LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Harriet Quimby: Flights
built 184 days ago
When Harriet arrived on July 1, 1912, William Willard, the event organizer, and his son, Charles, tossed a coin to see who would win the privilege of a flight with Harriet. Willard Senior won the toss and climbed into the passenger seat, casually appointing Earle Ovington as Manger of the meet in case he met with an accident. After a routine flight out to the Boston Light, Harriet circled over the Neponset River and Dorchester Bay as thousands of spectators watched.
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After completing that article, Quimby departed for the Harvard-Boston Aviation Meet, where she would be one of the headlining attractions. After a successful opening day, filled with interviews, photographs and demonstration flights, Quimby decided that she would fly the course that had been laid out for the next day’s record attempt. She offered a ride to event organizer William Willard, who flipped a coin with his son Charles to determine who would get the ride. William won and enthusiastically climbed into Quimby’s Bleriot.
Gustav Hamel, one of Quimby's friends, was one of the people who tried to stop her. With the best of intentions, Hamel offered to disguise himself in Quimby's purple suit and make the flight for her. He suggested that he could land in a remote spot in France and quickly trade places with her so that she could take credit for the journey, but Quimby refused the offer.
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