The Washington times., 1923-04-19
BY LIEUT.. JOHN A. MacR1EADY.
written for and Copyrighted. 1923,
Nv CosmopoIitan News ServIce,l

lWritten Tor ana C0pyrlghteu, ISZS,
by Cosmopolitan News service.)
McCOOK FIELD, Ohio, April 10.
The army air service now holds
ali recognized aviation records for
speed, altitude, duration and dis
lance. We cleaned the slate by Of
ficially taking from the French the
duration and distance marks held
by them. AS General Mitchell re-
marked, eve 1.-THE army air service)
hold every airplane record that was
ever known, and IL there is one
around that we don't know of, and
If somebody tells US of 1t, we will
proceed to take 1t"
2,516 Miles In ThIrty-Six Hours.
Lieutenant Kelley and myself GOV.
cred 2,516 miles in thirty-six hours
and five minutes around a. triangu.
lar course without landing. Had
our course been straight and level,
we would have covered considerable
more distance in less time. But
much efficiency was lost in turn
ing and maneuvering the tremen-
dous weight of our airplane around
the corners. The plane was loaded
with 1880 pounds, Including 737
gallons of gasoline, and only one
used to lift 1t.
Lieutenant Kelley took the plane
off the ground with this enormous
weight and flew 1t until 2 o'clock in
the afternoon. Then flew 1t until
6. Kelley from until midnight,
myself from midnight until 6 a. m.
the next day. The second day we
changed places at the pilots seat
every four hours. brought the
mechine down at 9:45 p. m.
The first day and night was the
most difficult part OF the flight
as considerable strength was re
uuired to handle the giant mono
plane when heavily loaded and the
maneuvering was done near the
ground, as the machine would not
climb to a safe altitude. The low
clouds and showers during both
DAYS did not cause Inconvenience
We dreaded storm conditions AZ
might, as the visibility would pc
poor, with the strong possibility OF
our losing our way through in
ability to see lights on the ground,
The nights were clear, but there
was no moon. nothing but. dense,
inky bIackness below. OF course
there were automobiles on the
roads, farm houses and cities show.
ing lights, but they were danger
points to us, as they meant GER
tain distractions in our way IL we
should have been forced to land
Outside of these Pickering lights,
everything was black and indis-
tinguishable. It was impossible to
tell what was below-whether a
level field. forest. building. river or
foothill. We had fourteen hours OF
darkness.
Engine Worked Perfectly.
1t was agreed between us that II
our engine quit we would throw
out the lighting flare and If it did
not function and there was not
landing space below, we would
Jump out with our parachutes'
However, our Liberty engine func'
toned perfectly.
Flying during the DAYTIME was
comparatively easy, though much
of it was, of course, very fattgutnE.
Although naturally very tired
toward the finish Of the flight
neither of us was in bad shape
physically, all faculties, physical
and mental, functioning perfectly.
"Our record flight is just another
high point which indicates the
rapid progress being made in avia'
ton and shows that the army air
service, with very limited funds,
is providing equipment that beats
the world in the most modern
means Of transportation and de.
fense."
Twice within the last few months
Lieutenant Kelley and myself have
remained in the air for over thirty
five hours without landing. and last
November flew from San Diego to
indianapolis. a distance of 1850
miles, without landing, passing
through parts of six States at
night with eleven and one-half hours
OF total darkness.
These endurance, distance, and
cross-country flights indicate that
commercial aviation should become
practical in the near future If the
present rapid advancement does not
ALL