The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-10-12
Maj. Spatz and Lieut.. Kiel
Land at MineOla Only 20
Seconds Apart.
HAVE TO FIGHT HARD
EastbOumd AviatOrs Meet
Severe Weather COndi-
tiOnS Near Finish.
MAYNARD GETS A RECORD
Air Racer Is First Man to
View Pacific Ocean 4 Days
After Leaving the Hudson.
MAYNARD GETS A RECORD

One aviator from Mineola reached
the Pacific coast yesterday and two
aviators from San Francisco reached
Mineola. All three spanned the Con-
tinent in less than four days elapsed
time.
Lieut.. Belvin W. Maynard reached
San Francisco at liz :07 oclocl.
yesterday afternoon, having flows
the 2,701 miles from Mineola in "a
hours 56 minutes and 551a seconds
actual time in the air. He left Min
cola at 9.24 o'clock Wednesday morn
ing.
Lieut.. Maynard is the winner of the
first and most important of the three
contests involved in the transcon-
tinental flight. for he arrived at San
Francisco at 10 :07 o'clock eastern
time), more than two hours before
Major Carl Spatz reached Mineola.
The two other contests for the
shortest time In the air and the best
performance according to airplane
type have not yet been completed and
will not be until the last fier reaches
his destination.
Major Carl Spatz, first of the east
bound group to complete the flight
from the Pacific coast, landed at
Hazelhurst Field at 6 81 o'clock. He
then "hopped" over the boundary to
Roosevelt Field, landing there 20
seconds after Lieut.. f. G. Kiel, the
second Pacific coast fiier.
Planes Are War Products.
| All three of tile fliers to finish
, yesterday used the De Havlland-4
plane equipped with 400 horsepower
| Liberty motors. both the planes and
| the motors being products of the war
and part of the regular equipment of
the air service of the American forces
in France. The contestants braved
every kind and variety of weather,
both groups experiencing storms and
snow falls in the mountains and high
plateaus of the Western States. Ma
jor Spatz and Lieut.. Kiel encountered
rain and winds in Ohio, Pennsylvania
! and New York State where they had
, every reason to expect good weather.
Triumph for L. s. Designers.
Their triumph is therefore one not
only for the tiiers themselves but for
American designers and engineers,
who planned and constructed the
motors that carried them unfalter-
ingly from ocean to ocean.
The army air service at Washing
ton yesterday announced that on Oc-
tober 90 the fiiers in the transcon-
tinental air race would begin the re-
turn trip. All fiers from San Fran
cisco will be held at Mneola until that
date, at which time they will take Off
end begin the long flight back to the
Pacific coast. At the same time the
contestants who have arrived at San
Francisco from Mineola will start on
the second lap of their course and fly
back to New York.
AviatOrs to Get Needed Rest,
AS many OF the machines will need
thorough overhaullng, and as the
pilots will desire several days to rest
before beginning the return fight, it
was decided that 1t would not be ad-
visable to try to arrange for an
earlier start than the twentieth.
Since at present but forty planes of
the original sixty-three entries remain
4 in hn 10 tod 49,
those pilots who attempt return
flights will number not more than
half of the sixty-odd starters from
Mineola and. San Francisco last
Wednesday.
Lieut.. Maynard, first OF the trio, -
continent crossers to complete the
flight, spent the night at Saldurro,
Utah, after he had been delayed dur
ing the day by engine trouble. 1t was
CAT A. NJ. when he took OF for Sattle
Mountain. New. the next control stop
to the west. Battle Mountain was
reached at S:l3.
After the half hour stop required by
the rules Of the contest he was of
again, and at 1923 he landed safely at
Reno, Nev. Again he made only the
stop required by the rules, and ex-
act,y half an hour later was on his
way TO Sacramento the last control
station before his fnal destination.
From 11:40 until 1876 he remained
on the field In the California capital
while the mechanics filled the depleted
tanks OF his DH-4 and scrutinized
every bolt and turnbuckle for the Anal
dash to the Pacific. Less than an hour
after taking of at Sacramento Lieut..
Maynard landed without incident at
San Francisco. the first human being
10 have viewed San Francisco Bay