from author and historian Jim Ignasher
Earle Ovington Fair Advertisement – 1911
Earle Ovington, (1879 – 1936), was a pioneer aviator from new England. The advertisement below is for an event that took place in Bridgeport, Connecticut, May 5, 6, 7, 1911.
Click on image to enlarge.
Advertisement from the
Bridgeport Evening Farmer
May 4, 1911
BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, AERODROME – 1911
Bridgeport’s Aerodrome, as it was called, began as a trotting park for horses in 1887. The following newspaper article appeared in The Sun, (N.Y.), on October 21, 1887.
BRIDGEPORT TO HAVE A TROTTING PARK
Bridgeport, Oct. 20. – The Bridgeport Driving Club are holding their first annual meeting at the trotting park in this city, and the attendance is sufficient to warrant the successful carrying out of a project which has for some time been in contemplation by the club. The refusal of the title to 100 acres of ground in West Stratford, close to the tracks of the New York and New Haven Railroad has been secured, and the plan is to establish a first-class park for trotting and for fair purposes. The Bridgeport Driving Club is composed mostly of members of the Seaside Club, an organization of 500 of the wealthy and representative men of the city, and if negotiations are closed the scheme will be carried out in a way that is creditable to the club and the city.
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Vintage postcard view of a
Curtiss Airplane
According to newspaper sources of the day, the trotting park came to be known as Nutmeg Park. In early 1911 it was purchased by Christopher J. Lake who wanted to turn it into an air field with the intention of promoting technological advances in aviation. It was his hope that inventors would use the field to experiment with their newly designed aircraft and thus make Bridgeport an important center for aviation development.
On March 4, 1911, the Norwich Bulletin announced that the Bridgeport Aerodrome would open in May of that year. Under the heading of “Condensed Telegrams” the announcement read: “Announcement was made that the Bridgeport Aerodrome will be formally opened in May with a three days’ aviation meeting under the direction of Glenn H. Curtiss.”
Plans for converting and improving the former trotting park advanced rapidly. Mr. Lake planned for a grand opening celebration in the form of an airshow which was originally scheduled for May 18, 19, and 20. (The dates were later changed to May 11, 12, and 13.) Such aerial exhibitions were a rarity for the time. The Boston-Harvard Aero Meet, the first of its kind in America, had been held only a year earlier, and had proven quite successful, and drew large crowds.
The following article appeared in The Bridgeport Evening Farmer on March 23, 1911.
GLEN CURTIS AND FAMOUS AVIATORS TO COME TO THIS CITY THREE DAYS IN MAY
Bridgeport Aerodrome Ad – 1911
Thomas T. Tuttle, of New York, personal representative of Glenn H. Curtis, the aviator announced this morning that the first aviation meet to be held in Connecticut will be held here on May 18, 19, and 20 under the personal direction of Mr. Curtiss. Mr. Tuttle was accompanied by Mr. Christopher J. Lake who announced that he had arranged to have the meets held at the Bridgeport Aerodrome, formerly Nutmeg Driving Park. Mr. Lake, who is perfecting a flying machine of his own, is the owner of the field.
Mr. Curtiss will be accompanied by James McCurdy and Lincoln Beachey, the celebrated airmen, and the event will be open to all who desire to enter.
A number of organizations including the Aero Club of Connecticut, the Automobile Club of Bridgeport, the Board of Trade, the Businessmen’s Association, the Manufacturers’ Association, will be asked to co-operate in making the event a success. The members of the Aero Club will be invited to take charge of the field and the recording of all events.
Mr. Tuttle said: “The Bridgeport meet will be the first that Mr. Curtiss will appear at in the east this Spring. he will bring his new type of machine, recently developed at San Diego, Cal., and we also hope to have the “Hudson Flyer”. the latter is the machine in which Mr. Curtiss flew from Albany to New York last June.
“Mr. McCurdy is the man who was the fourth to fly in the United States. For a long time he was associated with Mr. Curtiss, Lieut. Selfridge, Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, and F. W. Baldwin in aeronautic experiments with stations at Hammonsport, N.Y., and Baddek, N.S. He has been a flyer since 1898 and is the holder of the endurance and long distance records of Canada as well as being president of the Aero Club of Canada. McCurdy is the first man who ever sent a wireless telegram from a flying machine.
“Beachy recently made his debut on the Pacific Coast as a flying machine man. For years he was interested in aeronautics and was known as a balloonist. Last week he established a record by remaining in the air for 18 hours, an average of 2 1/2 hours a day.
“The Bridgeport Aerodrome is a far better field for an aeroplane course than Belmont Park and excels any spot in the North and East for aeroplane purposes.
“The international course, 31-10 miles to the lap can be had here without going over trees or buildings. Thi8s cannot be said even of the celebrated course at Rheims, France.
