Evening star., 1926-09-15
The Life of Racing Planes.

The Life Of Racing Planes.
The tragic death of Lieut.. Harmon
j. Norton, premier aviator of the
Marine Corps, in the R2C2 Navy Cur.
tiss racer Monday afternoon, opens up
once more the question Of how long
racing plane shall be flown to in
sure maximum safety of the pilot.
The board of investigation at the
Naval Air Station, Anacostia, has not
yet made public its findings as to why
this little plane, in the hands of one
Of the best men "that ever swung a
leg over a cockpit" suddenly plunged
downward from level flight, 1000 feet,
into the mud flats opposite Hams
Point
The crash of the R2C2 marks the
death of the third racing plane in a
little over two years, and the death
Of the third highly skilled and expert.
enced airman in that period. The sis.
ter ship Of the R2C2 collapsed in flight
with Lieut.. Alexander Pearson at the
controls in the Summer of 1924 at
Wilbur Wright Field, Fairfield, Ohio,
and in october Of that year Capt.
Burt E. Skeel, plotting a racer Of an
earlier model, flew into the ground at
the start Of the Pulitzer race on. the
same field.
Pearson's plane was a little over
one year old when the left wing strut
carried away, sending him to his
death. The ship had been given
severe usage in the Pulitzer race the
previous year and also in the dives
and speed dashes for the world rec.
ord in November, 1924, by Lieut.. Har.
old Brow, noted Navy pilot.
Capt. Skeel's plane was first flown
in the Pulitzer race of 1922 at Selfridge
Field, Mich, and was starting its
third annual race when the specta
tors saws the wings come off. Sub
sequently Col. Mitchell charged these
planes were "antiquated" and should
never be flown more than a year
The question was discussed at the
court-martial. No policy as to the
fixed life Of a racer was formulated.
The R2C2 was three and one-halt
years old. 1t was not to be used in
the Schneider international seaplane
race at Norfolk next month, but was
flown here from Philadelphia to serve
as the dog ship" for candidates for
the Navy racing team. It was SC
constructed that a pilot could not
wear a parachute, the entrance to
the cockpit being SO small that these
aerial life preservers could not be car.
ried. The three racers built last year
and flown for the first time in the
Pulitzer and Schneider races are SO
designed that pilots may carry . q
smaller type chute and, by means OF
a lever. throw open a part Of the
fuselage insuring hasty escape II
the occasion arises.
When the plane was turned over
to the air station here, engineers at
the naval aircraft factory in Phila
delphia pronounced it sound and air
worthy. 1t had made four flights
prior to it's crash, one Of them being
cross-country jump of $50 miles.
Because speed Is the desired object
In their construction, the little racers
are stripped to the minimum OF
weight and objects that might pro
duce drag" and slow them up. The
terrific speed at which they travel
through the air builds up more pres
sure on the controls and wings than
ordinary service type planes expert
ence. When pulled out Of dives OF
pulled into zooms even greater loads
of weight are piled up on what looks
to the layman as extremely delicate
fippers and wings.
Age Of equipment is the racers
worst enemy. and while it has not beer
proved, or may never be. that this
caused the death of one Of the Marine
Corps most valuable pilots. history
records that q speedster of this type
within its first year Of existence, has
never claimed the life Of an airman
Should not this fact suggest the early
passage of regulations prohibiting the
use of racing planes beyond what
seems to have been established as
their full life as even normally safe
ships?