SUCCESSFUL FLYING FEAT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2815, 26 February 1908, Page 60

SUCCESSFUL FLYING FEAT.

FARMAN WINS THE 1 £2000 PRIZE. Mr Henry Farman, an Englishman, on, ' Monday, January 13, at - Issy (France), established a record ' in aeroplane Sight. ' At an even distance of 25ft from the ■ ground he new in a complete- circle in the : air at an average speed of 31 miles an ' hour a distance of 1650 English yards, re- j turning to his exact starting point. | By this feat he won the prize of £2000 offered by Messrs Deutsch\ and Arch- j deaco.i to anyone who. woujd cover a i circular course of a kilometre in a machine 1-eayier than air. Six months ago Mr Farman _ experimented with an apparatus which resembled that of his great rival M. SantosDumont. Finally he made several improvements, which were embedded in a. new machine, fitted with an Antoinette motor. Two months ago Mr Farman succeeded in f covering- a kilometre (1093 yds) in a straight ' line. His great difficulty proved to be the turning. While carrying out - this manoeuvre at a high speed the aeroplane came to earth, b,ut Mr Earman persevered, and in the efld conquered. Mr Farman first outdistanced his rival^F with an aeroplane on October 14 last, when he flew 311 yds, beating M. SantosDumont's previous record of 230 yds. «At the end of the month he did 843 yds, and . several times since, he has completed pri- j vately the full circular .kilometre without touching ground. " ' On the day for the trial the Comte de la. vaulx and Messrs EL&pferer and Bleriofc appeared at the -military ground at Issy to represent the- Aero Club at another of Mr Farman's trials. ' The course was marked j out with posts and flags. The. task set for j Mr Farman was to ns& from the ground before he crossed the' line and to make a flight round the flagstaff at' fh& <anl, <an<3 . return to bis fitaxting point again, a total' > distance of one kilometre. At .10.18 Mr Farman, having started bis 50 h.p. Antoinette motor, gave the word to let go. The machine at the time of -start; ing was about 40yds behind the starting- 1 line. - J I After running rapidly along the ground, l the aeroplane, when about five yards from

the line, rose 9F£ or 10ft, and crossed at that height. Then Mr Farman made a wide circuit, gradually rising to a. height of 25ft. The excitement became intense. Mr Farman's brother Maurice, in a 40 h.p. motor, dashed after the fast-moving aeroplane, and tried to keep up with it. One hundred and fifty l yards beyond the flag-post which marked the end of the course the aeroplane made a graceful swooping movement, turning a half-circle far on the o'uteide of the flag-post, and came racing- back on the other side towards the starting point. " , Amid loud cheering, Mr Farman, as he neared the goal, gradually lowered his helm. As he crossed the line he stopped his motor and came down gently to earth at the spot from which he hadestarted. The timekeeper shouted out that the Bight had been made in lmin 28sec. j The aeronaut was lifted out of his seat, hugged, and slapped on the back, while M. Deutseh de la Mcurthe kissed him on. both cheeks. Next came the turn of the exuberant M. Archdeacon to embrace Mr Farman, who finally fled from the enthusiastic attentions of the throng. j — Doubles the Distance. — ! Experimenting on the following Wednesday with the aeroplane with which he won, the Deutsch prize he made a Sight unofficially estimated at two kilometres. While turning he had a narrow escape of capsizing. The Farman aeroplane consists of three wings in the shape and of the box-kite pattern. The propeller, which is worked by a 50 h.p. Antoinette motor, is made with a steel frame, and "covered with'can1 yaa, and measures a. little over two metres in diameter. The entire surface of the combined planes is 52 square metres, and tho weieht is half a ton. Mr Henry Farman is one of the three sons of Mr T. Farman, the English newspaper correspondent, who have established quite a reputation in automobile circles. As a young man Mr Farman won a number of bicycle races, including that of Paris to Clermont, -organised in- 1892, when j^ he left the winner of the Paris-Bordeaux race far behind. Together with his brother Maurice he formed for a time a bicycle team that could not be beaten in any race. Wlien motoring 1 came into vogue he took jto it quite naturally, and won the Pau and" Nice races in 1902 with , a Darraqq 'Voiturette. In the great Paris to Vienna race hedrove a Panhard-Levassor, and won first honours for heavy machines.