HOW THE HON. C. ROLLS WAS KILLED.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10041, 15 July 1910, Page 3

HOW THE HON. C. ROLLS WAS KILLED.

The Hon. Rolls who was kitted at Bournemouth on Tuesday last, was using the same biplane that he used m his ciuHi-Chaunel! fl ght; but instead of a fixed tailplane he utilised the Wright Brothers' new adjustable stabiliser.

Mr Rolls coneu-red the fixed tai 1plane greatly assisted in maintaining the stability of the -nacruiie, but slightly counteracted the effect of the movements of the elevator. The new plane also,, be thought, gave increased facility in making ascents and descents.

After circling at a gradually increasing altitude, Mr Rolls, at great speed, swept over the enclosure with a following wind. He then turned the head of the machine round, behind the grandstand, in the tteth of the wind. Desending at a steep gradient towards the prescribed alighting point, and passing over the lawn at a height of 70 feet, he stoppedthe motor and began to descend at an angle of 40 degrees in order to U3e the opposing wind force and to avoid a long run to the ground. For the same reason, and with a view of checking the descent and alihgting on the wheels, Mr Rolls brought the elevating plane up sharply. Sucden air pressure on the tailplane caused by Mr a Rolla's violent pull of the lever precipitated the collapse. The gear connecting with the rudder snapped, while the machine was 50. f jet above the ground. A silent horror seized the crowd as the machine as seen to turn sharply head downwards. It crashed to the ground from a height of 35 feet, the motor instantly exploding with a loud report. King George and Queen Mary have Bent a message of condolence to Baron Llangattock, father of the dead aviator. A BRILLIANI CAREER.

"1 set about trying to break my neck about as soon as I could walk," Mr Rolls wrote not long ago, and the remark now carries a pathetic interest. It was certainly not for want cf trying that Mr Rol'Jd has not broken his neck long ago. "Anything that could be made to go fast had a boundless fascination for me/' he said, "as had machinery of every description, my liking for the latter being no doubt due to the Scottish blood I inherit from my mother." The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolle, who was the third son of Lord Llangattock, was in his thirty-third year. He was technical managing director of Rolls-Royce, Limited, inotor-car manufacturers, and a captain in bhe London Section of the Army Motor Reserve. Before taking up aviation he had made his mark as an expert motorist, winning the gold medal in the 1000 miles automobile competition in 1900, and represented Great Britain in the Gordon-Bennett race in 1905. He made several speed records. Mr Rolls also made over 100 balloon ascents, and won the French Aero Club's medal for the longest balloon journey during 1906—from Paris to Shernborne, Norfolk, Once he and his balloon were "missing" for some time, but turned up safety. As an aeroplanist he had early successes. In the Autumn of last year he won a £SO Aero Club prize for a flight at Sheilbeach; in an exhibition given last January he flew at the rate of sixty miles an hour; and on June 3rd crossed and recrossed the Channel, Mr Rolls was a many-sided man. Besides his accomplishments as an automobilist, aeronaut, and aviator, he had a certificate as a marine engineer, while on all electrical subwas a first-class authority. In former days he was an ardent cyclist, and represented Cambridge University in this capacity in 1896. In hb leisure moments he found delight in music and the drama, while food reform was another of his hobbies.