The demonstrations near Mineola were most successful, and proved the beginning of a brilliant summer for Mr. Curtiss. On July 17th he won in quick succession both of the prizes mentioned above. The trial for the smaller prize began at 5.15 in the morning and lasted but 2½ minutes, followed 6 minutes later by the start for the coveted cup. In both cases the machine took the air with ease and grace, after a 200-foot run over the rough marsh land. In the cup trial the first twelve turns, aggregating 25 kilometers, were accomplished in 33½ minutes, but the machine continued for seven more rounds, and finally landed in excellent form, just 52½ minutes after it had crossed the starting line. The actual measured distance flown was 24.7 miles, but the true distance traversed by the machine was probably 30 miles, making the time speed between 30 and 40 miles per hour. This was slow, indeed, but the control was satisfactory. Those who wished for high speed would find it in the new aëroplane which Mr. Curtiss would presently take to Rheims for the speed contest, in which he was to fly as sole champion of the United States.
The type of machine used by Mr. Curtiss in 1909 was a natural outgrowth of his previous ones, but very much perfected in power and finish. It was a biplane mounted on a three-wheeled chassis, two wheels under the main body and one well to the front, so as to prevent toppling forward. It was propelled by a single screw at the rear, directly connected to a water-cooled motor of the Curtiss make. Its flight was controlled by three rudders exerting torque respectively about the three axes of the aëroplane, supplemented by two fixed keels, a vertical one in the front and a horizontal one in the rear. Of the three rudders mentioned, one in the rear turned the craft right and left, like a boat, one in the front raised or lowered her, while the third or lateral rudder, consisting of small horizontally pivoted planes between the wing-ends, and turning oppositely to each other, controlled the lateral poise. These lateral rudders, or winglets, used by Curtiss, Farman and others, are commonly called _ailerons_.
[Illustration: _BLÉRIOT XI_ WITH MOISANT AVIATOR ON MEXICAN BORDER.]