New-York tribune., 1918-10-27
Enlisted Flier
Beats Officers on
Historic Course
Statue of Liberty Race Won
in Less Than Half Mois-
SAINTS Time

lhrohgs OF persons at Belmont Park
facetrack yesterday afternoon had heon
attracted by the thrilling prospect of
seeing the fiers of the First Provis-
'ohal Wing of the United States Army
AT Service perform daredevil "stuntsn
IN the sky as part of an army aviation
carnival. None was disappointed.
Seven army aviators in biplanes
equipped with Liberty motors raced TO
the Statue of Liberty and back over.
the course made classic eight wears
ago by John Moissant and Claude
Graham White. Six of the pilots were
commissioned officers. The seventh
Sergeant Coombs, won the thirtv-siv.
mile contest in fifteen minutes and
thirty seconds. Moissant's time in the
original race was thirty-four minutes
and thirty-eight seconds.
Coombs had trained for the race like
a prlzefightcr and the Hazelhurst Field
hlers and mechanics came TO Belmont
fark with all the money they could
~ boA iVW
AS Sergeant Coombs pilotcd his ma
chime around the southeast corner Of
the grandstand and thence over tho
ilnlsh line on a level with the tower oc-
cupied ordinarily by the horscracc
Judges the cheering crowds discovered
that his closest pursuer was barely =
SHIPS length behind. SO close were the
two that few realized two airplancs
were in view. = Ia ''''
None of the officer pilots names wax
revealed, but the second machine Va
from Roosevelt Field The Other fivo
'nlShed the race within thirty seconds
OF Sergeant Coombs
proud, white haired major com
mand'ng at llazelhurst Field drove nm
10 u. the grandstand in motor and led
une cmpo;arrassed flying soldier OUT
Mneie an could see and huggcd him
JoSouSly. he cheer that came from
SoloiorS and civilians alike proved tbat
discipline wasn't going 70 snfror va ,a =
quettc. '''''''"'S c'l-
inc outstanding fact to the airplanc
exports who witnessed the race was the
Splend q demonstration of tho ncrfoc.
:Srl,ahdardlzatlon -, Of the Liberty ,noto,.
hrty seconds variation in thirtv-s5,'
miles is nothing less than remarkablc'
they said < d d =
Every dollar raised at the field vos-
terday viii 30 for athletic couinmon+
ana musical instruments for thn a;,.
Squadrons of the United States ARM
Nrs. Newton d. Baker was hono,-,,:,'
\ Ia u ,pan Oh the carnival, Mrs. Charles
A. Van Rensselaer, Chairman NJ
Henry A. Wise Wood vice-chairn,an ~ >,
and Mrs. Clinton Gilbert trcasure,. -
rlfty Flyers went into the air sin,,1
taneously and strove to outdo 'i..,'i naci,
ot9er IN feats of daredeviltrv' Thc~
dld barrel roll loops, lmmelman +n,.,s
ana an the falling leaf by &quadrons - 40
hei' 'nere was a race between Iouis
Snevrolet IN an automobile his crle-
ora'ed frontenac-and Lieutenant
neahe " IN a speedy scout plane The
hyer won. He crossed the 6nish liz r,e
not more than twenty feet above tho '
yellow dust of the track. Uoro We
SIa'ted an abrupt climb, and few of
me spectators had taken their eves
rom ms machine when it suddo11,,
diVed TO the ground. Lieutenant No.,Ia
ana ms mechanic got to their feet and
waved ambulance men away. A shor,
.'ne laIer 1here was megaphoncd an
houncement. Nobody hurt ana tbo
renewed crowds applaudcd brisl,l,,
Meane's machine was wreclSod 's'''S