The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1923-05-04

iiclu. near mere, tncre STANDS I'M
cal descendant Of that "contraption"
| which only day before yesterday
stood in hangar at Hampstead. New
York 1925 miles away, having trav-
crsed the continent in the air under
its own power and without stop in
20 hours 40 minutes and AZ 20 see
0nds.
| The men who flew the machine
from New York are Lieuts. Oakley
+. Kelley and John MacReady, who
between them already hold seven
aviation record for speed, duration
Of flight and weight taken into the
air on single air plane
! The men thought little Of their
accomplishment and almost as soon
| as they landed were making plans
for attempting to establish "A new
record for duration of flight in an
attempt to fly around the world.
Both the aviators were in good
physical condition when they land
ed. Except from a few spatterings
Of oil from the Liberty engine
that brought them a greater dis
tance than any persons have ever
| flown before in one continuous
flight they appeared as fresh on
landing as if they had taken by an
hours jaunt.
when we left New York." said
q, Kelly" we could not seem 70 get
I the full horsepower out of the
! Liberty engine. We flew for more
/ than 20 miles at an altitude of less
than 400 feet
| Make Repairs in Air
"Ovcr New Jersey the voltage
regulator went out This was
hcartbreaking for, unless we
! could repair it in flight, we
would be forced to turn back.
While handled the control
wheel, MacReady set desperate.
ly to work taking off the switch
and installing new one.
"FIe succeeded and Il load
was lifted from our hearts
when the regulator again began
! to function properly"
I MacRcady took un the story:
"From that moment the flight
became a pleasant prospect for US
and wa encountered no further
mechanical trouble The Liberty
motor we kept operating at ninety
percent Of its full horsepower after
we had cleared the New Jersey air
/ lines.
Reaching Dayton. Ohio, $50 miles
airline from New York, we headed
for st. Louis. thence stcered for
, Tucumcari, N. NJ. We were flying
at an altitude of 1900 feet when
darkness caught us near lndianapo-
! lis.
Approximately 80 miles from
Bellcvillc, Ill.,, we we're thrilled by
the sight of huge beam of light
projecting up through the clouds.
| 1t was a vcritablc beacon along a
rocky and dangerous shore to US.
for otherwise intense darkness pre-
vailed and we were trusting solely
to our compass to keep on a
straight course
Aided by this beam of light,
which we knew came from Belle
vile, we continued straight as an
arrow for the Missouri river. A
light rain began to fall when we
crossed the Missouri line. a condi-
tion we were prepared for on ac-
count Of the cloudy weather in
Indiana and Illinois. At the Missouri
Kansas line, while travelling better
than ITO miles an hour and at an
altitude of 5000 feet, we sighted
moonlight filtering through cloud
holes. 1t gave US q feeling Of secur-
ity.
"Thcse. faint streaks Of moonlight
were all that we sighted of the
heavens until daybreak over Tucum-
carl. Kelley was at the wheel. Dawn
was just breaking. Kelley gave shout
Of joy when on looking over the side
Of the cockpit he spied the cemetery
on the outskirts Of Tucumcari. 1t
was a landmark we knew"
At Wheel Hours at Time.
From that time on the aviators had
not the slightest difficulty. They
were flying in daylight over Sec
tion they knew we'll from their pre-
vious flight and the plane, lightened
| Of much Of its early burden Of fuel,
did all that was asked Of it in climb
ing over the mountain ranges. They
considered that part Of the trip SO
easy that they barely commented on
| it,
MacReady and Kelly said that
they exchanged positions at the
wheel every six hours except while
crossing over the Arizona forests.
They then changed frequently. part
Iy to rest and partly to arrange
their schedule so that MacReady
would handle the controls in making