The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-08-30
AERIAL DERBY ENDS,
S2N AT THE FINISH
Lieut.. Gish> Reaches Mineola
With Record of 5O31-4
Minutes.
Is SECOND TO MAYNARD
Nineteen Fail to Finish, Ter
rife Local Storms Wreck
ing Some Machines.
is SECOND TO MAYNARD

IlIC LOCdi SUOTIHS Week
ing Some Machines.
Flying in the New York-Toronto and
return aerial derby ended at midnight
last night with thirty-two Of the fifty-
one actual starters having finished the
course. Nineteen others are out of the
race at one place or another along the
line. but only seven of these failed to
land at one of the designated flying
stations Terrific local storms were re-
Hponsible for most of the wrecks and
the crowded conditions without adequate
police protection at the Albany Field
We're responsible for others Still others,
ana these are actually the fewest. must
trace their failure to bad flying or to
defects in their airplanes.
Enough more aggregate miles have
been nown than in any other contest
ever held, possibly as many as in anv
active day over the actual battle front
In Europe. there is only a single serious
casualty to record. That was the injury
10 Lieut. Crehore, which still keeps him
IN an Albany hospital. In every other
case despite the fact that emergency
landings were forced upon the aviators
under the most critical conditions. the
occupants of all the machines. even those
80 severely damaged as to make resump-
ton OF fight impossible, escaped without
a scratch.
Gtsh Makes Good Time.
Yesterday brought home one hot con-
e.nuer LOT honors. Lieut.. Daniel B.
elsh came flying into the Mineola field
IN DH-4 at 3 :23 yesterday afternoon.
MS unofhcial time at 503A minutes for
me course places him second to Lieut.
Maynard, who still leads in the contest
Tor the shortest elapsed time. Among
the score of others who finished the
race there seems to be no one who has
the chance OF nosing out Maynard for
frst honors on the elapsed time though
as the handicap formula still has to be
applied by the officials of the American
Flying Club it may be that one or other
OF the contenders with lesser horse
power may yet win the honor of first
prize.
IT seemed certain last night that this
honor will go to one of the military con-
testants. But as the military men are
not eligible for the $4,000 prize money
put up by the Hotel Commodore this
will be divided among men who in all
probability will stand we'll down on the
list.
Bert Acosta and Casey" Jones of
the Curtiss company are the probable
winners of the first and second prizes,
as they have turned in the best times so
far. Roland Rohlfs is we'll up among
the contenders for these money prizes.
though not enough of his official time
has yet been turned in to warrant a
computation as to where he stands.
At the first glance. and at close study
too. the outstanding feature of the race
is the performance of the United States
Army Air Services De Haviland Four
planes. equipped with 400 horsepower
Liberty motors. These machines, capa-
BILE of from 1875 to 1875 miles an hour.
have shown remarkably consistent per-
formances throughout. Such differences
in their times as are observable are in
most cases due to differences in the
weather. which has played a compelling
part in the fate of the fliers throughout
the race-a part that at no time has
been kindly one.
Roosevelt Field turned out to give
it's warmest welcome of the week yester-
day to Major Simmons of the Army Air
Service, chief of the squadron of re-
cruiting planes that were entered in the
race at the last moment. Major Sim
mons started from Mineola the first day
of the race and finished there again
Thursday morning. He had not been salts
ned with his time to Toronto oil the
first leg, however. and upon his arrival
in that city he reentered his plane,
flying once more to Mineola and back to
Toronto again
Flies 1000 Miles in Week.
He completed this second race at To-
ronto about noon yesterday. Then, re-
filling his ship with gas and oil. he
climbed aboard and announced that he
was going straight to Roosevelt Field
on q nonstop run. He left Toronto al
Isl and was in Roosevelt Field at $50
He carried letters for Chance vought
designer Of the Vought plane which
made such a good showing in the race
70 and for Frank Vernon OF the American
Flying Club. These are the letters thai
have made the fastest time ever re-
corded between New York and To
ronto-3 hours and a minutes.
II meant that Major Simmons has
flown between Toronto and New York
four times within the week, or tota
f,vine distance of about well over 1000
miles. II is estimated that his route
cutting the corners OF the control sta
lions on the way back yesterday, foots
I'D about $50 miles.
Dan Gish. the last of the pilots to
finish at this end of the race, attributes
his good fortune and his good time TO a
1000 year old ring given him as q
talisnan by the Princess de la Patra, q
niece of the Khedive of Egypt, who is
here on a propaganda mission in behalf
of the women of Egypt. She was
among those at the field yesterday after
noon and welcomed her fiier back.
Searchlights and flares were KEEP
going at the field last night on the posi-
bIlitv that Lawrence Sperry, Jr., who
has fought hard luck all through the
race, might yet fight his way home. II
was an extreme chance, however. as the
last report of him placed him at syria
cuse. and IL was not believed that ht
would get under way from there.
Major Simmons, hero of the straight
flight yesterday. was forced down thu
night before at Alden. N. Y, near Bur
falo. He got away yesterday morning
however, negotiating a difficult take
OF from n farmers field.
Col. Hartney was another arrival a.
the field yesterday. On Thursday. after
covering the course in a DH-4 and
landing in eighth place, he took out thu
lie Pere. which Lieut.. Logan had howr
into fifth The lie Pere. however, failed
Col Hartney at Buffalo yesterday after
noon. so he Communicated an idl'
DH-4 at Curtiss Field and hoped bacl
10 this end Of the State. Last night HI
went to the field. got out another De
and hopped back TO his duty at the Wal
g., NNa That'Q thl