After rising to a considerable altitude, Hamilton flew in great circles about the island to try his wings, and then, signaling that all was ready, darted off to the south. He quickly picked up his special train, and, at a pace of almost a mile a minute, flying hundreds of feet in air, sped on to Philadelphia. It was estimated that more than 1,000,000 people had gathered along the route to cheer him. Hamilton had laid out a regular time-table before starting, and so perfect was his control of the machine, that he passed town after town on time to the minute like a railroad train.
The run to Philadelphia eighty miles away, was made without alighting and without mishap of any kind. Hamilton flew over the open field selected for landing, circled it three times to show that he was not tired in the least, and settled down as lightly as a bird. He was received by the Governor of Pennsylvania and the Deputy Mayor of Philadelphia, to whom he delivered his messages and received similar letters in reply to bring back to New York.
After a brief rest of little more than one hour, Hamilton was once more in the sky, flying across-country at express speed. He set such a pace, that his special train was left far behind, and it was only by running at the rate of seventy-five miles an hour, that it finally overtook him. Hamilton drew far ahead of the train on the return trip which was made in much faster time. The wind was favorable, and Newark, eighty miles, was reached at the rate of fifty miles an hour.
With the goal practically in sight, Hamilton’s engine began working badly. He pushed on, until he found himself in absolute danger, when he decided to descend. From such high altitudes, the appearance of the ground is very deceptive. Hamilton chose what appeared to be a smooth piece of green grass and dropped to it, only to discover that he had settled in a marsh. The fault in the engine was quickly remedied, but now the ground proved too soft for him to rise. In trying to rise he broke his propeller, and another delay followed, while a new propeller was hurried from New York. He finally succeeded, however, in rising and completing his trip to Governor’s Island, thus making the round trip in a day and winning the prize.
So rapid is the advance in the new science, that each aviation meet sets a new and more difficult standard. At first, people marvelled to see an aëroplane rising but a few feet from the ground, but such feats soon became commonplace. Within a few months, prizes were offered for the machine staying aloft for the longest time. The element of speed was next considered, and the aëroplanes sailed around a race course against time. The highest altitude now became a popular test feat. The pilots soon found themselves in such complete control of their machines that they gave exhibitions of landing by the force of gravity alone. The aëroplane would work its way upward in great spirals, and then, shutting off all power, coast down at terrifying angles on the unsubstantial air. It is from such tests as these that there will gradually evolve the airships of the future, the terrible engines of war, the air liners for commerce, and the light and speedy pleasure craft.
Transcriber’s Notes:
Variations in spelling and hyphenation are retained.
Perceived typographical errors have been changed.