a height of 400 ft., the craft passed Kingston at a rapid rate, which was maintained until Poughkeepsie was reached. The airman landed there, and after replenishing his petrol and oil, ascended again at 9.22 a.m. for liis final run. All the way down the river the steamers and pleasure craft whistled their greetings to the airman, who apparently for their delectation frequently spurted at the rate of a mile a minute, the machine meanwhile maintaining a perfectly even balance. Turning with the bend of the River at Yonkers at a height of 200 ft., Mr. Curtiss pointed the nose of his machine towards the east bank of the river, and, travelling at the rate of 40 miles an hour, reached a point off Washington Heights, New York City, and then calmly bringing his machine about, described a complete circle, retraced his path for a mile or more, and then swerved eastward above Spuvten Duvoil creek. He landed 100 yards inland on the Manhattan Island shore at 10.40 a.m., alighting beautifully. He again ascended at 11.3, gracefully passed down the river, and finally came down on Governor's Island at noon.

To show how these flights make the world grow we may mention here that a prize of £6,000 has now been offered jointly by a New York newspaper and a St. Louis newspaper for a flight from New York to St. Louis. The distance is about 900 miles.