The Airship Strobel crashed during an aerial exhibition at the Bryan Homecoming. Many Williams County residents got their first look at a flying machine during the 1909 Bryan Homecoming.
Charles J. Strobel of Toledo manufactured airships that included a gas-filled bag 56 feet long and 14½ feet in diameter to provide lift. The pilot straddled a metal frame suspended from the gas bag, with a propeller in front and a rudder at the rear.
Stanley Vaughn piloted the Airship Strobel in two successful demonstrations on August 12, 1909, circling the Williams County courthouse tower numerous times and maneuvering the aircraft at will. After Thursday’s two successful flights, thousands of people eagerly gathered on Friday the 13th to witness the show.
The airship was paraded down the south side of the square to Main Street. Its engine started and the flying machine slowly began to rise from the brick pavement. As superstitious luck would have it, before the airship could gain altitude, a strong wind gust forced it into buildings on the west side of Main Street, disabling the rudder and puncturing the gas bag. Unable to steer, Vaughn stopped the engine. As the gas bag deflated, the airship floated west about a half block, alighting behind a South Lynn Street residence.
Vaughn escaped unharmed, but the Airship Strobel was dismantled, ending the Homecoming aerial exhibition.
These colorized August 1909 photographs of the Airship Strobel at the Bryan Homecoming are from the Kevin Maynard collection.
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Email: publisher@thevillagereporter.com.
Email: publisher@thevillagereporter.com.