Evening star., 1927-09-11
CHAMPION ALTITUDE AIRPLANE
TO BE COMPLETELY REPAIRED
CaIIizo Expose Seen as Aid
to Plans for Setting
Record.
Craft to Get New Engine.
Officer Still at Annapolis
School.
BY FREDERICK r. NEELY.

B1 FhEDEhlCh II. NEEL1.
Now that the Callizo fraud, exposed
several days ago, demonstrates that
the United States does not have to
reach the suburbs of the moon in
order to beat the heretofore official
altitude record, confidence Is expressed
in Navy aeronautical circles that
Lieut.. Carleton c. Champion, jr.,
holder of the worlds altitude seaplane
mark, may be able to eclipse the
present record without having to fight
as hard as he did on July rs when his
plane caught fire four times above
the city in an effort to surpass
Callizo's record
The little Wright Apache which
served faithfully on the seaplane flight
of 37,995 feet for a new altitude record
and which made in all, more than 80
flights into the deep blue, is to undergo
a careful overhaul this week and at
the first available opportunity. Lieut..
Champion will resume his high alti-
tude test work.
Callizo's Wings Clipped.
Calizo's wings have been clipped
and he has been sentenced to spend
the rest of his life on the ground. as
far as his participation in events spon-
sored by that great aeronautical sport
ing organization-the Federation Aero
nautique Internationale-is concerned.
Lieut.. John A. Macready, former
Army Air Corps pilot, is officially cred
tied with having reached 3S.7O4 feet
on January 20, 1925, at McCook Field
DAYTON, which figure is the highest on
record now. Inasmuch as the CalliZo
record of August 80, which developed
offon1nf m 1chlpV6
honors by manipulating the barograph
while only at one-third the height sup
posed to have been reached, was
thrown out, his credited altitude OF
a wear ago goes out also.
The Wright Apache is still In a
hanger at the Naval Air Station at
Anacostia, where it was brought the
day Lieut.. Champion made his spec
tacular descent. In a day or two 1t
will be taken to the Keystone Air
craft Corporation at Bristol, Pa,
where Kenneth NJ. Lane, one of the
designers of the little fighter, will su-
pervise it's reconditioning. Inasmuch
as the wings were punctured by fly
ing parts of the engine when it broke
to pieces on the descent, it is prob
able that all four panels will be re-
covered.
Two Weeks Work.
A new Pratt & Whitney Wasp
air-cooled power plant of 400 horse
power of the type which has demon.
strated that it is best suited for the
high altitude work will be installed,
and then the plane will be ready
in about two weeks, probably-to
shoot at the 3S.704-foot mark. On
July Is Lieut.. Champion was conf
dent, and still is, that he went far
higher than he ever had been before
in fact, his altimeter, in which he has
great faith, registered az" mean.
ing 47,000 feet, but the calibrated
barograph showed only 1859 feet,
according to the Bureau of Standards.
The fact that Lieut.. Champion on
July 4, at the Anacostia Air Station,
reached within feet of the $4,000
foot level in the Apache equipped
with a main pontoon and two wing
floats. all three of which constituted
many pounds of additional weight and
a certain abount Of drag has led
naval airmen to believe that he could
add another 1900 feet without much
difficulty. Under the rules of the
Federation Aeronautique Internation-
ale Lieut.. Champion, to receive credit
for a new world record, must surpass
the present one by 100 meters, or ap-
proximately 500 feet. Therefore Lieut..
Champion would have to reach $4,000
feet to claim new world record.
It was emphasized by naval airmen