The sun., 1918-10-27


ute In test flight, whereas between
1900 and 100 revolutions were re-
ported from test spins at rival camps.
This fact. with the knowledge that Ser
geant Coombs was a crackerjack fiier
and double X daredevil as we'll, caused
the Hazlehurst lads to double their de-
plorable bets. Such gamblers rivalry
II discouraged. OF course. by toe army
authorities. but no way has yet been
! found OF keeping sporting blood down to
the proper temperature all the time.
Slxty-fve planes took part in the car
nivaL whose purpose was to raise money
for the National Aeronautic Committee,
which supplies all training camps with
athletic materials and musical instru-
rnents. and also to give the public sort
Of visitors day. 30 they might not only
see the fiiers perform In tho air, but also
the fiiers and ground men competing on
| terra firma In the sports which divert
| them from the grind OF work and keep
| their bodies In trim.
The afternoon began with solo flying
and ended with fifty-three planes In the
| air at once, those OF each formation
! looping and barreling and diving to-
gether as one plane, in response, so
Henry woodhouse of the Aero Club of
America said last night, to wireless tele-
phonic direction from the ground. Be-
tween this start and this finale were
scattered events that piled thrill on
thrill and made the meet the greatest
! display OF the kind that has ever been
| seen.
! Everything was perfect except that
MRjor-Gen. William l.. Kenly, Director
| Of Military Aeronautics. was unable to
| fly from Washington as he had planned,
and that Lieut.. Meany, after easily
winning from Louis Chevrolet a race in
which automobile was hopelessly matched
against airplane. spiralled suddenly when
too near the ground in an attempt to
land and bumped into old Mother Earth
head on. One of the wings broke the
force OF the fall Lieut.. Meany climbed
out and waved back an ambulance which
changed across the field. He said he was
not hurt, which proved to be the case.
and herzplanei was not. damaged ire
parably.
Plenty to see.
| Late arrivals missed an opportunity
to have their hair raised. The gentle
man who supplied this opportunity was
Capt. Jacques Boyriven of the French
Flying Mission. Capt. Jacques suddenly
bobbed up with the tiniest machine on
the field. a bright red Nleuport, which
compares with the Caproni about as a
chipping sparrow with a condor. It's
wing spread Is less than thirty feet: the
Caproni's about seventy-five. In action.
guided by Boyriven, It is a flying min
now: that lie, II anybody ever saw n
bright red rninnow. 1t darted hither
and thither, up and down, like a de-
mented bug. and these metaphors are
no more tangled than the Newport
threatened TO be with the crowds OF
gasping spectators whom Capt. Jacques
delighted 10 scare.
Every little while this tantaiizng
scarlet apparation disappeared behind
the stands. Then. when the people felt
safe once more. II came buzzlrg past
the stands, the whole length OF them.
not more than twenty-five feet above
the heads OF the crowd on the lawns.
1t seemed to dive straight down at the
crowd in front OF the field stand, and
then. Just when they were bursting
theT shoe laces in scramble to get
away-Zoom! Up Capt. Jacquess red
beetle shot toward the zenith. Twice II
came winging between the field and
grand stands. lower than their roofs.
The second time It did this a man on
the ground not more than twenty feet
beneath the Newport tossed up his
derby hat. Just by luck the hat missed
being drawn into the propeller
An encounter with even a small bird is
dreaded by an aviator, the catastrophe
!
a shell proof derby hat can be imag-
ined Tie Nieuport kept away from
the crowds after that. and contented
itself with Swimming the inner field
darting straight al the old Judges stand
and then. when everybody closed his
eyes to shut out the smash, friskIns
upward and over the little building
with n hirt OF its saucy tail.
Capt. Williams OF the United States
| A raa ri ~ IN
stately fashion in the big Caproni. The
, Newport cut dIsda Inful circles around
. him. Altogether, Capt jacques and his
GEOLOGICAL wonder. be 1t minnow. bug
flying flea or hoptoad, certainly enjoyed
{ themselves on this pleasant afternoon.
Bombing IL Demonstrated.
, Later the thousands of eager wit
nesses saw Just how bombs are dropped
, at the front. There was a circle marked
, by four white flags near the middle o.
the inheld The planes few over 1
! and a smoke bomb dropped within tn,
. circle was hit" Two squadrons o.
, aviators. in the machines actually useC
, for this kind of warfare. competed. on,
q machine OF each squadron releasing tn,
bombs while the others projected it from
imaginary attackers On hitting thu
!. ground the smoke bombs that were uset
exploded with a bright fash and a burs
, OF smoke. There were eight of then
. and all seemed to strike within TIL,
; circle.
!. At the same time rival teams wer'
. playing pushball. Roosevelt Field beat
ing Mitchell Field and Lufbery Ffel,
beating Hazlehurst Field.
In the air and land race Louis Chev
. rolet drove the same Frontenac will
. which he won the Hardness trophy a
Sheepshead Bay last year by making
d, l10L miles an hour for 100 miles
. Lieut.. Meany. the airnan in the race
{ piloted a Thomas-Morse plane with l.
{ Rhone motor, the single seated machine
in which fighters are trained. Chevrole
> had no chance anyway and dust on tn
u track was ankle deep. Lieut.. Mean!
:, chivalrously held his mount back from
L time to time so that the little red auto
: mobile might run a dead heat. as in tn
good old circus chariot races. But ate
birman and groundman had circled tn
liz mile track three times the biplan
: scudded home away ahead.
While blue and orange and crimson
airplanes cavorted on high officers from
Mitchell and Hazehurst fields Stripe,
to running clothes and had a relay race
: They're In the army now. but not so loni
S ago they were college headliners. Fo
Y Hazlehurst there ran Capt. Holden fron
= Yale, Capt. Babcock from Worceste
I Tech, Lieut.. Joy from Holy Cross an
Lieut.. Billy Queal, once a professional
) try team For Mitchell Field the color
/ taII