1911-09-25-sc-p5-bowers-flies-headless-plane

September 25, 1911 Spokane Daily Chronicle Page 5:

Harrington Young Man First Northwest Amateur to Fly in Heavier-Than-Air Machine---Built on Father’s Ranch

[photo of bi-plane and Reuben Bowers.]

Reuben Bowers, a native of the Big Bend country, claims—and his record seems to justify the claim—that he is in the Wright brothers’ class. The bi- plane of his own construction which he now is trying out is a “headless” type, the second, he says, to be constructed. the original having been built at the Wright factory. Bowers is making trials of his machine on the ranch of his father, Adam Bowers, seven miles south of Harrington, Wash. which is 50 miles from Spokane.

J. M. Powers of Spokane is interested in the construction and success of the machine, and E. Coburn, also of this city, is Bowers’ mechanician.

In the first attempted flight, made a week ago, Bowers ascended 50 feet from the ground and sustained the flight over a distance sufficient to encourage him in the belief that the machine will be a complete success after some defects retarding ascent in some degree are found and overcome. Whether the fault is in the machine or comes from a too-yielding soil in the wheat field aviation ground is not yet determined.

Bowers claims also to be the first amateur airman in this part of the northwest to make an ascent success fully in a heavier-than-air machine.

Bowers’ aeroplane is 36 feet wide and 30 feet long. It is equipped with an Elbridge four-cylinder 40-60 water-cooled engine and carries a gasoline tank of 60 gallons capacity. The machine, without the driver, weighs 900 pounds. Particular attention was paid to selection of the propeller, a Paragon seven-foot type being used The machine was built at Godfrey, in Stevens county.

Bowers is 24 years old and was born and raised in the Big Bend country. He conceived the idea of building the machine about three months ago.