The New York herald., 1921-12-31
Stinson and Bertaud Suffer
in 20 Mile Gale and Weather
Below Zero. y
FOUR HOURS in BIG STORM
Have to Keep Near Earth Part
of Time Because Of Fall
ing Snow.

The worlds endurance record, held
only oice by an American, and he
Wilbur Wright, away back in the dawn
of aviation. returned yesterday to the
country that gave the airplane to the
world.
The men who brought it back-Ed-
ward Stinson and Lloyd Bertaud--
frosted exhausted. almost paralyzed,
but ever so happy men they we're
scudded their silver gray monoplane
along the sparkling snow of Roosevelt
Field chow the Colonel would have
liked to be there to give them the
gripD and brought it to rest little
after IL o'clock in the morning.
They had to be helped out of their
cockpit. where through a day and a
night and part Of another day they had
battled with a. snowstorm, with cold
below zero. with seventy mile gale,
with oil that splashed in their faces
and blinded Them hot. singing oil
that turned almost to ice in their eyes
And they couldn't hear the words of
congratulation shouted into their ears
by many voices, for the roar of the
motor had deafened them. But they
had the record, and you could tell from
the way they grinned, though they
couldn't speak. that they knew it.
Circled Over Long Island.
They were up in the air. necessarily
circling over Long Island. for 26 hours
10 minutes S5 seconds This was bet
ter by hours 2S seconds than had
ever been done before. The old record
was "a hours 10 minutes seconds. made
by French aviators. Lucien Boussoutroy
and Jean Bernard, at Vile Savage la
Dordogne.
And the Frenchmen performed their
feat in the favorable month of June.
when days are longest and nights are
shortest and the atmosphere most kindly.
while Stinsor and Bertaud flew in mid
winter in weather and temperature that
made them seem fools for the attempt
The Frenchmen last year flew Far
man Goliath, the Americans yesterday
JL-6. Americans generally Will pay
more attention to this kind OF plane
hereafter. j stands for Junker and L
for Larsen, which means that the ship,
as aviators call it. is the one developed
by Germany at the close of the war and
perfected and built in this country by
John M. Larsen. an American OF Danish
descent. 1t is all metal.
The motor-the facts must be told
Is German Bavarian, its horsepower
1885, In power II seems on the figures
to be dwarfed by our own 400 horse
power Liberty motor, yet in this record
smashing flight 1t kept aloft. without
skipping beat, so both pilots testify
not only the weight of the plane 2,3OO
pounds, but a useful load of 1900 pounds
besides. or nearly one and third t.,fes
the weight OF the airplane itself.
BuiIder Embraces FIiers.
No wonder Mr.. Larsen. who was on
the field through most Of the flight.
patted the motor and the shining flanks
of the fuselage almost at the same mo-
ment that he embraced Eddie Stinson
and Lloyd Bertaud. Some time ago the
il. plane fell into disfavor with the
United States Mail Service because of
accidents. Since then Mr.. Larsen has
improved II, and he as we'll as the two
pilots. who have flown all sorts of
dication of the il type.
The feat Is all the more noteworthy
because the United States Government
has been doing its best for year to
capture the endurance record. 1t has
made four attempts to do it with the
Curtiss Eagle.
Some folk regard an endurance test
rs nothing more than getting an air
plane off the ground and plugging
.sx-I ~...4l - II n. II
tells you that the record is yours and
YOU may come down. 1t is far diff
fcrent story as read between the modest
words that were drawn from Stinson
and Bortaud last evening by reporter
for THE NEW YORK HERALD when they
woke up after few hours OF dreamless
sleep.
snow Clogs Radiator.
To begin with. through four hours OF
snowstorm they had to keep close TO the
ground. only nifty of seventy feet UP.
If they should lose their previous bear
ing. there was the ocean only few
miles away and the Sound n few miles
on tho other side. The snow clogged
the shutters OF the radiator. which must
have air, just like the radiator OF an 'au-
tomobile engine and gave them some
thing to worry about early In the sport.
When the snowstorm ceased they went
higher; the highest was 1000 feet. 1t
was away below zero up there. How
much below they couldn't tell.
I'VE didn't take a thermometer along
because II would add TO the load" said
the cheerful Stinson later. lying In his
bed at Hampstead. musing over three
fingers of his right hand and one of his
left and wondering II the pain meant
that they had been frozen or merely
frost bitten.
Lucky we didn't take thermometer
along" said the equally serene Bertaud,
lying in his bed at Mneola. 'If we'd
Continued on Page Three.