The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 54, July 1950 - April, 1951 Page: 145
544 p. : ill., ports., maps. (some col.) ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Early Military Aviation Activities in Texas
Allen) and introduced to Congressman [James Luther] Slayden
of Texas-then Chairman of the House Military Affairs Com-
mittee. At this conference, arrangements were made between
Congressman Slayden and General Allen for the above-mentioned
U. S. Air Force to proceed to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, for
permanent station; and it was during this conference ordering
me to Texas that General Allen advised me to take plenty of
spare parts and 'teach myself to fly.'
"After numerous delays, all equipment and personnel were
assembled at Fort Sam Houston during the month of February,
191o. A small wooden hangar had been erected on what was
then known as the 'Mounted Drill Ground' located in the
northeast section of the reservation; and this little hangar became
the home of old No. 1 until it was shipped back to the Wright
brothers at Dayton, where it was restored to its original design,
and then, in the summer of 1911, was shipped to the Smithson-
ian Institute in Washington where it is now on exhibition.
"From the standpoint of initial service testing and experi-
mental work, a few of my personal experiences during the spring
and summer of 1910o may be of interest.
"On March 2, 191o, I started teaching myself to fly, making
four flights on this day of 71/, 10o, 21, and 21 minutes respec-
tively. On all of these flights I managed to get into the air from
the launching rail without trouble; on my fourth 'dead engine'
landing, however, I levelled off too high and crashed, putting
the plane in the shop for ten days.
"On March 12th, I made my next five flights and on the last
of these, I had my first experience in No. i's 'bucking' abilities
in gusty Texas winds. On this last flight, I was coming in for a
landing, with the engine dead, when a sharp gust of wind struck
the upper surfaces of the front elevators, threw me up against
the top surface of the plane, and put the plane into a steep dive.
Two truss wires in front of the pilot's seat saved me from being
thrown completely out of the plane and, settling back into the
pilot's seat, I luckily had time enough to pull out of the dive
and land without damage to the plane.
"As you know, we had no parachutes in those days, and we
were instructed to 'stick with the ship.' So, in order to stick to145
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 54, July 1950 - April, 1951, periodical, 1951; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101133/m1/199/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.