LT Ellyson became first aviator in history to qualify as a pilot according to Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) standards in a flight over water. In the presence of a committee of the Aero Club of America, he was required to fly five figure eights around two flags buoyed 1500 feet apart and land within 150 feet of an established mark. This course had to be completed twice. When Ellyson qualified, he landed directly alongside his mark, a white flag buoyed by a bottle. His second landing was within ten feet of his first. The test also required the prospective aviator to climb to a minimum altitude of 150 ft (officially 50 meters). Ellyson made this twice on his test. On September 7, 1911, LT Ellyson, in the Navy model A-1 Triad, slid down 150ft on a wire cable at Hammondsport, New York from a platform 25 ft high, and was safely launched out over Keuka Lake.