“The field is on the road from new York to Boston and there is ample parking space near the field. There is seating capacity for about 6,000 at the field and this will be increased to take care of the crowds. There will be special train arrangements made to bring people from other cities in the state and New York. Wind checks will be issued on all days there are no flights.”
Mr. C. J. Lake did not care to say whether he will have any surprise for the public when asked if he may enter one of his machines in the flying contests.
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In May of 1911, The Mr. Thomas T. Tuttle mentioned in the above article, was hired by Mr. Lake to be the first general manager of the new aerodrome.
In April of 1911 it was announced that two more aviation celebrities would be attending the air show at the grand opening of the aerodrome. They were, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Theodore G. Ellyson, the navy’s first, and at that time, only, aviator, and U.S. Army Lieutenant James E. Fickel, the first man to fire a rife at targets from a moving airplane. The dates of the event were also moved forward to May 11, 12, and 13.
The following article appeared in The Bridgeport Evening Farmer on May 9, 1911.
BRIDGEPORT THE CENTER OF AVIATION IN AMERICA
Carnival if Flying by Curtiss Aviators This Week Will Mark Opening of First Permanent Aerodrome in Country
Today, Bridgeport began to come into its own as the center of aviation in America during the current week.
Click on image to enlarge.
Things are humming over at the Bridgeport Aerodrome, (formerly Nutmeg Park), where a big force of workmen are busy putting on the finishing touches preparatory to the great aviation carnival of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, when Glenn Curtiss, James McCurdy and Lincoln Beachy, three of America’s foremost flyers will be the attraction, with Lt. Ellyson, the navy’s aeronautic expert, and Lieut. Fickel, the army’s aviator.
Oscar Roesen, and electrical engineer and wireless expert, will arrive in Bridgeport tomorrow with the wireless equipment with which he expects to break the world’s record for sending messages from an aeroplane. It is also likely that the first of the aeroplanes will arrive tomorrow.
Today an aviator of national repute entered into negotiations with C. J. Lake, owner of the Aerodrome, for a five year lease of a hangar or aeroplane shed upon the field, intending to make the Bridgeport Aerodrome the base of all his experimental work and machine repairing and construction.
Other aviators are likely to follow suit and Bridgewater bids fair to become the center of experimental aviation in America.
Two hundred trees have been taken off the field in clearing it for use as an Aerodrome. Yesterday an immense bonfire that almost approached the magnitude of a conflagration was made of the debris cleared off the field.
To safeguard the people who come on foot, a special road has been constructed leading to the field , and traveling its entire circumference, for automobiles. There is another road for pedestrians and thus the danger of accidents in the throngs which are sure to flock to the field has been averted.
New seats accommodating 1,400 have been added to the already been added to the already capacious grandstand so that its total seating capacity now is several thousand. In addition there is parking space for thousands of automobiles and standing room for a multitude.
Word is being received from a number of cities of the intending automobile runs and excursion crowds on the trains, and it is believed that the multitudes on the field, the hundreds of automobiles and exciting features attendant upon such big gatherings will be a great attraction of the meet.
Experts declare that the Bridgeport Aerodrome, built through the enterprise of Christopher J. Lake, is the finest in the country, surpassing the aviation fields at Belmont Park and Mineola.
The Belmont park field is handicapped by the fact that the nearest machine shop is two miles distant, a big trundle for a disabled aeroplane. At the Bridgeport Aerodrome, the machine shop is right on the field; furthermore it is equipped to handle and repair all makes of aeroplanes, a feature true of no other shop of its kind.
Aviators who have flown abroad declare that the Bridgeport Aerodrome is superior even to the famous field at Rheims, France, the scene of the great international flights. The Rheims field is heavily encumbered with trees, “the graveyards of aviators.” The Bridgeport field is notably free from these encumbrances and will be still further cleared, the work going forward steadily.
By making separate roads for automobiles and pedestrians, Mr. lake has effectively solved the problem of handling immense crowds without the danger of frequent accidents. Furthermore, ample parking space for automobiles has been provided the entire circumference of the grounds, and the machines will afford ideal vantage points from which to watch the flights.
Pedestrians will be able to make use of the grand stand to great advantage, or of the standing room, all of which commands views of the start and finish, the most exciting and spectacular periods of the flights.
As there will be from six to twelve flights daily, inter-spread with wireless telegraph experiments, target shooting with rifles, bomb-throwing from aeroplanes and other feats and spectacles, the crowds will be kept on edge from start to finish. The aerial show each day will occupy about two hours and a half.
The principal hangars of aeroplane sheds are located at the eastern end of the field. As the prevailing winds in fair weather are west, it is most likely that the aeroplanes will start at the eastern end of the field from directly in front of the hangars and will fly directly across, furnishing beautiful views to the side lines on ascent and descent.
After the exhibitions, the gates to the aeroplane fields will be opened, and the crowds will be allowed to inspect the machines at close range.
