The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-11-04
new RECORD
FOR NONSTOP
FLIGHT is SET
Aviators ForcedDown
at Indianapolis
fRv Associated Press,

DAYTON, Ohio. Nov. 4.-Lieuts. ].
A. MacReady and Oakley Kelley, who
were forced to land near Indianapolis.
Saturday morning after completing
1850 miles on an attempted nonstop
flight from San Diego to New York, ar
rived at McCook aviation field here
at 1915 o'clock today and reported to
Maj. C. H. Bane, their commanding of
ficer.
In telling of Major Bane, their first
official report of the flight, the air
men revealed that during their nearly
80 hours in the air they were in the
midst of storm and rain for IL hours
and 80 minutes. In crossing the noun
tains, the wind was so strong that it
threatened several times to turn their
ship over.
INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 8. Lieut..
MacReady and Kelley who were forces
to make landing at Fort Benjamin
Harrison near here this morning, end
ing their nonstop coast to coast flight
in the monoplane T-2, left at 10:5 so
this morning for Dayton, Ohio. The
officers made the trip in an aeroplane
obtained at the fort, leaving theirs
here,
NEW YORK, Nov. 4-Lieuts Oak
ley Kelley and John MacReady in fly
ing from San Diego to Indianapolis,
broke the worlds nonstop distance
record of 1886 miles made by the late
Capt. John Alcock and A. W. Brown in
their flight across the Atlantic ocean
from Newfoundland to Ireland, accord
ing to records in aviation circles here.
INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 4. - Lieut.
Oakley Kelley and John MacReady, at
tempting transcontinental air flight,
were forced down in Fort Benjamin
Harrison near here at 9:15 today. A
cracked water jacket is said to have
| forced the aviators to descend. Ac-
cording to the officers the radiator
sprung a leak shortly after they left
San Diego, and it did not become seri-
Gus until a few miles from Indianap-
| oils. Neither one of the men was in
| jured in the landing which took place
on the military aviation field. The
men said they had travelled 2,060 miles
WASHINGTON, Nov. 4-By their
continuous fight from San Diego to
indianapolis in the army plane T-2,
Lieutenants MacReady and Kelley, not
only have established what is believed
here to be a new distance record for
nonstop flying, but have demonstrated
in the opinion of air service officials
that nonstop flights from coast to
coast are possible. The To had over
come the chief obstacle to the trans
| continental trip before it was forced
down at Fort BENJAMIN Harrison by
minor defect
The night flying and the passage
| over the mountain passes and through
the canyons Of the southwest, was the
most difficult feature of the attempt
and was carried through so far as is
known here without incident. 1t was
evident that the flyers knew their
whereabouts with reasonable accuracy
at all times in daylight and darkness.
In Air 25 Hours.
| Observers here who checked the
course of the T-2 on the map, esti-
mated the distance travelled at un-
wards of 1000 miles, which agrees with
/ calculations made by the fliers them
selves. The previous nonstop record
/ for heavier than air machines is about
] 1900 miles. The time required was
estimated at little over 20 hours,
and the speed of the plane at an av-
erage of more than rs miles an hour.
The T-2 was equipped with especial
gasoline tanks and water tanks for
the voyage, and her crew had expected
to reach New York within 80 hours
from the time of departure from San
Diego, where the plane, loaded with
| thousands of pounds of gasoline and
water. got into the air. 1t was dan
gerous to attempt a landing until a
large part of the fuel had been con-
sumfd and the weight of the machine
reduced to that extent
Did Not Risk Smash.
1t is assumed that when the avi-
ators discovered the leakage they kept
on to the limit of their fuel rather
than take a chance on smashing up
by attempting landing while loaded
With the full load above the plane
barely had climbing power to clear
the low mountain passes near the
start. AS the fuel diminished, how.
ever, the climbing ability of the plane
increased and the course carried the
plane ultimately over an elevation of
some 10000 feet before Fort Benja
min Harrison was reached.
Decision as to another attempt with
the T-2 to cross from coast to coast
will not be made until official reports
have been received and studied I;
was said by air service officials. how
ever, that the machine already haL
proved the soundness OF their calcu
lations as to the long distance and
night flying upon which the project
was originally founded.