While the residents of Susanville were adjusting to the automobile, they were interested in the novelty of aviation. For the Fourth of July festivities of 1912, E.H. Thompson aka “The Birdman” and his “flying machine” were scheduled for the three-day festival. To date, no airplane had flown over Susanville. Thompson offered flights for fifty cents for those so inclined. On July 2 he experienced problems with inferior gasoline and on one attempt was able to lift off about only twenty feet off the ground. Some people were disappointed, others disgusted and another segment thought it was fake to begin with. For Thompson it was an expensive undertaking. The plane had not been flown there, but it was shipped by rail and freighted to Susanville, at his cost. Since he could not offer rides, he was not able to recoup any of his losses.