"Chauffeur of the Skies" by A. Roy Knabenshue, pages 101-201
Collection Creator:
Knabenshue, A. Roy (Augustus Roy), 1876-1960 Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 7
Type:
Archival materials
Text
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
A. Roy Knabenshue Collection, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0136, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
0.05 Cubic feet (1 folder, Cloth-bound notebook, 6.5 x 4.2 inches (16 x 10 cm))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1908
Summary:
This collection consists of a small cloth-bound notebook published by the Deutschen Luftschiffer-Verbandes (German Airship Association) and used by Lieutenant Fogman to record details of his flight with balloon pilot James Comly (J. C.) McCoy in the gas balloon "America II" as one of the American entries in the 3rd Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett (Gordon Bennett Balloon Trophy) international race starting at Berlin, Germany, on October 11, 1908.
Scope and Contents:
This single-item collection consists of one brown cloth-bound notebook, 6.5 x 4.2 inches (16 x 10 cm), with an embossed image of a gas balloon in flight on the front cover; includes loop for pencil (not found with notebook), 126 numbered pages with black ink annotations on some inside pages; rear flyleaf has attached 11.75 x 13.8 inch (30 x 35 cm) map of Central Europe ("Mitteleuropa"). The German-language book, entitled Anweisung für die Ballonfuhrer des Deutschen Luftschiffer-Verbandes sowie Allgemeine Bestimmungen für die Ballonfahrten des Deutschen Luftschiffer-Verbandes und Bestimmungen über die Erteilung von Fuhrerpatenten: Im Anhang einige Tabellen, Vordrucke für Fahrberichte und eine Karte [Instructions for the balloon pilots of the German Airship Association as well as general regulations for balloon flights of the German Airship Association and regulations on the granting of pilot licenses: Attached are some tables, forms for flight reports and a map] was published by the Deutschen Luftschiffer-Verband [German Airship Association], Berlin (Germany), in 1908 (second supplemented and expanded edition) and printed by Hofbuchdruckerei Gebr. Radetzki [Radetzki Brothers Court Book Printing Company], Berlin. The book includes information useful for balloon pilots (see table of contents), a section to record information gathered during a balloon flight (date, time, altitude, ballast released, location, and wind and weather data), and phrases translated into several European languages for the use of German-speaking balloonists who have landed in a foreign country. Ink annotations in the notebook appear to have been made by aide Lieutenant Fogman during his flight with balloon pilot James Comly (J. C.) McCoy in the gas balloon "America II" as one of the American entries in the 3rd Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett (Gordon Bennett Balloon Trophy) international race starting at Berlin, Germany, on October 11, 1908. The annotations record the balloon's landing at 11:06 p.m. on October 12, 1908, near Wismar, Germany. Note that McCoy's name is incorrectly spelled on page 45 of the notebook as "Mac Coy," lending credence to the assumption that Lt. Fogman was the author of the annotations.
Not all pages of the notebook have been digitized; included online are views of the front cover and title pages, pages 1-13 (including the table of contents), annotated pages recording information about the flight (pages 44-55), German to English phrases (pages 92-95), and the map attached to the rear flyleaf. The notebook contains a book plate identifying it as part of The Library of Congress - Smithsonian Institution Langley Aeronautical Library, with a date stamp of October 10, 1930.
Arrangement:
Single item. Scans of pages are presented online in page number order.
