He attended Purdue University, the first graduate (class of 1908) to receive a pilot's license. Turpin joined the Wright Exhibition team in 1910, flying demonstrations across the country. The group was disbanded in 1911. In May 1912, Turpin rented a Wright Model C for his own exhibitions. While flying his Fowler-Gage biplane in a Seattle stadium, Turpin clipped an iron railing whilst avoiding a cameraman, and veered into a grandstand, killing two spectators.[2] After the death of his flying partner, Phil Parmalee, in Yakima, Washington, Turpin quit flying.
Turpin about to crash his Fowler-Gage biplane at Meadows field, Seattle, which killed two spectators