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Newspaper
Boston Post
Location
Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
Date
Nov 18, 1910
Page
3
The daring aviator Johnstone died after a crash during an altitude meet as Arch Hoxsey and Walter Brookins rushed to aid him. Spectators fought for trophies from the wreckage while band music played a funeral march.
Ralph Johnstone once the nation’s most popular aviator and famed bicycle stuntman died in Denver after a fatal air accident. Born September 18 1880 in Parsons Kansas he rose to fame performing daring loops and sharp maneuvers at Belmont Park Squantum and other meets. He spoke French and German and impressed crowds with his airship control and fearless stunts. He began in vaudeville with his brother before shifting to aviation where his circus like stunts culminated in a deadly Denver incident yesterday.
The piece traces Johnstone’s rapid rise from bicycle tours to aviation with the Wright brothers. He wins major altitude, duration, and distance marks at Belmont Park and Squantum, setting near record times and earning acclaim as a premier aeroplane driver in America.
Aviation ace Johnstone wowed crowds at Belmont Park by soaring to 9714 feet, 528 feet above the prior record. He also claimed a 500 prize and a Boston cup for bomb throwing, though the latter was not received, while rival Arch Hoxsey and the Wright group followed his high altitude feats with awe and worry.
Kansas City man Ralph Johnstone, 35, was killed in an aeroplane accident in Denver after leaving his uncle W M Federmann's home en route to an aviation meet. He spoke of planned safety before flying. His wife and two children in New York survive him.
Johnstone, famed trick cyclist turned aviator, gained fame abroad for bicycle exhibitions. He met his future wife in Berlin and, via Roy Knabenshue, secured an engagement with the Wright Brothers six months ago. They extended his contract through January 1, 1912.
Wilbur Wright mourns aviator Ralph Johnstone as a future aviation great lost in a fatal crash. Wright recalls Johnstone s skill, nerve and balance, noting rivalries and the need for safety margins. Johnstone rose from circus bicycle acrobat to famed early flyer, with memories of a 50 foot Hippodrome leap.
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