WASHINGTON, July 31, 1909 (UP) - Orville Wright, with Lieut. Benj. D. Foulois as a passenger, Friday evening fulfilled the most hazardous of the two government tests and won $30,000 for himself and brother by flying 10 miles cross country in 14 minutes and 42 seconds.
President Taft arrived at Fort Myer just in time to witness the return of the aeroplane and to take part in the enthusiastic demonstration which greeted Wright and his passenger. The trip, at a speed of over 42 miles an hour, surpassed the requirements of the government's speed test.
The flight was the most perilous ever attempted by a heavier-than-air machine.
The uneven surface of the country, the difficult turn at the lower end of the course and the variable air currents due to the succession of wooded hills and low valleys were the chief dangers of the flight.
Lieuts. Lahm and Foulois will be trained in the management of the aeroplane at some level spot on the Potomac near Washington, and Friday's test was the last flight at Fort Myer.
The aeroplane is now the property of the United States. The $30,000 the Wrights will receive includes a bonus of $5,000. For each mile above 40 per hour the Wrights get $2,500.
The purchase of the aeroplane by the government does not carry with it the right to manufacture similar machines. It is understood that when they put their machines on the American market the Wrights expect to quote them at about $7,000 each.
