USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume II > Part 42
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume II > Part 42
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By 1907 the public had become skeptical of the practicability or even the possibility of successful flying machines, but not so the scat- tered band of pioneers and inventors who, fired by the Wrights' achievements, worked harder than ever to solve the problem of flying with heavier-than-air machines. Although most attempts were failures, there were two groups besides the Wrights in 1907 who had achieved success. One was at Hammondsport where, under the leadership of Glenn Curtiss, great progress was being made, and the other was in France, where Santos Dumont, Farman, Voisin, and Bleriot had each made and flown his own machine. The newspapers carried a great deal about the progress which the French were making.
It was great news, therefore, in July, 1908, when the announce- ment was made that Henri Farman, the famous French flyer, was bringing his airplane to New York and would make a series of public flights. The Brighton Beach racetrack was chosen as the site and, although only 840 yards long, it was ample for the exhibition flights which were mainly to show the public that the machine could actually leave the ground. The first day, Saturday, August 1st, about 8000
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persons paid the entrance fee only to be disappointed. It was too windy for Farman to risk flying, so the people were given "wind cheques". On August 2nd about 1000 turned up and were rewarded by seeing one short flight down the length of the racetrack. It was the first airplane flight on Long Island.
During the succeeding week Farman made several short flights on each of the few days when there was no wind, but the public had lost interest. The attendance averaged only a few hundred persons and the exhibition was a financial failure. Nevertheless, it was a great spur to the local boys. It touched a spark and from that day on, Long Island was in the aviation business.
On one of the days of Farman's exhibitions, young Lawrence B. Sperry of Flatbush, not quite sixteen years old, thrilled by this opportunity to see an aeroplane, had taken his motorcycle and arrived at Brighton Beach at 4 A. M. to be sure not to miss the flight. Early morning was the best time to fly because of the quiet air. He saw Farman warm up the engine, roll down the field and make a single short hop at an altitude of about 10 feet. That was enough for him. From then on, his life was devoted to aviation. He started building his first airplane that same summer in the cellar of his home. During the next fifteen years he was one of the great contributors to the progress of aviation, and all of his achievements belong to Long Island.
There was now so much interest in the possibilities of flying that a group of enthusiastic young men, all with plans for building their own machines, organized the New York Aeronautic Society and selected the old, deserted Morris Park racetrack in the Bronx as their base of operations. On Election Day, November 3, 1908, this group courageously put on an "air show", but their enthusiasm far outran their ability to perform. Twenty thousand witnessed the show, but most of them climbed through holes in the old racetrack fence, so the "gate" was not as large as expected. There were at least half a dozen flying machines of various queer types on exhibition, but as one report stated, "none of the apparatuses flew". A Mr. Lesh went up in a glider towed by an automobile, but a gust of wind caused the glider to crash and Mr. Lesh broke his ankle. It was decided that flying events should be called off and the day was ended with motor- cycle races. Aviation was still a most uncertain entertainment.
During the next year, even though there were about twenty air- planes in various stages of construction, the members at the "Morris Park Volery" decided to pool enough money to buy at least one air- plane that they were sure would fly. A committee visited Glenn Curtiss, who had built several successful machines. Curtiss was so surprised and pleased at the appearance of a customer for an airplane that he said he would design and build a new plane for them. Thus was closed the sale of the first commercial airplane in America.
In June, 1909, the new plane was delivered at Morris Park and Glenn Curtiss came down to demonstrate it. He made several short flights around the racetrack. Its performance was excellent. The machine was accepted and christened the Gold Bug, but the Bronx
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was no place for aviation, so Glenn Curtiss suggested that they look over on Long Island for a place where he could demonstrate its per- formance. He was also anxious to make an attempt to win the Scien- tific American trophy which had recently been offered for the first flight of 25 kilometers (151/2 miles). Curtiss and several others drove out on Long Island and were greatly pleased to find the large level stretches of Hempstead Plains. They chose a field east of Mineola as "a nice flat place". There, in the early morning hours of July 7, 1909, Curtiss made the flight. To witness this through the eyes of an old Long Islander, the following story is quoted from the reminis- cences of the late Valentine W. Smith of Far Rockaway.