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Bridgeport Airport Dedication – 1929
On July 5-6, 1929, the Bridgeport Aerodrome was re-dedicated as Bridgeport Airport, even though it is in the neighboring town of Stratford. By 1934, it was also being referred to as Mollison Field in honor of famous aviator Jim Mollison who made an emergency crash-landing there on July 23, 1933. On that date, Mr. Mollison and his wife were on their way from Wales to New York when their de Havilland Seafarer ran low on fuel. After several aborted attempts to land at the airport, the plane was set down in a marshlands area where the Housatonic River empties into Long Island Sound. Mr. and Mrs. Mollison were not seriously injured.
According to a 1934 U.S. Department of Commerce – Bureau of Air Commerce publication, Bridgeport Airport had grown to include two gravel runways, one (N/S) being 2,800 feet long, and the other, (E/W), being 2,600 feet long. The airport also has 24-hour facilities, and a rotating 24-inch beacon light.
In 1972 the Bridgeport Airport was re-dedicated the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport.
Earl L. Ovington – Early New England Aviator
There’s evidence to suggest that Gustave Whitehead was the first to fly an airplane in Connecticut – in 1901 – which pre-dates the Wright Brothers flight at Kittyhawk, North Carolina, in 1903. However, could it be that Whitehead’s accomplishment was relatively unknown in 1911? If so, it might explain the following headline in The Bridgeport Evening Farmer on May 6, 1911; “Ovington, First To Make Successful Flight In Connecticut, Has Narrow Esacpe As Plane Drops Into Air Hole”.
Earl L. Ovington, (1879-1936) (Also spelled “Earle” in some sources.) was a pioneer aviator from Newton, Massachusetts, who’d worked as an assistant to Thomas Edison prior to starting his aviation career.
Advertisement from the
Bridgeport Evening Farmer
May 4, 1911
The Bridgeport Evening Farmer article referred to a harrowing flight Ovington made on May 5, 1911 at Steeplechase Park (On Steeplechase Island) in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The article began, “At Steeplechase Island yesterday afternoon Earl L. Ovington wrote his name deep into aviation history by making the first really successful aeroplane flight in the state of Connecticut.”
The article went on to describe how Ovington’s Bleriot aeroplane dipped in “a dreaded air pocket” while at 2,000 feet over a crowd of spectators, and narrowly missed slamming into the ground. As a point of fact, he’d had three brushes with death on the same flight.
The first involved his take-off where he narrowly missed crashing into a building. The second was when the plane hit the so-called “air pocket” and experienced a sudden dip. During the dip, Ovinton remained in his seat due to his “life belt” holding him securely in place, thus saving him from being pitched to the ground.
“These lifebelts are great things.” he joked later, “I don’t see why they are not included in the fashion plates of all aviators.”
As the plane’s right wing suddenly dipped when it entered the “air pocket”, the aircraft began falling from the sky, and it seemed virtually certain that Ovington was going to crash, but he recovered control of the plane just in time.
In an exclusive interview with a reporter from the The Bridgeport Farmer, Ovington described what happened that day.
“I certainly thought for a moment at the start yesterday that there was going to be a big dent in that ball room, with a wrecked machine and probably a wrecked aviator beneath it.
That Steeplechase track is certainly the smallest and worst field I ever arose from or attempted to alight into. I had great difficulty in getting a proper start over that sub-soil of sand. The small wheels loaded down with the heavy motor, sank into it and retarded badly.
When I got into the air I pushed down the tail of the machine and started to rise. My Machine didn’t respond the way it should, and I saw that I wasn’t going fast enough.
I had a fraction of a second in which to make up my mind: to come down and start over again, or make an attempt to get over the buildings upon which I was sweeping.
I find that my mind works automatically in such cases quicker than I can think. I realized instantaneously that to come down would mean that I would plough right into the fence and the spectators at (the) speed I was traveling.
So Instead, I straightened out the tail and shot straight ahead, plumb for the buildings. It must have looked as thought I was going to crash right into them with terrific force. I took that course on purpose, in order to get sufficient speed . Then I lowered the tail hard, and the monoplane lifted up nicely and just cleared the flag pole of the ball room.
Over every building of that kind there is a heavy stream of air when there is a wind blowing. As soon as I had cleared the ball room, my wings struck the stream of air and I went directly up then at a sharp angle. But I owe my life and the safety of my machine to the splendid way in which my engine worked in lifting me over that building. If it had failed, there would have been a great wreck.
Once in the air, my machine asserted its right to be what it is – the fastest climbing machine in the world. I went up at an angle of 30 degrees. There isn’t another machine in America that can do it.
When I was making my second turn over the Sound (Long Island Sound) at a height of about 2,000 feet, I experienced what I consider to be the narrowest shave of my career as an aviator.
