HIS LAST FLIGHT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2758, 12 March 1910, Page 3 (Supplement)

HIS LAST FLIGHT.

WOHLD-FIAMED AVIATOR KILiLED. M. DELAGRANGE DASHED TO DEATH. Slowly but steadily men are paying with their lives for tlho progress which is being made in the science of aviation. The latest tragedy of the air, by which Leon Delagrange has gone to his .grave, is invested' with more than usual pathos, inasmuch as, occurring with the dawn of a New Year, it opens up a melancholy train of thought for the future. Delagrange is tlhe first to .lose his life of the famous little band whose names go down in history as the pioneers of flight. There remain Bleriot, Farman, Latham, (Santos Dumont, Paulhan, and the Wrights. The scene of M. Dolagrange’s fatal accident was the new aerodrome of La C'roix D’Hins, near Bordeaux, which he himself had inaugurated the previous day hy making the first flight in a dense fog. During luncheon at the aerodrome, on the day of his death, M. Delagrango was in excellent humor, and -no one could possibly have imagined that within an iiour he would be the victim of a terrible accident. Towards the end of the meal lie left the table, and returned dressed in his aviation costume —a suit of oilskins and a woollen cap coming right over the face. As lie conversed' with several friends surrounding him, someone remarked that the greater portion of the public would arrive by the Bordeaux train at 2.50. lie replied, “They will not lose much. I will just make a few rounds, and after the arrival of the train I will undertake more important flights to please them.” Then the aviator climbed for the last time into his seat, which consists of a narrow strap, and, after a short run, the aeroplane rose in the air. Flying at a speed' of 60 miles an hour, M. Delagrango accomplished, with perfect ease, several circuits of the course. Suddenly, when at a height of 40 feet, and whilst making a turn, the left wing broke, the right wing collapsed almost immediately afterwards, and the aeroplane fell like a stone, pitching nose foremost- and overturning 'when it reached the ground. From ever}' side people rushed towards the spot where the machine lay. With great care M. Delagrange was extricated from the horrible wreck of his machine, under which his legs and arms were pinned, and lie was carried towards the s'hed, about ten yards away. Wlhlile being iconveycd there he gave two or three groans, and then expired. A doctor who was among the spectators hastened to the shed. -\l. Delagrange was laid by gendarmes on some straw, and partly undressed. His face wore a calm expression, but was very pule. He bad been killed by a fracture at the back of the skull, which caused hemorrhage behind the ear. There was also a double fracture of the left leg. and his chest was badly crushed. The monoplane in which M. Delagrange met In’s death was

THE MACHINE HE USED AT DONCASTER,

and was almost identical with that in which M. Bleriot crossed the Channel. How the accident happened is not quite clear, but it is thought that the motor was too powerful for the aeroplane, and that the supporting wires were unable to resist the tension to which they were subjected. One of the features of his monoplane, however, was its folding wings, a device which, renders it easier to transport than other types. Immediately after the catastrophe the Mayor returned to the Town Hall and hel:l a meeting of the Council. It was decided to attend 1 the funeral officially, and send a wreath in the name of the city of Bordeaux. INI. Delagrange was a sculptor by profession, and had a studio in the Latin Quarter of Paris, where Fe devoted to modelling the time that was not given to aviation. As an artist he showed considerable talent, had been a pupil at- the Beaux Arts, and had exhibited in various Salons. He was only 35 years of age, a,ud bad early devoted his attention to the problem of the conquest of the air. Two or three years ago he was constantly to be scon practising with enormous biplanes, and even triplancs. At first he adhered to the idea that ‘. he box-kite pattern with celular compartments was the best, Jnit little by little he abandoned that conception. He succeeded in making a few short- bounds with one of his machines in 190 G. His earliest nubliclv-recorded flight was on March IC. 1907, at Bagatelle. On the 30t-li of that month lie made his first flight of more than 200 yards, then considered -a- great thing. and in March. 1908, achieved the first- flight, of half a. mile. Tt was then that he was invited 1 to Rome, and CARRIED OUT A SENSATIONAL EXHIBITION in the presence of the King of Italy, and other flights 'with which he held for a while the -world's records. On May 27, 190 S, he flow a distance of 12 kilometres ancl remained in the air uquarter of an hour. When establishing a world’s record, for Europe tlho enthusiasts greeted him as a hero. That was long before such days as those of Rlieims, when we stood nonchalantly in the sunlight and saw Mr Farman circle the great track untiringly for more than three hours. After M. Bleriot had flown the Channel in his frail monoplane, M. Delagrange announced that- he had done with biplanes. The simplicity of M. Bleriot’s little machine fascinated lnm. He learned to- drive a Bleriot, and it was in one of these that lie made all the.recent flights which so well maintained his reputation as one of the foremost aviators of the day. . His death will be received with much sorrow by a wide circle of friends and. admirers in England. During the Doncaster flying week ho was the most popular, of. nil the French aviators engaged for that ’attraction. -Personally, Delagrange ; was a charming man, as daring as lie was modest. It was he. who pacified the crowd on a tempestuous alteration at Doncaster, when flying was sheer madness, by leading the way and dashing off in his new Bleriot when t-ho wind -would have tossed any less; experienced. aviator to destruction in a hand-fill of seconds. It was then that ■ lie said, “If I have to break my neck—well, it must- be. Some day, I suppose, it will'come; but nobody shall ever say Delagrange is a. coward.” The feat i t,hat conies'most strongly to the mind, however, because it so admirably illustrated "Dclagrange’s presence of -mind, occurred' when Mr Cody had come to grief in his big biplane at the iar end of tlie course. It looked a dangerous smash- the aviator himself was hidden under the wreckage of liis 'machine. While motor-cars were starting off and men were running wildly, M. Delagrange sprang iiitb liis Bleriot- monoplane, just as though it were a bicycle, and; flying swiftly to, the rescue, outrlisitanced* botli motoriste ana runneis. Happily he found Mr Cody not dead or dying, but cheerfully attempting to right hit -machine. M\ Delagrange was noticeable at flying meetings, for lus 1 carefully-groomed'appearance. He used

always to dress as though he were at a -garden party, merely donning a- suit of overalls when his flight was to commence. Latterly (lie affected the Latham mode of continual cigarettes, and he could ho seen leaning back, apparently -at his ease, and smoking languidly, .high -up in the air. His death makes a serious gap in the number, still small enough, of competent instructors in flying. The dead aviator accomplished his greatest performance only four days before his death by flying 125 miles in 2h. 32m. at Juvisy. In point of speed and duration combined this as not only an easy monoplane record, but the most brilliant allround flight yet -made. The death roll now reads: —'Lieutenant Selridge, date of accident, September 17, 1908, machine, Wright biplane ; M. Lefevre, September 7, 1908, Wright biplane ; Captain Ferber, September 22, 1909, Coisin biplane; Senor Fernandez, December 6,1909, Fernadez biplane; M. Delagrango, January 4, 1910, Bleriot monoplane.