I recollect an early morning in the summer of 1909, before any wind would be likely to arise, Mrs. Smith and I drove to Mineola to see Glenn Curtiss attempt to fly an air- plane. This airplane looked like an enlarged box kite. The driver's seat projected out in front and the engine with the propeller, set to push forward, was at the back. It was an ideal morning with no wind stirring, and at sunrise Mr. Curtiss wheeled the machine to the east side of the Fair Grounds, and went up a little higher than the tree tops, and circled around for half an hour. At the end of that time the plane fairly collapsed from the excessive strain, but he had remained in the air just long enough to win the prize of $10,000.
That early morning flight was truly a milestone in Long Island aviation. The airplane had finally discovered its natural home, Hemp- stead Plains, a friendly ground over which it could strengthen its pinions. The hum of the airplane has swelled over the Plains from that morning to the present time.
In the next few weeks on this same Mineola field, Curtiss, before returning to Hammondsport, taught Charles F. Willard of the Aero- nautic Society to fly. On August 13th, Willard made the first extensive cross-country flight over the Plains-Mineola, Garden City, Westbury, Hicksville-and then a forced landing. It proved the advantage of the Plains, since forced landings were a most common occurrence in these early years and here they were comparatively safe.
On many a pleasant afternoon in those early days, Washington Avenue, which was the western boundary of this field, would be lined with motor cars laden with the admiring public. When one of the flyers would bob his plane up and down like a gentle roller coaster, they would all honk their horns in enthusiastic applause.
The year 1909 marks the Hudson-Fulton celebration. On Septem- ber 29th, Wilbur Wright gave his first public flying demonstration to New York City. Taking off from Governor's Island, he flew around the Statue of Liberty and back to the Island. On October 4th he staged a splendid fliglit all the way up to Grant's Tomb and back, flying over the Hudson River. This was the climax of the celebration and the first airplane flight the cities of New York and Brooklyn had ever witnessed.
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By 1910, most of the flying activity around New York had settled at the Mineola field. Flying schools were starting up. Many inventors were still working to build their first airplanes. Dr. Henry Waldon flew the first American-made monoplane. Clifford B. Harmon, sports- man and aeronautical enthusiast, made a flight from Mineola, over Port Washington, across the Sound, and landed at Greenwich, Con- necticut. For this great achievement, Harmon was presented the Country Life in America trophy.
In August, 1910, Glenn Curtiss, McCurdy, Willard and Bud Mars held a series of flying exhibitions at the old Sheepshead Bay race- track. Major Rieber, a balloonist of the Signal Corps stationed at Governor's Island, was an interested spectator the first day. He dis- cussed with Glenn Curtiss the idea of adding a military feature to the program by having an officer fire a service rifle from an airplane in flight. Curtiss at first was afraid this would be too dangerous; the rifleman would have to sit on the edge of the wing and would not be able to hold on to both the airplane and the rifle at the same time. Also, it was feared that the recoil of the rifle might upset the plane. In those days there was little knowledge of airplane stability. But Curtiss finally consented to the experiment and Lt. J. E. Fickel of the Infantry was given the assignment. A white target was spread on the ground and Curtiss, with Fickel as passenger, flew over it at an altitude of about 100 feet. Fickel fired as they passed over the target. Two bullet holes were found in the target, according to Lt. Fickel's official report. As far as is known, this is the first rifle firing from an airplane in flight. Lt. Fickel later transferred to the Aviation Section and rose to the rank of Major General in the Air Corps.
There was one other important "first" which can be credited to this obscure air show at Sheepshead Bay. On August 27th, J. A. McCurdy, one of the original group of Curtiss flyers, took aloft in his plane a cumbersome spark wireless transmitter and sent the following message to the ground :
Horton - Another chapter in aerial achievement is recorded in the sending of this wireless message from an air- plane in flight.
MCCURDY.
The biggest event of the year 1910, however, was the great Inter- national Aerial Tournament held at Belmont Park, Long Island, October 22nd to 31st. This was the first international air meet held in America, with representatives from England, France and the United States competing for the many prizes. The sensational Statue of Liberty race for the Thomas Fortune Ryan $10,000 prize was won by Count de Lesseps of France. Claude Graham-White of England beat him home, but was disqualified for fouling a pylon. Graham- White, however, had won the Gordon Bennett $5000 speed contest in which the Frenchman, Le Blanc, had surpassed all speed records, 68 miles per hour, only to be disqualified by crashing at the finish.
