The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 54, July 1950 - April, 1951 Page: 148
544 p. : ill., ports., maps. (some col.) ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
"After a few service test flights at Laredo, Parmelee and I took
off on March 3, 1911, with orders to reconnoiter along the Rio
Grande from Laredo to Eagle Pass, Texas-a cross-country
flight of io6 miles. We accomplished the flight without landing
in 2 hours and 1o minutes. This initial reconnaissance flight,
under service conditions, developed negative military informa-
tion insofar as our military activities were concerned. However,
I may state that the Texas terrain, between Laredo and Eagle
Pass, was the roughest section of Texas which I had to fly over
during my service in Texas, and both of us experienced a few
bad moments due to several engine 'misfires' during the flight.
We took off on our return trip to Laredo on March 5, 1911,
having decided to stick to the Rio Grande in case of engine
trouble.
"About 25 miles out from Eagle Pass, flying directly over the
Rio Grande at an altitude of approximately 75 feet, our engine
quit on us and we took a dive into the Rio Grande, which, for-
tunately, had a depth of about four feet where we hit it. The
end result of this flight was a badly-damaged plane, but no dam-
age to either of us except slight colds from our cold baths in the
Rio Grande, plus our hurt feelings in gambling too much on
the reliability of our engine.
"In April, 1911, the first Army Model-B Wright plane arrived
at San Antonio to replace old No. 1, which had been shipped to
Dayton the latter part of March for restoration to its original
type, and thence, to its final home in the Smithsonian Institute
at Washington.
"During April, May, June, and July of 19x 1, considerable fly-
ing was carried on in and about San Antonio, Leon Springs, and
other near-by areas in connection with the Maneuver Division
ground troops then concentrated in the San Antonio area. By
August, 1911, air activities had ceased. Personnel and equipment
went to College Park, Md., and I was assigned to the War De-
partment in Washington.
"My next association with aviation in Texas occurred in 1914
when I was ordered to Galveston, Texas, in command of the 1st
Aero Company for duty in connection with the Vera Cruz, Mex-
ico, Expedition. Due to a delay in receipt of our travel orders,148
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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/m1/202/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.