Without warning, my right wing dropped into an “air pocket” or calm space, and immediately sank down, tilting the machine at a sharp angle. There is only one way to save yourself in a case like that. I lowered the machine quickly, and the downward plunge gave me sharp acceleration. At the same instant I jammed over as hard as I could and the machine just righted itself.”
When he was safely back on terra firma, Ovington kissed his new bride of two weeks, who had watched the entire event unfold.
Ovington flew again at Steeplechase Park on May 7th, and once again he nearly died when his airplane hit another “air pocket” and almost crashed in the same manner as before.
On June 15, 1911, slightly more than a month after his flights at Steeplechase Park, Ovington’s fame grew when became the first man to pilot an airplane over the city of Boston.
On July 28, 1911, Ovington crash-landed a borrowed airplane in Mineola, New York. On July 29th the Bridgeport Evening Farmer reported that the aviator “had the most remarkable escape of his life” when he took off in anew monoplane belonging to William Evans. Not long after becoming airborne the engine quit, and the plane crash-landed and flipped over near a roadway construction project not far from the airfield. Ovington was pinned beneath the wreckage for ten minutes before rescuers could extricate him. Despite the damage to the aircraft, he escaped with minor injuries.
In August of 1911, Ovington entered the International Aviation Meet held in Chicago, and won the 12 mile race for monoplanes with a time of 13 minutes and 30.92 seconds, winning $400.
In September of 1911 he entered the Harvard-Boston Aero meet where he raced other well known airmen, Tom Sopwith, and Claude Graham-White, 15 an 1/2 miles to Boston Light and back. Ovington placed third with a time of 16 minutes 15.25 seconds.
One Sunday in October of 1911 Ovington was nearly arrested on Long Island, New York, when three deputy sheriffs appeared at the Nassau Boulevard field and told him and another aviator, Miss Mathilda Moisant, they couldn’t fly their airplanes due to it being the Sabbath. This was due to a New York court ruling which determined that Sunday airshows where admission was charged were illegal.
This left both pilots in a predicament as they would be forced to leave their airplanes overnight, and make arrangements for guarding them. Both aviators flew anyway, with the deputies in hot pursuit via automobile.
As both took to the sky the deputies were forced to make a choice as to which one to chase. For unspecified reasons they stuck with Miss Moisant who flew from the field to her hangar in Mineola, which was located on her brother Alfred’s property. Once on the ground she ran towards her car where her chauffer was standing by, and secured herself inside. The three deputy sheriffs arrived in short order and attacked the chauffer with billy-clubs when he tried to prevent them from extricating Miss Moisant.
Miss Moisant was taken into custody, but was later released with all charges dropped because the deputies didn’t have a warrant.
Meanwhile, Ovington fared better, and landed near Belmont Park when he encountered a squall that nearly wrecked his aircraft. By then the deputies had no idea where he’d gone and he escaped arrest.
Another interesting story about Earl Ovington occurred in the summer of 1919 when he flew two New York men, J. O. Colt, and L. W. Hutchins, six miles out to sea in a seaplane so they could fish for sea bass. It was reported that they returned with a string of fish.
In November of 1919, Ovington took part in an airborne search-and-rescue operation off the coast of New Jersey. On November 7th, two 16-year-old youths, John Ledbetter, and Raymond Iszard, went duck hunting in a small boat and were carried out to sea. When the boys didn’t come home a search was instituted. In addition to water craft, two seaplanes from the Cape May Naval Air Station, and Earl Ovington’s personal aircraft, took part in the search.
The boat with the youths still inside was found by one of the navy planes about three miles off Cape May. Unfortunately both had succumbed to exposure.
More information about Earl Ovington can be found at www.earlyaviators.com
Sources:
The Bridgeport Evening Farmer, “Ovington, First To Make Successful Flight In Connecticut, Has Narrow Escape As Plane Drops Into Air Hole”, May 6, 1911
The Bridgeport Evening Farmer, “Ovington In Flight Over Steeplechase” , May 6, 1911, page 7
The Bridgeport Evening Farmer, “Earl Ovington’s Narrow Escape”, July 29, 1911, page 7.
Burlington Weekly Free Press, “Aviators Speed Mile-A-Minute”, September 7, 1911, Page 9
The Daily Missoulian, Photo and caption, August 14, 1911, Page 3
(Rock island Ill.) Rock Island Argus, “Third Day Results In Aviation Meet”, August 15, 1911, page 3
Arizona Republican, “Miss Moisant Is called Aviatrix”, October 9, 1911, pg. 1
(Ocala, Florida) The Ocala Evening Star, “Struck A Woman To Save The Sabbath”, October 10, 1911
The Washington Times, “Fish From Plane Six Miles At Sea”, July 12, 1919, final edition
New York Tribune, “Bodies Of Two Boys Found Drifting In Boat”, November 11, 1919, Page 3
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