But there were other records broken. Ralph Johnstone, flying the small Wright biplane racer, which was equipped with particularly large propellers, broke the altitude record of 9,104 feet which had been set in France by climbing to an altitude of 9,714 feet. The round trip to and from the clouds took him 1 hour and 43 minutes. In connection with the altitude trials, the daring of Johnstone and Hoxsey was particularly notable. Both of these aviators took up their Wright biplanes when the wind was blowing so fiercely that they could hardly turn the pylons. When they got to a great altitude, one time the gale was so terrific that they were carried backward at a speed of nearly 40 miles an hour, and both of them had to land in open country; Johnstone at Holtsville, L. I., 55 miles away, and Hoxsey at Brentwood, half that distance. During these flights both of them had reached altitudes of more than a mile in the air. But these records were not destined to stand long, as will be shown by the table on page [75].
But world's distance and altitude records were being broken in Europe, too, and during the summer of 1910 the record keepers were busy putting new names at the heads of their lists, as will be shown by the table on page [76]. The long distance speed race, called the "Circuit de l'Est," which took in a course 488 miles long, of six towns around Paris, aroused as much enthusiasm as any. The prize which was offered by the newspaper Le Matin of Paris was for 100,000 francs. The race started on August 7, with eight contestants, and ended on August 17 with Alfred LeBlanc, in his Blériot monoplane, the winner. He had made the distance in six stages at an average speed of 40 miles an hour, flying through rain, fog and wind. Next came Aubrun in a Blériot and Weyman in a Farman. Not only was this race one of the severest tests that the aeroplane had ever had, but also it was a trial to the aviators that did a great deal to prove the practicability of the aeroplanes for more serious work than pleasant day sport.
ALTITUDE FLIGHTS IN 1910[A]
| AVIATOR | ALTITUDE | AEROPLANE | PLACE | DATE |
| Paulhan | 4,164 feet | Farman biplane | Los Angeles | Jan. 12, 1910 |
| Olieslaegers | 4,490 " | Blériot monoplane | Brussels | July 30, " |
| Brookins | 4,503 " | Wright biplane | Indianapolis | July 16, " |
| Latham | 4,658 " | Antoinette monoplane | Rheims | July 7, " |
| Chavez | 5,850 " | Blériot monoplane | Blackpool | Aug. 3, " |
| Morane | 6,691 " | Blériot monoplane | Havre | Aug. 29, " |
| Morane | 8,469 " | Blériot monoplane | Havre | Sept. 2, " |
| Chavez | 8,790 " | Blériot monoplane | Issy, Paris | Sept. 8, " |
| Drexel, A. | 9,450 " | Blériot monoplane | Philadelphia | Oct. 31, " |
| Johnstone | 9,714 " | Wright biplane | Belmont Park | Nov. 23, " |
| Legagneux | 10,746 " | Blériot monoplane | Pau | Dec. 9, " |
| Hoxsey, A. | 11,476 " | Wright biplane | Los Angeles | Dec. 26, " |
DISTANCE AND ENDURANCE FLIGHTS
Then, too, there was the great London to Manchester race for the $50,000 offered by Lord Northcliffe, owner of the London Daily Mail. This was one of the most exciting contests of the year, not only because of the difficulties of the trip, but also because of the nip and tuck finish between the two contestants.
Claude Grahame-White had just purchased a Farman biplane, and hearing that Paulhan was hurrying across the Atlantic from the United States to try for the prize himself, the Englishman announced that he would start as soon as his machine could be set up. He had had but little experience with the biplane, as always before that time he had used a Blériot, but nevertheless, in spite of the advice of his friends to wait, Grahame-White started on the 183-mile flight on the morning of April 23d in the teeth of a high wind. According to Grahame-White's own account of the flight he was buffeted about so unmercifully by the wind that several times he thought he would have to descend. At the same time the cold was so intense that he suffered agonies. He reached his first stop at Rugby in safety, though so cold he had to be lifted from his seat, but soon after taking the air again the gale rose to such a pitch that he was forced to land. He went to a hotel to rest and wait for the wind to abate, but while there the gale tipped over his biplane, smashing it so badly that the aviator had to give up and take his machine back to London practically to be rebuilt.
Meanwhile Paulhan had reached England and was rushing his workmen night and day to get his aeroplane set up before Grahame-White could complete his repairs and make a fresh start.