New-York tribune., 1920-11-25
Perslling Will
Start Aerial
Contest To-day
q
Army and Navy viii Fight
for Supremacy ia Great
est Speed Contest III Av'-
alton Esisiory:A4 4 Entrants
Eight Types Represented
Participants VIII Cover 100
Miles, with the Beginning
and End at Mitchell Field

General John j. Pershing. com
mander-in of the \. +. F.. will
start the forty-four entrants in the
creates; speed race in the history of
aviation at Mitchell Field, Mincola. L. L..
this morning. The race has resolved
itself into a struggle between the Army
and Navy for speed supremacy of the
ar 1t is being held under the aus
pices Of the Aero Club of America for
me Pulitzer trophy and the Valentine
fund.
For the first time in the annals of
flying, eight different types of air
planes, each capable of making more
than 40 miles an hour average speed.
viii be contestants. -Four of these
types have never before flown in any
aerial contest. Two of them have es-
tablishcd world records for speed. and
one has established worlds record
Cor altitude by ascending to $4,000
3eet above sea level.
The United States Navy is placing its
faith in the tiny Looming Special, z
diminutive monoplane of graceful de-
sign and tremendous speed. This ma
chine, No. 4s In the race, has been
specially designed snd built to carry
the Navy's colors against the Army.
The latter is relying on the Verville-
Packard, a powerful biplane equipped
with a GOO horse power Packard engine.
which, it is predicted, will drive the
airplane forward at more than 200
miles an hour. The Looming Special is
equipped with 900 horse power
Wright engine.
Types Of -Four Countries Entered
The latest types Of French, British.
'talian and American scout machines
ave been entered in the race, which
ElYes it an international character
There will also be one captured Ger
.Aan Fokker bipane.
The course Of the race is laid over
triangle With the start and finishing
me on Mitchell Field. The first turning
lylcn will be located at Lufbery Field
" Wantagh and the second at Henry j .
Damn Field, near Babylon. This tr-
angular course is forty miles in length,
and each contestant musC cover it fcur
times, making the total distance 100
miles.
All three felds have been thrown
open to the public by the Army Air
Service. Admission viii be free The
race VIII begin at II O'Clock and the
Long Island Railroad has made ar-
rangements to run special trains from
the Pennsylvania Station.
Planes Divided Into Seven Flights
The machines have been divided into
seven flights, which include two flights
Of DILL biplanes, one flight Of British
SE-5 scouts and one flight OF American
Vought VET hiplancs. The other flights
have en- made up as nearly as posi-
be of different types of machines with
approximately equal speed. IN them will
he the Orenco scout. OF the Ordnance
Engineering Company; the Thomas
Morse scout, the British Sopwith Dol
phin, the Italian Ansaldo S. " A., which
Gabrielle d'Annunzio made famous;
he French Spad and Morane Saulnier
monoplane and the Curtiss triplane,
which established the world altitude
record last year.
lmong the famous pilots who will fly
n the race are Captain Harold E. Hart
ney, an ace; Captain st. Clair Street
commander of the recent flight to and
rom Alaska, and many of the contest
ants 0f last years 5000 mile transcon-
t;nental air race. Among the civilian
pilots viii be Bert Acosta in an Italian