Biographical / Historical:
In 1906, James Gordon Bennett, Jr. (1841-1918), publisher of the New York Herald newspaper, announced a prize for the furthest continuous flight by a balloon from its launch site. Bennett, a wealthy American yachtsman and sporting enthusiast, had already established an international competition awarding a Gordon Bennett trophy for automobile racing (Coupe International, 1900). The Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett (Gordon Bennett Balloon Trophy) competitions were open to national Aero Clubs affiliated with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), with each country able to enter up to three balloons in the annual race. The first race was launched from Paris, France, on September 30, 1906, with the winning team's country to host the following year's race. The United States entered three balloons in the 1908 competition: the "America II," the "Conqueror," and the "St. Louis." Accomplished American balloonist James Comly McCoy (1862 -- 1934) had the 2200 cubic meter gas balloon "America II" built by French manufacturer Édouard Surcouf (Astra) specifically for use in the 1908 competition. On October 11, 1908, the "America II" started the race as the first balloon to take off from the launch site in the Schmargendorf suburb of Berlin, Germany, followed at two-minute intervals by 22 other balloons representing eight different countries. Balloon pilot J. C. McCoy's aide Lieutenant Fogman recorded the date, time (3:07 p.m.), altitude, and location in this small brown notebook published for the purpose by the Deutschen Luftschiffer-Verbandes (German Airship Association). As fate would have it, the winds carried the "America II" not towards the expanse of Russia to the northeast, but towards the southwest. Early the next morning the wind changed, carrying the balloon back to the northeast, but heavy mists and clouds obscuring the ground made it difficult for the balloonists to be sure of their exact location throughout the day. When the mists cleared and the moon rose that evening, they realized they were flying over water along a coastline. Fearing that they were in danger of heading out over the North Sea, McCoy and Fogman landed the balloon on a small, forested peninsula, coming to a stop at the top of a 50-foot cliff at the edge of the water. At the conclusion of their 31 hour 59 minute flight, they had landed not on the shore of the North Sea but farther east near the city of Wismar in northern Germany, at the western end of the Baltic Sea. Although unsuccessful in the 1908 race, the "America II" would go on to win the 1909 Gordon Bennett Balloon Race as a French balloon piloted by American balloonist Edgar W. Mix and his French aide André Roussel on a 696-mile flight from Zurich, Switzerland, to Poland.
Related Materials:
"Proofs for an article by Mr. J. C. McCoy describing his participation in the Third Gordon Bennett Balloon Race from Berlin, October 1908." National Air and Space Museum Technical Reference Files, NASM.XXXX.1183, Biographical Series, Folder CM-239000-01 McCoy, James Comly [Documents].
Provenance:
Unknown, found in collection, 2010, NASM.XXXX.0981
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
The 1910 Minnesota State Fair featured exhibition flights by pilots representing both the Curtiss Aeroplane Company and the Wright Company. This collection consists of one ticket to the fair.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a 5.5 x 3.5 inch, two-sided, color ticket to the 1910 Minnesota State Fair. Events listed include "Wonderful Amusement Program, Daily Flights of Wright Bros. and Curtiss Aeroplanes," along with various agricultural, horticultural and liberal arts exhibits; the 1st Northwestern Corn Show, automobile racing, vaudeville acts, Miller Bros. 101 Ranch Wild-West show; "Pageant of Nations" spectacle; the Navassar Ladies Band; railroad excursions; and fireworks.
Arrangement:
Collection is a single item.
Biographical / Historical:
The Minnesota State Fair was held in Hamline, Minnesota from September 5 to 10, 1910. Carson N. Cosgrove, secretary of the Minnesota State Agricultural Society, had been instrumental in organizing exhibition flights in the state in June of that year and he negotiated contracts with both the Curtiss Aeroplane Company and the Wright Company to have their pilots make flights at the fair. Curtiss was represented by James C. "Bud" Mars, and Wright was represented by Arthur L. "Al" Welsh at first, but when Welsh was injured and his aircraft damaged due to a crash related to high winds, Wright sent a replacement aircraft that was flown for the remainder of the fair by Arch Hoxsey.
Provenance:
B. T. "Sandy" Leak, Gift, 1973, NASM.XXXX.1004.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
1912 International Gordon Bennett Race Membership Certificate
Extent:
0.05 Cubic feet (1 folder, Document, 9.2 x 24.5 inch (24 x 62 cm))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
Chicago (Ill.)
