1892-1911 |
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The Aero Club of St. Louis decided to broaden the program into an aereonautic tournament by adding two unique contests scheduled for the days after the start of the Gordon Bennett race.. In each event, $2,000 was to be awarded to the winner and $500 the contestant who finished second. The first contest was for "Dirigible balloons or airships which are lighter than air, being made so by a bag or envelope containing a gas lighter than air." A three-quarter-mile triangular course was laid out from the Aero Club grounds in Forest Park north west to a captive balloon over the Amateur Athletic Association grounds, and then return to the starting point. Charles J. Strobel, who owned the airships flown by Lincoln Beachey and Jack Dallas, collected first and second prizes of $1,500 and $750 respectively. Thomas Scott Baldwin, who had finished a poor third, received $250. In addition, a special purse of $375 was given to Cromwell Dixon in apreciation for his excellent performance. Within four years, "the youngest aviator in the United States" would be killed when he crashed from a height of 100 feet at the International Fair Grounds in Spokane, Washington, on October 2, 1911. |
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| This Token of Cromwell en route West -- he did a lot of "Stunt" Flying, his Specialty was the Dixon Cork Screw Dive" he would go to 1000 ft then descend in Spirals which he originated, his Cork Screw. Then he leveled off at little more than 500 ft - then while in Billings, Montana he got permission to measure a small Bridge to see if he could fly under it without touching the sides or tap on water - He was given an OK. Spent several days at it and machine on the 4th Day he announced his plans. It drew a great Crowd he went thru, as slick as he hoped it would - He was always trying new and dangerous Stunts. His mechanic Bill Pratt of Pal told us of many chances he took. |
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As of today, 7-19-07, the link has become obsolete. However, you can access an archived page by clicking on the title above. It is available from the "waybackmachine.org" website |
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If time permits, you will find other items of interest listed on the same page including stories of W.E. Johnson, Robert Fowler, James J. Ward, Calbraith P. Rodgers and others |
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Cromwell Dixon: A Boy & His Plane Author: Martin J. Kidston, with a forward by Jeff Berry, a great-nephew of Cromwell Dixon Product Details Softcover: 168 pages; 6" x 9" inches Publication date: August 2007 40 historical black & white photographs, index List Price: $14.95 ISBN 13:978-1-56037-473-2 ISBN 10: 1-56037-473-X |
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Boy Genius, Inventor, Dirigible Pilot, and Aviator: Cromwell Dixon Farcountry Press announces the release of Cromwell Dixon: A Boy & His Plane, 1892-1911 by Martin J. Kidston. Illustrated with 40 historical photographs, this is the remarkable story of the boy wonder of turn-of-the-century Columbus, Ohio, Cromwell Dixon, who became the first pilot to cross the Continental Divide in Helena, Montana, on September 30, 1911 in a Curtiss pusher. Jeff Berry, in a richly detailed foreword, also reveals the family stories about Cromwell Dixon: how he built his own roller coaster, two motor-driven bicycles, and, at the age of fifteen, a pedal-powered airship known as the Skycycle. Driven by dreams, Kidston tells the dramatic story of how Cromwell Dixon grew from a child prodigy into a national aviation hero at the turn of the twentieth century. From his childhood in Columbus, Ohio, Dixon was driven by dreams of flying. He became youngest licensed pilot in the country and, one fine September day in Montana, he was the first pilot to fly across the Continental Divide in his plane, the Little Hummingbird, only to meet with a fiery death two days later. Like the tale of Icarus, Dixon's story is one of great daring, accomplishment, and tragedy. As novelist Deirdre McNamer, author of the recent Red Rover and Rima in the Weeds and professor of creative writing at the University of Montana-Missoula writes: "The amazing young flyer Cromwell Dixon comes wonderfully to life in Martin Kidston's impassioned and meticulous account of Dixon's brief career. A terrific read." Richard Sims, Director of the Montana Historical Society in Helena, Montana, writes: "Cromwell Dixon was a boy aviator in name only; he was mature beyond his years. He saw America, and Montana, from a rare vantage point high in his aeroplane. Cromwell participated in the shaping of aviation's beginnings, when all flying was stunt flying; he tested himself and his plane to tragic limits. Kidston explores with sensitivity and creativity the fast-paced life of a forgotten hero." About the Author: Martin J. Kidston graduated from the University of Montana-Missoula in 1997 after serving in the Marines. He lives in Helena, where he works as a newspaper reporter for the Helena Independent Record and as a freelance writer. He is the author of From Poplar to Papua: Montana's 163rd Infantry Regiment in WWII, and coauthor, with Barbara Fifer, of Wanted! Wanted Posters of the Old West. Cromwell Dixon: A Boy & His Plane, 1892-1911 is available at local bookstores and gift shops, through online retailers, or from Farcountry Press at 1.800.821.3874. |
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