Tales of flight: These early aviators launched from Broome County

For those among you who are not thrilled with the idea of climbing into a metal tube on wheels with two protrusions on the side with some type of engine on them with promises that you can take off into the air like a bird — this story is for you.

I must admit that I am not a frequent flyer. I have flown across the Atlantic to Ireland, and across the country to California. I have even flown from Syracuse to New York and Nantucket to Hyannis.

That is about the extent of it, and each time, I have survived the experience (although the Nantucket flight was during an ice storm — but that tale is too long for this column). That has been, however, not always the experience of early aviators in this country.

From the 1903 flight of the Wrights Brothers at Kitty Hawk, there were pioneers in the aviation world, and some did not survive their attempts.

Some attempts were more disastrous for the equipment and someone’s pride. In this case, I am referring to an early attempt of using a personal glider to take flight.

On Monday, Feb. 2, 1914, such an attempt was made on House’s Hill, near the end of Telegraph Street on the South Side of Binghamton. Joseph Anderson, who lived on Hancock Street in Binghamton, had developed a glider that he claimed would take him into the air — using the air to lift him above the earth.

His glider was made of wood similar to a biplane design, and he said he had already successfully soared 40 feet in previous trials.

On this day, with a newspaper photographer in tow, Anderson once again strapped on the glider and ran down the hillside to leap atop a knoll. A great plan that came to an ignoble end when Anderson stubbed his toe or something like that and instead of soaring, he stumbled forward about two feet into the air before crashing onto the ground. The glider was seriously damaged, and the trial was over.

Anderson was not the first aviator to fly (or try) in Broome County. No, that credit goes to a 19-year-old man named Cromwell Dixon.

Dixon had been born on the West Coast, but raised in Ohio, and showed early promise as both a mechanic and aviator. He had built his first plane and flown 200 feet in the air at the age of 14. He flew both aircraft and home-built dirigibles in a series of exhibitions and attempts up until 1911.

In that year, Dixon switched to heavier-than-air craft and flew a Curtiss biplane. He received his pilot’s license on August 6, 1911. His license was number 43, and it drew the attention of Glenn Curtis who gave Dixon a job in the Curtiss Exhibition Company and provided him with a Curtiss Pusher plane. To show off his new plane and his flying ability, five days later, on Aug. 11, 1911, Dixon was in this area.

Dixon flew his plane from Stow Flats to Port Dickinson over toward Mt. Prospect and did some maneuvers before landing. The crowds originally jeered him before the plane took off, and then broke into cheers as he successfully landed his plane.

Dixon was quoted as saying “Life is a game. From unseen sources the cards are shuffled and the hands are dealt.” Dixon’s persona, including his chewing on a blade of grass, made him popular with the crowds.

Dixon’s bravura included his attempt only weeks later, on Sept. 30, 1911 at Helena, Montana to fly over the Continental Divide. All other attempts had ended in the death of the pilot. Despite some issues, Dixon completed the attempt and won a prize of $10,000. His success was short-lived, however.

More: How Broome history column's beginning is tied to a dog sweater company

Only two days later, Dixon was in Spokane, Washington at the Interstate Fair, and despite having engine trouble, he flew his plane in front of 12,000 spectators. The engine failed and he crashed 100 feet into a railroad cut. He died about an hour later. Another loss of a young aviator during those early days of manned flight.

Despite this, there were more and more flyers — flying higher and faster bringing our area into the world of flight.

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: These early aviators launched from Broome County