With Porte He'll Try Ocean Flight -- October 1, 2013

British-born American George Hallet and British John Cyril Porte planned to fly a Curitiss Model H flying boat, America, from the United State to Britain in July, 1914. They were competing for the Daily Mail's ₤10,000 prize for the first non-stop fight across the Atlantic. Sponsored by Rodman Wanamaker, Curtiss and Porte developed the Model H. The attempt was cancelled because of approach of war. Hallett's specialty appears to have been engines.

Mistress of the Air -- May 3, 2012

The ad is from the 09-May-1914 Moving Picture World.  The story is from the 16-May-1914 Moving Picture World.  Florence Seidell was a pioneering aviatrix who learned to fly from Glenn Martin.  A hydro-aeroplane is one that can land on and take off from water.  Parts of this movie may have been recut into a portion of MGM's "Goofy Movies Number Three" in 1934.  Be sure to click on the images to see larger versions. 

"The Mistress of the Air"

A Three-Reel Production Released by Albert Blinkhorn Feature Company Under the "Deer Brand."

Reviewed by Harry W. DeLong. 

This is an American production and was made principally along the coast of southern California.  Florence Seidell, said to be the only woman in the world flying a hydro-aeroplane, is the star, and she certainly demonstrates that she has the nerve to accomplish wonderful feats, in driving an automobile at full speed and manipulating a hydro-aeroplane both on the water and in the air.  the gentleman in the case, Richard Garrick, as Tom Hendricks, the villainous villain, and Jack Conway as Dick, clearly show that they are not afraid to take chances in the portrayal of their roles.  This picture-play involves all of the elements in its plot -- air, land and water.  Miss Seidell makes an actual fall, accidentally, of three hundred feet from her aeroplane while racing with a motor boat, which was recorded by the camera.  There is a highly interesting romance incorporated in this picture, full of light and shade; told in exquisite photography and intense action.  One can exult with the lovers and sneer at the villain, who exerts every effort to foil the hero, but of course he fails.

The principals of the cast are Florence Seidell, the "Mistress of the Air;" Richard Garrick, Tom Hendricks, the villain; Edith Sterling, Florence's chum and Jack Conway as Dick, the lover and hero.

The story of the play in interesting.  Florence Seidell, a wealthy young lady devoted to athletics of every kind, owns a hydro-aeroplane.  Tom Hendricks (Richard Garrick), the owner of a dirigible airship, who is a fortune hunter, annoys her with his attentions without success.  Florence has met and fallen in love with Dick Sterling.  Later Tom induces Dick to take a trip with him in his dirigible and through jealousy determines to rid himself of his rival.  He attacks Dick and throws him out of the balloon car.  Fortunately Jack drops into the sea and is rescued by Florence, who has been watching them through a field glass, with her hydro-aeroplane.  Later Tim is convicted of crippling the hydro-aeroplane by cutting one of the braces and in attempting to escape from the officers is shot while on a small hand ferry and falls into the stream.  A month later Florence and Dick are married at an aerial wedding, which takes place on her hydro-aeroplane, and they fly away on their honeymoon, disappearing in the clouds hanging over the summits of a range of California mountains.

The three hundred feet fall of Florence Seidell was an actual mishap, verified by the makers of the picture and was most thrilling, but which happily did not result seriously from the fact that she fell into the water.  The machine was totally wrecked, which fact the camera registered.

 An ad  from the 16-May-1914 Moving Picture World.

An ad  from the 23-May-1914 Moving Picture World.

Silas Christofferson and Roald Amundsen -- December 1, 2009

"Silas Christofferson, in his two-wheel hydroplane, giving aviation instruction on San Francisco bay to Roald Amundsen, discoverer of the South Pole. Silas the Soarer has designed and built two flying-boats for Roald the Rover's scientific purposes in the Northwest Passage." A hydroplane is a flying boat. "Two wheels" refers to dual controls.

Silas Christofferson was a pioneering aviator and airplane designer from Oregon, who was killed in a crash in 1915. Roald Amundsen was a polar explorer who disappeared in 1928 while searching for survivors of Umberto Nobile's airship Italia. Amundsen had made the first voyage through the Northwest Passage in the ship Gjøa, which was on display at the ocean end of Golden Gate Park from 1909 to 1972. She is now in Oslo, Norway. Note Amundsen's life vest.

This image is from the June, 1914 issue of Sunset Magazine. It illustrated a story in the "Interesting Westerners" section entitled "The Birdman Who Mastered the Tehachapi," describing the first flight over the mountain range, done by young Christofferson.

President Obama spoke at West Point today about the war in Afghanistan. He
rebutted Republican allegations that he had been dawdling about a decision, and he stated that we were distracted by the war in Iraq. He wants to send 30,000 more troops, but with a time-limit and a plan.

Phillips W. Page Driving Burgess Hydroaeroplane -- April 5, 2009

An early example of shooting motion pictures from an airplane. This rig required only one person on the airplane, since the camera was motor-driven. The Burgess hydroaeroplane (float plane) used Wright-type controls. Phillips Ward Page was a pioneering flier who lived long enough to became a naval aviator in World War One. He died in a flight accident during the war.


This photo is from Aero and Hydro: America's Aviation Weekly, 13-January-1912.