Most of the history of the foolhardy daredevils who challenged Niagara involves the water, either the falls or the rapids, but the celebrated Flying Fool challenged a world-famous bridge in the air.
Lincoln Beachy, one of the first daring and dashing stunt pilots, provided the thrill for Niagara Falls residents and tourists in June of 1911. At that time, flying was in its infancy, only a short eight years after Wilbur and Orville Wright changed the world of travel with the first flight at Kitty Hawk.
A huge international carnival was being sponsored that week by Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Niagara Falls, Ont., in the everlasting effort to attract tourists. In order to promote the first air show in the area, the promoters promised $1,000 to any pilot who would perform.
Beachy, of Nebraska, learned of the fee and decided to give Niagara a try. He first flew to Fort Erie, landing there on June 26. The next day, he flew to Niagara Falls, N.Y., landing in a vacant lot off 27th Street, according to newspaper accounts of the event.
About 12,000 people greeted him as he stepped out of his biplane. Among the greeters was Niagara Falls Mayor P.J. Keller.
The stunt flight was set for the next day, June 28, 1911. The Canadian Daily Record wrote:
"After waiting patiently all afternoon for the appearance of the birdman, the crowds in the parks and the thoroughfares were at last rewarded when at 5:40 p.m. Beachy rose into the air from the American side.
"Rising rapidly, the aviator passed over the upper rapids against the wind, turned when opposite the Canadian Niagara Power Plant and came back over the Horseshoe Falls and Upper Steel Arch Bridge."
The Upper Steel Arch Bridge was the precursor of the Rainbow Bridge. It was originally called the Falls View Bridge and was constructed in 1898, just a short distance downstream from the current location of the Rainbow Bridge.
After cruising over the area for a while, Beachy decided to give the crowd, many of whom had never seen an airplane, a special thrill.
As the Daily Record put it: "Turning quickly, Beachy came swiftly downwards and gracefully and easily passed under the arches of the bridge." The throng cheered wildly while "words of wonder at the most daring feat ever performed were heard on every side."
The pilot then landed on the Canadian side in a field near Victoria Avenue. After collecting his $1,000, and perhaps doing a little sightseeing from the ground, he flew to Toronto the next day.
Beachy, in an interview with a Toronto newspaper reporter, told how difficult the stunt really was. He was quoted as saying, "I would not again attempt to fly under that bridge for $5,000, let alone for the $1,000 purse that I won. It is the uncertainty as to what is before the aviator as he passes through the clouds of spray over the falls that makes the flight so perilous."
He continued, "As I passed through the spray and out into the daylight again, I dipped my machine and made directly for the bridge. I was within a few hundred feet of the bridge before I was sure that my attempt to pass under it would be successfully accomplished."
Lincoln Beachy, the Flying Fool, continued his biplane barnstorming career until its foreseeable end. He died in a crash at an air show in San Francisco in 1915.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | September 16 2003 |