It was during the Belmont Park Meet that Ralph Johnston and Arch Hoxsey, two of the most skillful and daring American birdmen,
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became known as the "Star Dust Twins". Both were striving to win the $5000 altitude prize. Every day they rose a little higher, each seeking to outfly the other. Late one calm afternoon they both took off for another attempt. For an hour they spiralled upward. The sun went down, but neither would be the first to give up. The contest ended only as the fuel tanks ran dry. First one and then the other sputtered into silence as the anxious crowd waited in the dim twilight. Both machines landed safely in a Long Island potato patch. Jonhston won the altitude contest with a world's record-9714 feet.
This meet was a great success with plenty of thrills for the spec- tators, as luck, skill and daring all played equally important parts in the flying of the day. Furthermore, aviation was at last receiving recognition. The spectators at the Belmont Meet included Lieutenant Governor Timothy L. Woodruff, Thomas Fortune Ryan, Clarence Mackay, and many others who represented society and capital.
By the year 1911, the birdmen were truly venturing out. Cross- country flight held the lure. Many flight records from this place to that were being made, but perhaps the outstanding flight of the year was that of Calbraith P. Rodgers, who started for California from Mineola Field on September 17, 1911. The remarkable thing was that he finally got there, even if it did take 49 days, many of which were needed to patch up and rebuild the airplane after forced landings. In fact, Rodgers had to spend some days in a hospital for repairs on himself after one of the crack-ups. On December 10th he arrived at Long Beach, California, completing the first transcontinental trip ever made by air. From that day on, the transcontinental record has been whittled down a little at a time until, as this is written, the jet- propelled P-80 has brought it to 4 hours and 15 minutes from Cali- fornia to Mitchel Field, Long Island, within sight of the same place from which Rodgers took off thirty-five years earlier.
In the Fall of 1911, the Second International Air Meet was held on Long Island. This time the site chosen was the new Nassau Boule- vard air field on the edge of Garden City, just north of the Long Island Rail Road tracks at the Nassau Boulevard station. The follow- ing paragraph from Town and Country magazine (1911) indicates how the flyers had come to consider Long Island.
The birdmen flock to Long Island as instinctively as partridges to a thorn grove. The mile-wide plain running down the center of the Island is a natural homing ground for the flyers. It is now time for the pick of the aviators of the United States and Europe to make their second annual migra- tion to this attractive piece of country.
At this meet there were again many prizes and many entries. The site was colorful, as there was a row of over twenty small hangars, each housing one contestant and his airplane. His country's flag flew over the hangar. Various races and contests were held each morning and afternoon for a week, but the outstanding event that made aviation history was a small side show which the Aero Club arranged with the Post Office Department. Earl Ovington, one of the
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popular local flyers, was sworn in as airmail pilot No. 1 by Post- master General Frank H. Hitchcock. A temporary mail station was set up at the field. On the first day of the air show, the Postmaster General himself handed the first airmail bag to Ovington in his Bleriot monoplane. He placed it between his knees and took off for Mineola, about six miles away, where he dropped it near the Mineola Post Office. In several flights he carried 640 letters and 1280 post cards. These pieces of mail, each with a special official cancellation, are now much sought for and prized by stamp collectors-the first official air mail in America.
Another feature of this meet at Nassau Boulevard which should be noticed is the first appearance of Army aviation. In 1910, the United States Army possessed one Wright airplane and Lt. B. D. Foulois was the only Army officer qualified and assigned to fly it. He was ordered to the air meet at Belmont Park in October, 1910, as an observer. One year later, in September, 1911, at the Nassau Boule- vard Air Meet, the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps was again represented, this time, however, by two participants, Lt. Milling and Lt. H. H. Arnold (later to become General H. H. Arnold, Chief of the United States Air Forces in World War II). Arnold and Milling were to pilot Burgess-Wright machines for a military demonstration. At this time the main use which Army officers saw for airplanes was reconnaissance. Consequently, the demonstration whichi the two lieu- tenants gave was to fly out over the surrounding countryside and locate several bodies of troops from Fort Totten that had been con- cealed in the nearby woods for the occasion. Lt. Milling also set a new endurance record during this meet by carrying two passengers for 1 hour and 54 minutes. This was the first participation of the United States Army in any air meet.
