Evening star., 1924-10-03
4SHINGTONIANS TAKE FIRST
AND LAST PLACE in AIR RACE
Lieut.. D. C. Duke, Long at Desk Here, Surprises
Field at Dayton, While Second Man Wasn't
Kno,Un as Flyer.

cutting pylon, was reinStated and
given fourth place, with an average
of 1894; Lieut.. L. II. Haddon, got fifth
place, with a speed of 1885: Lieut..
Brown, sixth. 1852; Maj. Tinker. sew
enth, 116, and Lieut.. Beau last. 1152S.
Lieut. Bobzien was disqualified. as
also was Lieut.. SteinmetZ who later
crashed between the fifth and sixth
pylons. The landing gear was torn
away. but Lieut.. Steinmetz was un-
injured. He was forced to seek the
ground when serious motor trouble
developed.
Much Hard Going
The trip around the course for the
entire race was not a picnic for the
pilots. Every one showed the results
IF much physical suffering on landing.
and no stories Of pleasant trips were
told. Duke was handicapped by the
glare of the sun in his eyes part of
the time, which was magnified and
made more uncomfortable by the
shiny steel propeller revolving at
l,600 revolutions per minute before
him. 1t was a task of hopping from
barn to barn. he said. and so busy was
he looking at the ground that he did
not know that he and Simonin had
left the other boys in the smoke and
bewilderment. Simonin, on the other
main gasoline line in the cockpit
| broke on the ninth of the twelve laps
and he was forced to hold it together
with his knee in order to continue a
flow. Even at that gasoline splashed
up in his face which. coupled with the
sun. brought the declaration from him
that Il worked like hell for the
money He won $500. and confident
| ly believes he earned it. Immediate
ly on landing his motor quit and the
plane was LETT stalled in the centcr
of the field until hauled in by a trac-
tor later.
Lieut. Browns uniform beneath his
tying suit was soaked as though he
had stood under Il shower 1t was
perspiration that worked through his
clothes, resulting from more than an
hours steady work at the controls in
fighting the bumps and making the
pylon turns. Every one a week ago
thought he had the race already won
as he was to fly ship that was
known to have made 14i miles per
hour. But in ferrying it into Fairfield
from Boston, the motor burned out at
Moundsvill. and he was forced to
substitute d regular service stock mo-
tor The test to which il was put
was a little too much and the last
two laps Brown had to cut down the
number OF revolutions in order to
make the field right side up. And just
as he passed the home pylon the
Liberty began to cough and wheeze
and it was with great difficulty that
he made the field.
Beau Gets Last Place.
Vic" Beau was pretty well fed up
on the race shortly after it began
Having lost out on a good start, there
was nothing to do but sit there in the
front seat with the gun" wide open
while other planes passed him, same
as though he were standing still. 1t
was impossible to make the plane go
faster-it was flying al its maximum,
so Beau came in last. giving Wash
ing last place, first place and the
only crash of the race.
Lieut.. Col Harold S. Hartney of
Washing gton, d. g., now a reserve Off
Ger, was scheduled to fly a De Havi
land in the race, but the plane was
not made ready for the race and he
was forced to stay out. Col. Hartney
also attempted to get into CONNER
cial plane race yesterday morning
with queer looking airplane, which
was named yellow Air Cab" but
both magnetos burned out just as he
got onto the starting line. He an
nounced he would install new mo-
tor in the ship and get in another
race today.
BOmbers Contest Today.
This afternoon seven Martin bomb
ers will fly in the race for large ca
pacity planes for the Dayton Cham
ber of Commerce trophy. Included
among them is the ship that won the
race at st. Louis last year at d speed
of 116 miles per hour. 1t Will be
flown this year by Lieut.. d. NJ. Myers
of Phillips Field, Aberdeen, Md, and,
barring accidents, should win first
place this year, according to author
tiles.
The races are scheduled to close
Saturday with the Pulitzer trophy
event, the contest for speed planes
with a speed greater than rs miles
per hour. Vieing with this-and 1t
will be the first time any other event
in a meet of this kind could vie with
the Pulitzer trophy-will be the John
L. Mitchell trophy race between eight
PW-S pursuit planes from Selfridge
Field, Mount Clemens, Mich, which
can fly faster than ITS miles her hour
also.