LIGHT PLANE IS ANCHORED BY STICK ON A ROPE TO AIRSHIP
Newport News, Virginia (JFK+50) On September 18, 1923, "an airplane...was anchored to a moving airship at a height of 1000 feet over Langley Field*."
The "light" plane, piloted by Lt. Rex K. Stoner, was flying at a speed of 75 mph when it overtook the airship, "swooped underneath" and was linked to the U.S. Army dirigible C-2 by a stick attached to a rope.
The Associated Press says the exercise was deemed successful because it demonstrates "unlimited possibilities in assuring portable bases in the air for light planes in time of war."
*Langley Field, located in Hampton, Virginia adjacent to Newport News, is the 1st air service base built especially for air power. LF is the oldest continually active air force base in the world.
SOURCE
"Plane, High in Air, Is Anchored to Speeding Airship," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., September 18, 1923, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
