Evening star., 1927-05-17
FIGHT MAY GUST
BELLANCA'S PLANE
FROM PARIS RACE
Bertaud's Lawyer Says Le-
vine Sought to Let Byrd
Hop Off First.
FLYER MAY GO TO COURT
TO ENFORCE ORAL PACT
Weather Holds Three Ships to
Long Island-Start Expected
to Be Made Thursday.
Rv the Associated Press

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, May 17.---An open
break between Lloyd Bertaud. navi-
gator of the Bellanca monoplane CO.
lumbia, and Charles a. Levine, chief
hacker of it's transatlantic fight prof
ect. threatened today to eliminate the
plane from the triple dash to Paris.
Bertaud's lawyer, Clarence w. Mutt,
issued a statement charging Levine
with deliberately delaying the take
off of the Columbia in order to allow
Comdr. Richard f. Byrd's Fokker
monoplane America and Capt. Charles
r. Lindbergh's Ryan monoplane Spirit
Of ST. Louis to get away first This,
he asserted, would provide an excuse
for cancellation of the Bellanca' s
flight.
May Wait Until Thursday.
Meanwhile continued unfavorable
weather caused further postponements
of the contemplated flights. 1ndica-
tions were that none of the contenders
would attempt q hop-off before Thurs
day, and by that time it was thought
Byrd will have completed his load
tests and be ready for the Paris jump
Dissension among the ranks OF the
Bellanca entry has been brewing for
several days. The original contract
between Bertaud and Clarence Cham
berlin. the pilot, and the Columbia
Aircraft Corporation, owner or the
plane, provided that the prize money,
estimated at 100000, be divided
equally between the flyers and the
company. and that the airmen agree
to remain in the employ of the COM
a paris
should it prove successful.
Friends of the flyers voiced obJec-
tions to the proposed division Of the
prize money. and the aviators them
selves insisted some financial arrange
ment be made for their wives. Ber-
taud also objected to the one-year
contract clause. as he is on leave from
the Air Mail Service. Chamberlin is
regularly employed by the Columbia
company.
New Agreement Made.
AS a result of a conference Sunday
an agreement was reached under
which the flyers were TO. receive the
full prize money, their wives were TO
be given financial protection and the
one-year contract was to be waived.
This agreement was placed in writ
ing, but Mutt charged paragraph
had been inserted reserving to Levine
the right to withdraw from the flight
project or to remove one or both OF
the flyers, with compensation or four
weeks expenses. AS result OF this
clause the contract was not signed
Mutt announced he was prepared 10
start suit to compel carrying out of
the terms of the alleged oral agree
ment.
Another point of dispute was over
the radio equipment the plane should
carry. After the disastrous Nunges-
ser fight a powerful radio set was
installed on the Columbia.
Bellanca Backs Levine.
Levine. however, declared the
weight of the radio generation i'm.
paired the efficiency Of the plane, and
over the protests of Bertaud II was
removed A smaller emergency set
was installed. G. NJ. Bellanca, de-
signer of the plane, supported Levine
in the controversy.
Bertaud was displeased by the con-
templated change of course from the
steamship lane to the great circle
route to be followed by Lindbergh and
Byrd. Chamberlin. however, agreed
with Bellanca on the adVisability of
such a change.
planes in their Long Island hangers
yesterday. Byrd's pilot has been an
nounced as Bert Acosta. Acosta re-
Gently made the worlds endurance
flight record of more than 81 hours
in the Bellanca plane with Chamber
lin.