The years 1912 and 1913 made very little news in aviation. There seemed to be a lull of uncertainty after the first years of success. The birdmen had proved to the public that they could fly. They had set impressive records, such as Le Blanc's speed record of 68 miles an hour, Johnston's altitude record of 9714 feet. Earl Ovington had demonstrated the possibility of carrying mail by airplane, yet nothing came of the experiment. Flying schools had started up at both the Nassau Boulevard and Mineola flying fields. The only way for the airplane to earn money, however, seemed to be by exhibition flying or by organizing flying circuses. A good example of the circus days of flying was staged by Lincoln Beachey at Brighton Beach during this period. "Come rain, shine or cyclone", his manager said, "see the death defying, spine chilling, hair raising performance". For Lincoln Beachey in a new Curtiss racing airplane was going to compete with Barney Oldfield in his Fiat Cyclone racing car. The exhibitions proved to be thrilling. Beachey flew so close over the head of Oldfield that Barney could reach up and almost touch him. In addition to the racing, Beachey looped the loop and did many other reckless stunts very close to the ground.
Even the growth of the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps was surprisingly slow during these years. With war clouds rolling up in
L. I .- II-27
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Europe, neither the Army nor Congress had any realization of the importance of military aviation. In March, 1915, seven months after the first World War had started in Europe, Congress appropriated only $200,000 for all aviation for the year. Two years later, when the United States finally declared war, on April 6, 1917, our Air Force consisted of only 35 qualified pilots, 55 airplanes, and 4 flying schools. One of these schools was at Mineola.
The Sperry-Curtiss Aerial Torpedo, world's first guided missile, on its launching rails at Amityville, 1918
Undoubtedly one of the main deterrents to progress in aviation during these few years was the high accident rate among the pioneer flyers. Airplanes were treacherous and unstable. The pilots were daredevils trying to earn a living by stunt flying. The combination was tragic and by 1913 most of the well-known flyers, such as John- ston, Hoxsey and Beachey, had been killed.
One of the greatest problems in connection with the early air- planes was this question of stability. The wide variation in the designs of the early airplanes was due to the quest for more stability, but without much success. The pilot could never relax in flying or his ship would go out of control. This problem became so serious that the French Government in 1913 offered a prize of 50,000 francs for a stable airplane. Over eighty competitors from all parts of the world
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entered the competition. Among these entries was one from Long Island. Lawrence Sperry, now 22 years old, had been working with his father, Elmer A. Sperry, on the idea of applying an automatic stabilizer to an airplane instead of redesigning the airplane itself. Elmer A. Sperry had just recently founded the Sperry Gyroscope Company in Brooklyn and was interested in helping his air-minded son by trying to stabilize the airplane with gyroscopes. Together they worked out a design and installed it on a Curtiss flying boat. Lawrence did the test flying and by the Spring of 1914 he was ready for the competition to be held in Paris.
Lawrence made the trip to France alone, taking with him his plane and gyro stabilizer. He assembled it on the bank of the Seine with the aid of a French mechanic and started the drastic tests. Most of the competitors with various freak designs were quickly eliminated, the contest came down to a few. Lawrence arranged a special demon- stration flight. Taking his mechanic with him as passenger, he had him climb out on one wing while in flight and as they flew low past the judges' stand, Lawrence also stood up and raised both hands above his head. This was indeed convincing, nothing like it had ever been seen before. The airplane could really fly by itself. Sperry brought the prize back to Long Island.
Within a month war started in Europe. Safe and level flying with automatic stabilizers was temporarily postponed. The airmen were soon flying dangerously in dog fights that included all kinds of maneuvers. But the automatic stabilizer did not die. Instead, it went into the secret category and became one of the great secret projects of World War I.
