Evening star., 1923-08-05
THREE D. c. PILOTS
ENTER WORLD RACE
About to Leave for England
to Bring Home Interna-
: Z, tionaI Cup.

The United States Navy has placed in
the hands of three of its aviators,
Nth whom Washington has a strong
connection, the task OF bringing
home the Schneider seaplane cup. a
Italy will endeavor to keep this coun-
try from anneXing to its long list of
world aviation records.
II the United States takes first
place in the international seaplane
races at Cowes, England, off the Isle
Of Wight, September %, Washington
can claim some honor. for 1t was at
the Naval Air Station in Anacostia
and on the Potomac river and East
ern branch that Lieuts. Rutledge
Irvine, David Rittenhouse and A. w.
Gorton took their initial and final
training for the big event. A fourth
officer concerned in the race is Lieut.
nautics here. He has complete
charge of arrangements at the scene
of the races, and in the event one
Of the entered pilots is unable TO
compete he will fly instead.
Held for Third Year.
The international seaplane races
will be held for the third time this
year and will be marked by the entry
of the United States. insufficient
funds prevented America from COM
peting last year and the year before,
but now a determined effort Is being
made to capture the prize. England
last year won the race with a speed
Of 146 miles an hour and Italy took
the prize the year before. Only Mon
day Lieut.. Irvine at Port Wasnlns-
ton, n. Y, put his little Curtiss racer
through a test and travelled 1853
miles an hour. This performance has
generated an optimistic atmosphere
in the bureau of aeronautics and In
aviation circles in general:
The Schneider cup race Is dinerent
from any other airplane speed COM
petition held here or abroad. Mon
day, September 4, the day before the
contest, the rules require that the
entrants be put through a severe test
for maneuverability and stability.
The planes are required TO cross TIE
starting line on the water. take the
air, land, taxi on the surface for one
half mile at speed of over twelve
knots an hour, hop into the air once
more. land, taxi another one-half mile
at the same speed and then ny over
the finish line. They are to land ana
the pilots must leave the planes
anchored in the water for six hours
without touching them. At the end
of that time they can be hauled onto
the beach, the water may be drained
out Of the pontoonS and new propeI-
Iors attached. No other alterations
or repairs can be made. This test Is
designed to reveal the seaworthlness
of the plane. II the water IS sihootL
on the day before the race. IT Will
be of advantage to the pilots. but II
rough, a strenuous strain Will result
The American entrants, however are
fully prepared to withstand the rouSh
water obstacle as each of their planes
was designed to permit landing at
sea in rough weather emergencies.
Further, the four pilots for the last
two months have been practlclns
rough water work on the Anacostla
and Potomac rivers.
Three Nations Compete.
The next day the race will be on.
1t will be flown by nations each nav
ing three entries. The planes wall
cross the starting line on the water
and take the air as soon after they
have passed the designated place as
possible They will then fly tri-
angular coure of 200 sea miles, which
will take them around 1t four times.
They must cross the finish line In the
air.
AT the enc OF Inc IdSO blO piiON
who made the distance In the short
est time will be declared the win
ner and to his country will go the
scene Of the race the following year.
Should the United States carry on
the honors. Admiral William A
Moffett, chief of the bureau OF aero
nautics. will endeavor to have the
staged between here and
Mount Vernon, but nothing beyond
that has been discussed, as the race
has yet to be won.
Sail on Lev1athan.
The pilots sail on the Leviathan
from New York the Goth of this
month and carry with them four
spcedy seaplanes. Two are Curtlss
racers converted into seaplanes from
the land type, which the Navy en-
tered at Detroit last fall In the
Pulitzer race. A third is the Navy
Wright, with a 700-horsepower mo-
tor. also seaplane convert and
which was entered as the mystery
ship" in the speed races last year
also. 1t made a good showing as
long as 1t was in the air. but be
cause it had not had the factory
test. in fact had been taken out of
the crate at the field and put into
the race, it did not finish. Lieut.
L. H, Sanderson, United States Marine
Corps, now on duty at the Anacostla
station, was the pilot and when he
and the ship fell in shallow water
he had narrow escape from aeatn
The fourth plane is the TR-3. similar
to the standard fighting plane of the
Navy and the one which took first
place in the Curtiss Marine trophy
race last year. 1t is to serve as an
alternate.
The three United States pilot en-
trants are considered the best In
Oh naiIy and NnhaknOWn
to Washington. they fly ships over
and about the city. determining
whether they are suitable for adop-
tion by the Navy. All contemplated
purchases of new airplanes are sent
to the Anacostia station and these
pilots, with others now there, put
them through a crucial test.
Invariably the pilots land and re-
port a bunch of bugs or faults In
motor and structure of the plane.
Their jobs are the most trying of
any in naval aviation. but because
they have attained that skill in
ships that cut w various
capers in the air they are best quail
flied for the position.
Holds World Record.
Lieut.. Irvine is twenty-six years
old and has been in Washington
since January 1, 1922. He holds the
world altitude record for a single
those pilots who flew from San
Diego. Calf, to Panama In 1921 and
achieved recognition for his flight of
twenty hours and ten minutes In an
F-5-L seaplane off Hampton roads in
1912. He was born in Brooklyn.
n Y, and is an alumnus of Cornell
Lieut. Rittenhouse was born In
Minnesota In 1894 and enlisted in the
French ambulance corps while a stu
dent at the University of Minnesota.
After service abroad he returned to
this country while the war was on
and entered naval aviation. He has
seen service with the Pacific fleet
N It's maneuverS as sDotting pilot
He has had more than 1,400 hours in
the air and, like Lieut.. Irvine and