Evening star., 1926-11-14
ITALIAN FLYER SETS 246-MILE
RECORD TO WIN SCHNEIDER CUP
CONTINUED from First Page.)

table, in the experimental laboratory
and in the aircraft factory. The only
thing she wasn't beaten in was pilot
ing, for the two high speed Navy
entries demonstrated they were equal
to. if not better, than the invaders.
The United States now must go to
italy and fight for the trophy which
was within her grasp. When that
will be was not known here tonight
as the heads Of the Navy had not con-
sidered the advisability Of building
new planes and new engines and pick
ing a team Of pilots to go abroad.
Only -Four Planes Finish.
Furthermore, the question arose
over the possibility Of Schneider
race next year. Meagre advices re-
ceived by air officials here indicated
that the Federation Aeronautique
Internationale, world governing body
for aircraft contests. had agreed to
hold the great seaplane classic every
two years. Should this be correct,
ample time would be available for
building aircraft that could catch up
with the great strides made by Italy
in the last four years.
Six planes started and four finished
Italy's second best bet, Capt. Arturo
Ferrarin went out on the fourth lap
with a broken oil line, and Americas
sole hope Of winning the cup, Lieut.
George T. Cuddihy of the Naval Air
Station, Anacostia, was forced down
two minutes before he would have
crossed the finishing line, through the
failure of his gasoline pressure.
AS far as could be learned last night
the nf tho foi oi1IlrQ 6Iyn off hnY
to the lack of sufficient gasoline or
the collapse of the fuel pump. AT any
rate, Lieut.. Cuddihy once Nose was
called upon to display his excellent
skill as an aviator and land his treach-
erous little racer down wind" in d.
rect violation Of the principles of
landing.
Crash Only Alternative.
1t was either down wind" land
ing or a crash. SO Lieut.. Cuddihy is
alive tonight. Last year at Baltimore,
in the closing stages of the race, the
officer was forced to land down wind
when his engine caught fire. The jinx
of Schneider racing has not shaken
itself loose from Lieut.. Cuddihy
Lieut.. Cuddihy would have finished
second had the gasoline supply flowed
uninterruptedly,b but at that he would
have been at least miles an hour be-
hind Maj. de Bernardo. Official fig
ures for the sixth lap showed his
speed to be 239.191, as against 246.378
on the same lap for his competitor.
Lieut.. c. Frank Schilt, Marine
Corps, Quantico, Va, the third Amer
ican pilot, and flying the Army racer
which last year won the Schneider
cup, finished second with an average
speed for the course of 231.363 miles
per hour. Lieut.. James H. Doolittle.
who plIoted that plane to victory at
Baltimore last year, covered the course
at an average speed of 232573 miles
per hour.
The plane had undergone no changes
this year, except a coat of Navy blue
paint was put on over the Army black
and Lieut.. Schilt's performance, of
coming about l miles from the speed
made by the exceptional Army pilot,
is tribute to his ability.
His Legs Go to Sleep.
But, Lieut.. Schilt protests, he would
nave equalled that mark, if not sur
passed it, had not his legs gone ASLEEP
after the second of the seven laps.
Seated as pilots are in the plane, with
their legs running at right angles
'AhAA eAA<AA OOoS1 hlcily VI tHtIIl SuIIeI
this handicap. After the second lap,
Lieut.. Schilts toes and feet became
numb, then the calves of his legs and
| hnally the muscles above the knee.
w hen the time came to turn, he had
to push his feet with his eyes"
To those on the ground, it appeared
| nothing was wrong, as his turns at
the home pylon were smooth and
beautiful. Then, too, the engine de-
veloped a hitch since the last test
flight and % revolutions per minute
aided materially had they been there
The third American pilot, Lieut. w.
G. Tomlinson Of the Anacostia Air
Station, flying a standard Curtiss
haWk pursuit plane, actually more
than 100 miles an hour slower than
Maj. de Bernardo, finished last, which
was fourth place. This plane replaced
the powerful Curtiss racer fitted with
Packard engine, which crashed with
Lieut.. Tomlinson on the navigability
trials Friday morning and nearly took
his life.
Lieut.. Bacula Third.
Lieut.. Adriano Bacula, flying the
same type of plane Maj de Bernardo
and Capt. Ferrarin piloted, was
granted third place at an average
speed of 218.006 miles per hour. This
officer placed obedience above the
honor of winning the race. He was
told to fly high and at reduced
throttle and he did so throughout.
The object in this was to make
certain Of an Italian plane finishing
the race, while Maj. de Bernardo and
Capt. Ferrarin gave their mounts
full gun" and ran the chances of
engine failure with their new and
virtually untried power plants. In
fact it was predetermined that Lieut..
Bacula would not win, unless all the
planes fell out of the air. leaving him
cruising along quietly at more than
200 miles an hour. This was only one
of many examples Of sterling team
work exhibited by the members Of the
foreign team.
Rear Admiral William A. Moffett,
chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics,
congratulated the Italian team on it's
splendid performance and then he
told each American pilot that he had
done all that was expected of him
adding that 1--WE just didn't have the
ships to win"
There Is no question about the in
feriority Of the American products
Despite "unofficial' speed marks OF
$50 miles an hour or more that have
been credited to the American craft
this writer is in a position to know
that not one of the American entries
could have touched the lightning
speed of Maj. de Bernardo.
Errors in Records.
Although the speed records were
announced in good faith, in the ma
jority Of cases they were made with
stop watches in the hands of the
pilot, allowing innumerable opportu
mites for errors. Furthermore, II
any one Of the three American ships
could have flown over 255 miles ar
hour on a straightaway course, they
would have at least reached 240 miles
for the racing course