Truth Stranger than Fiction.

Northland Age, 20 September 1904, Page 3

Truth Stranger than Fiction.

A Squadron of Air-Ships. This month, in St. Louis, U.S.A., thore promises to be a spectacle the world has never before witnessed, nor, indeed, has the mind of man ever fully pictured it, even in imagination. At the present moment there are assembled at the St. Louis World’s Fair 91 different airships, entered for a great race among the clouds for a prize of £20,000. The judges will be stationed in captive balloons, high up in the air, at points along the course. Here are summarised the leading features of the competition, as framed by the St. Louis World’s Fair officials: i -

No applicant shall be admitted wbo has not presented Satisfactory evidence of having at some tilde made a night over at least, a mile course and return with a machine similar in principle to that used in the present races. Each vehicle shall .carry at least one person during its flight. The competitor making the best average speed in three revolutions of the course, at not less than twenty miles an hour, shall be awarded the £20,000 prize. Three trips must be made, the time to be the average of the three best performances. The course begins and ends in the athletic amphitheatre near the Administration Building. Shaped like the letter L, the course shall have one short leg in full view from all parts of the Exposition grounds. It shall be marked by three captive balloons, anchored at an altitude of 250 feet. The course will be not less than ten nor more than fifteen miles long. Starts must bo made between 10 a.m. and sundown. If on November 1 two or more competitors have made equal records, a further triul will be adjudged by the Aeronautical Jury. Additional prizes amounting to £IO,OOO, and ranging from £I,OOO to ££oo, shall be awarded competitors who attain the greatest height; remain the longest time in the air; cover a mile in the best time; and, finally, for landing nearest the Washington Monument in the city of Washington, the start being made from the Exposition grounds in St. Louis. Sailing in this no less remarkable than promising flotilla, nobody knows what startling Revelation may be made. That it will be one of the most amazing spectacles of modem times there is every reason to predict. Such an aerial squadron, dashing hither and thither, will restore some of the romance which the nerve-racking locomotive has destroyed.