avion

That is aviator James J. "Jimmie" Ward (born in Denmark as Jens P. Wilson, b. 1886 - d. December 3, 1923) taking off from Governors Island in his Curtiss Pusher biplane (a Curtiss Model D named the "Hearst Pathfinder") on September 13, 1911, as he started his attempt to win the William Randolph Hearst Prize. Otherwise known as the "Hearst Transcontinental Prize" or "Hearst Prize", $50,000 was offered by William Randolph Hearst in October 1910 to the first aviator to complete a transcontinental flight across the United States in less than 30 days, no later than October 11, 1911. Jimmie Ward would withdraw from the race nine days later after his aircraft's engine failed, causing it to crash land just west of Addison, New York, suffering damage beyond repair. Cal Rodgers in his Wright Model EX "Vin Fiz" would also compete for the prize, becoming the first person to complete a transcontinental flight across the United States. However, Rodgers would fail to win the Hearst Prize because his journey lasted 49 days (September 13-November 5, 1911)

Thanks so much for the information TVL 1970. We'll fill in the title information the next time we update the record.

Ward with Frederick Dent Grant, resident General of Governor's Island: Ward on Governor's Island, prior to takeoff:

Thomas Scott Baldwin en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Scott_Baldwin

undeadsinatra: Thanks for the information!

Baldwin "Red Devil" All Steel Biplane except cloth on wings 1911 Mineola, Long Island, New York. ( Garden City Aviation Field ) This was the third "Red Devil". This aircraft was built by C.and A. Wittemann of Staten Island, New York to Baldwin's design.

Thanks for this added information about the plane, Early Aviation. We'll add some of it to the record the next time we update.

Based mostly on the very nice photos SDASM posted on this type, I made a 1/72 scale model of it: wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2014/04/scratchbuilt-172-north...