When the United States entered the war, both the Army and Navy were interested in the possibility of using the gyro-stabilizer to control a pilotless plane loaded with explosives and guided by radio. In those days it was called the "aerial torpedo". Now it would be classified as a "guided missile". Glenn Curtiss designed a very small, simple plane which could be launched by catapult and had no landing wheels. Sperry installed the stabilizer and control devices. A secret test field was selected on the edge of Great South Bay near Amity- ville and there, during 1918, many successful flights were made with the first guided missiles the world had ever known. As it was, of course, too expensive to lose an airplane every time it was tested, Sperry would ride out as a passenger on the missile until it had reached the target over the ocean, he would then take over the con- trols and fly it back. Sperry even flew the final torpedo design which was not built for a human pilot. This he had to land on skids on the ice of Great South Bay. The war ended, however, before any of these weapons were actually used and the project slumbered in the secret files until reawakened by World War II.
The main aviation history of World War I on Long Island, how- ever, centered around the Mineola air field. Just prior to the war, real estate dealers displaced the flyers from their old field east of the Fair Grounds in order to develop that section. A new field was ac- quired about a mile farther to the east. This field was at first known
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as Mineola Air Field or Hempstead Plains Aviation Field. In 1915 the New York National Guard organized an active aviation unit at this field. In 1916, Colonel Kilner and Major Bolling took over opera- tion of this field as a military post and gave it the name of Hazelhurst Field. It was named after Sergeant Hazelhurst, the first non-commis- sioned officer to be killed in an Army airplane accident.
Under Col. Kilner a fine squadron of flyers was trained in spite of many handicaps of inadequate airplanes and material. When the United States declared war, it was one of the few squadrons that the United States had ready to go abroad to fight. It included sons of many prominent New York and Long Island families. Among them
Enlisted Men's Club, Mitchel Field
was Quentin Roosevelt, son of Theodore Roosevelt of Oyster Bay. He was one of the first American trained flyers to fly over the enemy lines in France. He was shot down and killed on July 14, 1918. Soon after that, the name of Hazelhurst Field was changed to Roosevelt Field in his honor. As Roosevelt Field it has had a remarkable his- tory both in war and peace.
A majority of the American flyers of World War I were trained at or passed through this field before going to France. It was one of the great war-time fields. As soon as the war was over, however, the Army had the problem of deciding which of the numerous war-time fields they should make into permanent bases. It was decided that instead of holding Roosevelt Field, they would utilize a large tract of land just to the south which had a greater acreage. This land had been leased by the Army in 1917 as a general supply camp for con- centrating and distributing supplies to the surrounding military air fields and training camps. About all that could be said for it was that it was large and flat. Much had to be done before it could be a good air field. Nevertheless, the Army acquired it and set July 16,
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1918, as the day to formally dedicate the field. Just before this date fell due, Major John Purroy Mitchel, Army pilot and ex-Mayor of New York City, was killed in an air accident while training at an Army field in Louisiana. It was immediately decided to christen the field Mitchel Field, so with hardly a usable runway, the old supply field of World War I started its career with another great name, and in the past thirty years has grown to be one of the finest military fields of the country.
After the Armistice in November, 1918, aviation was left in a state of suspended animation. The world now realized its great mili- tary potentialities, but with the rush toward disarmament and econ- omy, peace-time aviation was left only with a large surplus of Army training airplanes and a lot of ex-Army flyers who still wanted to fly. On Long Island the many air fields reverting to peace-time flying were busy with flying clubs, aviation schools and barnstorming groups, but the activity was all for fun or for exhibition; there seemed to be no practical demand for commercial flying.
True, airmail was being given another trial. The Post Office Department had inaugurated its first intercity airmail service between New York and Washington. Belmont Park served as the New York terminus. Later a New York to Boston run was inaugurated and then a New York to Chicago schedule. All of these first runs used Belmont Park as the New York terminal, but its size and location were not suitable, so the Post Office Department, after temporarily using Roose- velt Field for a few months, finally established Hadley Field near New Brunswick, New Jersey, as the airmail terminal. The struggle was pretty severe. The mail was quite irregular and not much time was saved. Only the loyal optimists and the enthusiasts used the service. The public was not sold.
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