The Washington herald., 1921-12-04
THRILLS FEATURE
FLYING MEETING
AT OMAHA, NEB.
Derby Won by Veteran
AerOnaut With 400
II. P. Triplane.

The principal event on the first
day OF the aero congress held at
Omaha, Nebr, for three days. COM
mencing November 3, was the aerial
derby, which was won by the vet
ersn flyer, Bert Acosta. Driving q
Curtiss navy racer OF triplane con-
struction, powered with a 40o-h. p.
c. D.-l2 motor, he circled the course
of $50 miles at the rate of 176.7
miles an hour. his time being So
minutes and 9 seconds, beating any
previous similar performance made
here or abroad in competition. Clsr-
ence Coombs, Of Houston. Tex, in
a plane called the Cactus Kitten,
won second place, his time peIns
81 minutes. 3-5 seconds, average
speed, 10 miles per hour. This ma
chine. originally designed as a mon
oplane, was given triplane wings to
cut down its landing speed. Obvi-
ously, therefore, the machine in its
original design was the fastest
plane in the world. The Thomas
Morse entry, piloted by Lieut.. John
A. Macready. air service. the anu
tude record was third in 81
minutes, % 3-5 seconds, while Lloyd
W. Bertaud. of New York, plotting
a Bslilla Scout was fourth. The
course was triangular. with Omaha
and Carson, Nebr., and Loveland.
Iowa, across the Missouri River, for
its corners, a lap Of thirty miles,
around which the flyers raced FIVE
times.
Lieut. Col Harold z. Hartney, e1-
l.
Of America. was scheduled to follow
Coombs, but trouble with the gaso-
line pump of his Thomas Morse
MB.-7 monoplane, delayed his
start. After some strenuous efforts
on the part OF his mechanics. and
with but two minutes to spare, he
/ crossed the starting line. He should
have made the first lap in approx
mately 10 minutes. but when he
was 20 minutes overdue and air
planes were being made ready to go
in search OF him, a telephone mes
sage was received from a farmer
to the effect that an sirplane had
crashed near his home, and that
the pilot was injured. Assistance
from the nearest relief station was
rushed to the injured pilot who
was carried to a farmhouse and
treated by a physician. He was
found to be severely injured, having
suffered a fracture of the hip and
Internal injuries. According to the
Omaha Hospital surgeons, Col.
Hartney is not in danger. and he
will recover, although this may
take several months. Souvenir hunt
ers from a nearby town rushed to
the scene of the wreck. and a
match carelessly dropped into the
wrecked airplane caused it to ig-
mite and burn up completely.
AS a result of his victory. Acosta
was awarded the trophy cup and a
| cash prize of $4,000.
A tragic incident during the meet
was the death of Harry Eibe, the
/ daredevil parachute Jumper. Eibe
had leaped from a plane at an alti-
tude of several Thousand feet and
landed in the river. Unfortunately
he was unable to swim, and he sank
before his rescue could be effected.
Eddie Stinson. OF San Antonio,
Tex, thrilled the crowds just after
| the race with stunt flying. Plotting
& Laird Swallow, he negotiated
one of the shortest take-offs of the
| Gay. and climbing rapidly. the nose
| pointed at an angle of about as
degrees, Immediately went into a
series OF loops. wing-overs and tall
spins. For several miles he few
his machine upside down.
The second day of the meet was
! featured by a ninety-mile free-for-
l'sll race in the ninety-mile h. D.
class, which was won by Charles
Casey" Jones, OF New York, in a
| Curtiss CO Oriole, his time being
SIS minutes and seconds: also a
ninety-mile free-for-all race in the
seventy five race in the seventy
seventy fve-mile p. h. class, which
was won by F. A. Donaldson. Of Iowa
in an O. KS Curtiss Oriole. Time
l hour. minutes and 3 3-5 seconds
Performances by the Sport-Far-
man biplane, owned by Wallace
KelIett, Of Philadelphia. was by far
the best stunt feature Of the day.
| Horschem. the pilot, thrilled the
spectators with his scrobatic work,
flying his plane upside down for a
considerable part of the time
The closing day of the meet on
Saturday was full OF incidents, one
parachute jumper being slightly
hurt and four pilots being COM
PEELED to make forced landings, but
without injury. The principal event
was the Larsen contest, the condi-
tions of which were that the plane
entered must have a speed greater
than sixty miles per hour and that
IL must carry a load of at least 900
pounds dead weight over a distance
of approximately ESQ miles. After
crossing the finishing line, the en-
trants were to continue on their
course and climb to an altitude OF
5000 feet marked by kite bal
loon, and then return to the field
and land In the space allotted to
them.