New-York tribune., 1921-12-30
Filters Up Il
Hours i'm Gale
And Still Going g
Stinson and Bertaud i'm En-
durance Test Circle Hazel
hurst Field All Day and
Night in Metal Monoplanc
Fight Zero Temperature
Forced by Wind and Snow to
Stay Low; Searchlights
Their Guides After Dark

Upon the wings of the cv gale which
swept the East yesterday and last night
Eddie Stinson and Lloyd Bertaud drove
an allmetal monoplane hour after hour
above the plains of Long Island in an
effort to establish a new worlds rec
ord for endurance. At times, when fly
ing into the teeth of the wind, they
were held practically motionless by the
ferocity of the sixty-mile blow in q
temperature rapidly approaching zero
At o'clock this morning they had
been in the air seventeen hours. The
temperature then, even on the ground,
was not Ear above zero.
No attempt to establish worlds
aerial record Of any kind was ever un-
dertaken under such adverse conditions
as existed when the l. monoplane took
off from Hazclhurst Field, Mincola
The start Of the flight was made one
minute before 9 d. M. when binding
snowstorm dimmed the landing field.
Forced to Fly Low
Ciiuct 'i'e cohdltIoHS IL was lmpOS-
siblc for the aviators to fly higher than
100 feet above the ground; at greater
altitude they could not see For three,
hours they continued the flight in the
snowstorm before the freshening breeze
cleared the skies. Then for another
three hours conditions remained nor
NAL until the wind increased to gale
force.
Preparations for the fight had been
made several days in advance. Just
before the hour for the take-off the
two pilots held a conference with John
NJ. Larsen, owner of the machine, when
it was decided to make the attempt
regardless of weather conditions and
the adverse prediction.
In order to establish an endurance
record Stinson and Bertaud must
eclipse the performance of the Farman
Goliath biplane made at Etampes,
France, June a, 1920, when Lieutenarts
Bossoutrot and Bernard remained in
the air ID hours 10 minutes T seconds
This machine was equipped with two
260- horsepower Salmson motors.
AS soon as the snow storm abated
yesterday the two pilots took their
craft to an altitude of 800 feet, and
remained there. Their course Law over
circle which encompassed Hempstead
Garden City, Mineola and Wcstbury,
at all times in full sight of the aero
drome, where two official observers
from the Aero Club of America were
taking turns watching the test.
Immediately after darkness settled
several searchlights placed about the
field turned their beacons upward and
formed pylons around which the mono
plane flew along its never-ending
course.
Equipped for Colour Trip
The machine in which they went nm
is Of the Junkehs-L Larsen type of mono
plane, built entirely of aluminium alloy
it is driven by B. NJ. w. motel of 1875
horsepower. At the time the craft took
OFT there were on board $50 gallons of
gasoline and twenty-eight gallons of
oil, most OF which was carried in ex-
ira tanks placed in the limousine-pas-
senger body. With this fuel it is cx-
pected that the monoplane will keen in
the air more than twcnty-sx hours.
Despite the frigid atmosphere
neither pilot was equipped with cleo
trically heated clothing. The inclosed
cabin back Of the pilot cockpit. how
ever, is heated by the exhaust pipes
of the motor, and the men are alter
mating in taking maps there They are
we'll supplied with food and hot cot
fee contained in vacuum bottles.
In the event of a fog during the
night huge flares were TO be burned
about the searchlights. These were
SO arranged that the pilots would be
able to see them from any altitude.