Date:
1912
Summary:
This single-item collection is a Membership Certificate issued by The Aero Club of Illinois for Club-sponsored aviation events relating to the 1912 Gordon Bennett Aviation Trophy competitions held in the Chicago metropolitan area in September 1912. This unused three-part certificate, Number 7445, is intact and consists of a souvenir certificate, a stub to identify the holder, and a set of 20 coupons, each good for admission to a specific day's events.
Scope and Contents:
This single-item collection consists of an elaborate "Season Subscription Membership Certificate",[1] issued by The Aero Club of Illinois to provide the owner with entry to twenty days of Club-sponsored aviation events relating to the 1912 Gordon Bennett Aviation Trophy (International Gordon Bennett Race) competitions held in the Chicago metropolitan area from September 1 through 20, 1912. (The actual events were scheduled September 9 through 21, 1912.) The three-part certificate, "issued to subscribers of at least $10 for the 1912 events of The Aero Club of Illinois, entitled them to admission to every event given by the club, to members' enclosures and all other members' privileges, including inspection of hangars."[2] The main portion of the certificate features an illustration of the Trophy at center and portraits of the previous Trophy winners: Glenn H. Curtiss (1909), Claude Grahame-White (1910), and Charles Terres Weyman (1911). A fourth space is left open for a portrait of the winner of the 1912 competition to be added later. The stub and coupons at the right side of the certificate were designed to be detached and used as admission tickets; for example, coupon number 17 would admit the stub holder to Club events occurring on September 17, 1912. This certificate, Number 7445, was never issued and is intact.
[1,2] Official Souvenir Program, Aviation Events, Nineteen Hundred Twelve, September 12th to 21st, The Aero Club of Illinois (Chicago, Illinois), 1912.
Arrangement:
Single-item collection.
Biographical / Historical:
In 1908, James Gordon Bennett, Jr. (1841-1918), publisher of the New York Herald newspaper, announced a prize for the fastest speed by an airplane over a closed course. Bennett, a wealthy American yachtsman and sporting enthusiast, had already established international competitions awarding Gordon Bennett trophies for automobile racing (Coupe International, 1900), and ballooning (Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett, 1906). The first Gordon Bennett Aviation Trophy competition was held at Reims, France, in August 1909, with races held annually through 1913. The last race was held in 1920, following World War I. Under the terms of the competition, the home country of the winner of a race was obliged to host the following year's race. In 1911, the Gordon Bennett Aviation Trophy was won by American Charles Weyman, consequently the 1912 race was held in Chicago under the auspices of the Aero Club of America and the Aero Club of Illinois. The competitions occurred at three different locations in the Chicago metropolitan area: the Gordon Bennett Race Course at Clearing Aerodrome (Clearing, Illinois) on September 9, 1912; the International Aviation Meet at Cicero Flying Field (Cicero, Illinois) on September 12-15, 1912; and the Airboat Meet and Exhibition Flying at Grant Park (Chicago, Illinois) on September 16-21, 1912, where hydroaeroplanes were housed at the Club's Clarendon Beach Airboat Station. The 1912 Gordon Bennett Aviation Trophy was won by Jules Védrines, flying a Deperdussin 1912 Monocoque Racer.
Provenance:
W. J. Dixon, gift, 1987, NASM.1987.0119.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Mary Charles Collection, Accession XXXX-0011, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Collection Citation:
Bendix Air Races Collection, Acc. NASM.1988.0115, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Collection Citation:
Bendix Air Races Collection, Acc. NASM.1988.0115, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Collection Citation:
Bendix Air Races Collection, Acc. NASM.1988.0115, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Evening Magazine television program story on Salvatore Scarpitta, 1987. Salvatore Scarpitta papers, 1934-2011. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Collection Citation:
Captain Michael Gitt Papers, Acc. NASM.2003.0033, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Against all odds : the great New York to Paris automobile race of 1908 / presented by the National Automobile Museum : The Harrah Collection / edited by Jackie L. Frady, Michael Sion and Cindie Geddes
