Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-10-11
.bIRDMEN Relate
ADVENTURES Of
TRIP TO OMAHA
Thrilling Experiences With
Wind and Snow Without
Accident-Inspector Ex-
amineS Local Field.

tie of the Somme making re
markable escape from his German
captors, although he was twice taker
into custody before again reaching
his own lines. A Distinguished
Flying Cross of Great Britain is one
OF his medals
Lieut.. H. E. Queen and L. E
Bishop, the latter his passenger
and master electrician, landed ir
Omaha from St. Paul at SOL: 35 ant
resumed their trip toward Des
Moines 80 minutes later. He was
plotting a De Haviland a."
Drayton First Yesterday.
East met West on Ak-Sar- Der
field yesterday. when Capt. H. C.
Drayton and his observer, 1t. D. L
Sweeley, plotting De Haviland-4
airplane, equipped with a Liberty
motor, alighted from their machine
and grasped the hands of 1t. E. c.
KEEL, and Major Carl Spatz, two
fellow aviators, who are participant
ing in the longest aerial pathhndlng
trip ever undertaken in the world
the crossing and recrossing of the
: United States.
Captain Drayton, driving an
American-made plane, arrived in
Omaha from Des Moines, being the
second one of the eastern contingent
Of flyers to reach this city, in the
War departments transcontinental
+. air derby, since the commencement
of the trip Wednesday morning.
! Lieutenant Kiel and Major Spatz
were the second and third aviators
\ TO arrive from the vest. Capt. Low
ell H. Smith, and his pilot, 1t F.
w. Rugglcs, being the first two
persons from the west to arrive
in Omaha. They landed their ma
chine on Ak-Sar-Ben field at 7:2O
Thursday night after a l5-minute
fight from St. Paul, Neb., a distance
Of ll8 miles.
Pass Captain Drayton.
The two men hoped off from the
same field to resume their journey
eastward at 1888 yesterday morning
and passed Captain Drayton a few
miles east of Council Bluffs. They
were later reported to 1t. H. R.
Wells, aerial control stop officer
here, as having reached Des Moines,
and leaving for Rock Island. III.
Shortly after their departure the
Ak Sar-Ben field was put to its first
test as an aviation field. Almost at
the same time the three other arri-
walls swooped down on the field be-
fore a crowd of several hundred
persons who had congregated to
witness the hop-of OF Captain
Smith. ..
Crowds Are Enthusiastic.
Despite the chilling winds thai
swept across the landing field, the
several hundred persons were as
enthusiastic as though attending a
championship base ball game, in the
hottest month of the year. Severa,
soldiers, from Fort Omaha and
Fort Crook, under the direction OF
Lieutenant Wells. kept the crowds
off. the landing field and prevented
them from making a close inspec'
ton OF the machines. as they landed
The plane piloted by Captain
Drayton, left Des MONIES on its
westward trip at 7.24 and arrived in
{ Omaha st 8.37, negotiating the 49,
miles in one hour and Is minutes
One of the prettiest races, that
has yet been reported in the aerial
derby was that between the planes
driven by Lieutenant KEEL and Ma
jor Spatz on their way to Omaha
from st. Paul, Neb.
+ Spatz Leaves First.
Major Spatz was the first to leave
the control station at St. Paul. He
tool, the air at 7::49 and headed di-
rectly east for Omaha. The plane
driven by Lieutenant KEEL took the
( air 80 seconds later. and took the
same course adopted by Major
Spatz. Five minutes out of St. Paul
Lieutenant Kiel realized his ambi-
ton of the entire trip to pass COM
petitor, and as a victorious battler,
he swung his machine out around
and with slight wave of his hand
passed Major Spatz. He arrived in
Omaha at $500 beating Major
Spatz by five minutes and five sec
onds. He travelled the 1l8 miles to
Omaha in l.04 minutes and 20 sec
onds. Major Spatz brought his
machine to a stop at S:5S:25 a. m.
AS 1t. Kiel alighted from his ma
chine after the arrival of Major
Spatz, he walked up to the latter
and, said, "If | don't beat you into
Mineola. I will break my neck try
ing" This was the only exchange
!, between the two men during thei,
5, stay of 80 minutes here. Majol
Spatz is plotting machine No. 81
and 1t. Kiel, machine No. 81, flying
alone.
Is Flying Alone.
At 10:s0:14 a. H., Second 1t. K
I S. Worthington of Mather field a
San Francisco, the fourt' pilot rep
resenting the western contingent
brought his machine to stop OF
Ak-Sar-Ben field. He has made TIL
trip from San Francisco, unaccom
panied, and is driving what is be
leved to be the smallest plane en-
tered in the race. It is Britisl
z SEES plane, equipped with Hispan
ola motor of $50 horsepower. TIL
machine has wing spread of BIZ
SO feet. and is almost the exac
counterpart of the De Havilands
which preceded it here. The tim
for the 1l8 miles was one hour an
ii minutes. He resumed his fligh
eastward at 1l:20:l4 a. m.
Plane No. IS. from the east, pi
loted by Lieut. L. S. Webster. wit
Sergt. Charles Tindell as passen
ger. which left Des Moines a
lo:lS:30 arrived in Omaha an hour
20 minutes and II seconds later. n
was registered in at the Ak-Sar-Bel
field at II $500. He made his land
ing from the southwest corner o
the field, whereas all of the othe
flyers from the east have made thei