Saint Patrick’s Day in Columbus saw the annual arrival of the Coast 2 Coast Bicycling group, which are under the direction of Bubba Barron. Here they pack the Camp Furlong Recreation Hall to hear Ric Lambart describe what took place in Columbus 102 years ago as American Air Power was born – – – and American Civil Aviation was reborn.
Ric describing how the Jenny Flight Controls worked in the first group of JN-2 Jennies. Lt. Ira Rader is sitting in the Jenny seen on the screen and is using the old banking control system, prior to the First Aero’s adoption of the superior French developed Deperdussin system – the system still in use today.
The audience audibly gasped as they saw archival movie footage showing one of the female Barnstorming era daredevils doing stunts atop a Jenny’s wing – – – all accomplished without a parachute.
As usual, after the program’s conclusion, there were many questions to be answered by our presenter.
The 60 some odd bicycle enthusiasts take about two months to bicycle from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. These hearty peddlers have established a new tradition of stopping on each of their Coast to Coast journey’s to take in the special charm of Columbus, NM – and to absorb its unique and significant place in American History.
The above three photos are still shots taken from the FASF video that was made of the event.
Here’s a shot of two of the Coast 2 Coast Peddlers stopping for a break.