Early Avialion Meet
Thrilled Thousands
.Mile-si-ininiile speeds and lioi^lits of
400 fool hold no terrors for those
daredevils.
By MAVIS PHILIP HALL
About the middle of January in the
year of 1911, Mr. Frank Hcrbst, the
local manager of the Curtis Exhibition
Company, announced to the peo¬
ple of Wilmington, and southeastern
North Carolina, through the local
newspapers, that a grand aviation
meet would l>e held in the city on
March X. 9. 10.
Aviation was in its infancy at that
time, and although H. M. Chase had
flown the Gouverncur-Chasc plane at
Wrightsville Beach in November of the
previous year (Tin: State; Vol. 36.
No. 6). it was a test flight and very
few people witnessed the event. Con¬
sequently. only a handful of people in
the State had ever seen an airplane.
Naturally, the announcement cre¬
ated great interest and plans were
immediately made for the coming
event.
The place selected for the meet was
the grounds of the Wilmington Drivers
Association between the Wrightsville
Turnpike (Wrightsville Avenue) and
the suburban trolley line ( Park Ave¬
nue) of the Tide Water Power Com¬
pany "at about the second toll house
(Audubon Blvd.. or near it) two miles
east of the city."
Workmen began at once to enclose
the grounds with a fence 5.500 feet in
length and nine feet in height. As this
was intended to be a permanent park
for future use. only the very best lum¬
ber was used in its construction. There
were two entrances to the mammoth
park. One entrance was on the turn¬
pike for horse drawn vehicles, auto¬
mobiles and bicycles, and the main
entrance faced the car tracks. Facing
the main part of the field was the
grandstand and all other buildings,
such as horse stables, hangars for fly¬
ing machines, and etc., were erected
to the left of the main gate.
On Monday. March S, the first day
of the meet. Lincoln Bcachy, one of
the best known aviation enthusiasts at
that time, arrived in Wilmington and
his airplane was conveyed to the park
and put in place.
"The machine was taken through
the streets of the city from the express
office to the grounds and attracted con¬
siderable attention and interest." the
newspapers reported.
J. A. D. McCurdy’s plane had ar¬
rived on the same train he did the
previous night. "Both of these aviators
own the famous Curtiss bi-plane." a
model that held many records in the
early days of aviation.
Interest in Wilmington was at a
high pitch.
For the three days of the meet there
were reduced fares on all the railroads
and Captain Harper, of the Steamer
"Wilmington." had a special rate on
his steamship line. The Tide Water
Power Company maintained a 15-
minute schedule on its suburban line
and the fare was five cents.
One newspaper commentator wrote:
"The people who go to the grounds
will go solely for the purpose of
witnessing the flights of the flying
machines and will probably desire to
give their entire time to learning more
about what promises to be a mode of
transportation at some distant day."
The first day of the meet there was
an estimated crowd of 1.000 people
on hand to watch the "thrilling ex¬
hibition." and it was the first time
many of them had ever seen an air¬
plane.
All eyes of the large crowd in the
park, and in the trees surrounding the
park too, were on aviator Bcachy as
he walked from the hangar to his
machine. When he had taken his seat
at "the steering wheel," the attendants
gave a crank or two to the motor,
"there was a whirring and a clatter”
and the machine glided along on its
wheels for about 50 feet and then rose
suddenly "but gently" in the air. "and
the spectator has to look close to sec
when the machine leaves the ground."
Bcachy took the plane up to about
300 feet, circled the park and "brought
the machine to’a gentle landing."
Bcachy made three "trips” that day,
and "afterwards the crowd was al¬
lowed to visit the hangar and inspect
the machine and also visit the shed
where Mr. McCurdy’s machine was
being assembled."
The next day the flights were wit¬
nessed by 3.500 people within the
grounds, fully a thousand outside the
park. The police reported they had a
busy day clearing the fence of "rail-
birds."
"Both McCurdy and Bcachy man
their machines with the superb control
and complacency that compels ad¬
miration of the throngs who gather to
sec them. They are not of the school
of aviators who talk of ‘air currents
and proper winds.’ When the flight is
scheduled to take place, there is no
discussion, it takes place immediately."
The thrilling climax to the meet was
the sensational and spectacular flight
of Lincoln Bcachy from the fair
grounds to Wilmington, at a height of
400 feet and a speed of a mile a min¬
ute.
"Every business establishment in
the city was closed and thousands
stood in the streets and on roof tops
to watch the flight. After hovering for
a brief moment over the historic Cape
Fear River, the aeroplane circled the
town and then returned to the fair
grounds amid the cheers of thousands
assembled in that vicinity to witness
the flights. Aviator Beachv was in the
air eleven minutes.”
"The airship was watched by thou¬
sands in the city until it disappeared
from view and then with exclamations
of wonderment the people settled
down to whatever they had to do be¬
fore they were interrupted by the
sight of what has proved to be the
grandest sensation of the age."
14
THE STATE. APRIL 15. 1969
