Evening star., 1927-09-09

| ments which are always present in
| obtaining the refinement required IN
| preparation for Il contest of this ma
I>ture and it will be appreciated how
entirely inadequate the time available
has been.
Knowing the effort and stress
which Lieut. Williams has eXerted for
the accomplishment of this project
as probably no other one can, l fully
appreciate what keen diSappoint-
ment it Is to him to have To foreEo
this opportunity of affording the
United States representation in this
years Schneider Cup contest. !. too,
most keenly regret il, for | know
that no time or effort has been spared
by this tireless and Jealous young
naval officer.
I'm previous years, since the United
States has been conteSting for the
Schneider Cup, it has been com
petition between Government effort
on the part of the United States and
the activities of manufacturers of for
eign countries, in some cases partially
backed by government interests. This
year is the first time that an indi-
vidual has undertaken and obtained
private backing for such an entry.
time, has been beaten by time in this
instance. He is now determined. how
ever, to attack time again and, going
back to his original program of re-
capturing for the United States the
greatly coveted world speed record,
will, it Is hoped, bring fresh aeronauti-
cal laufels to this country"
Obstacle in Pontoons.
Lieut.. Williams decision not to go
abroad with his sea plane until he was
satisfied that every part of 1t func-
toned perfectly was made last night
at Fort Washington, where the craft
has been housed in private seaplane
hangar and from which place it has
been making test flights.
According to word received here, the
obstacle between him and Venice was
IN the pontoons. The floats. of the
hollow "" type, had been constructed
by the Naval Aircraft Factory at
Philadelphia from designs submitted
by Harry Booth and Arthur Thurston,
aerona utical engineers, who designed
the Williams racer. When the plane
was launched il was found the pom
| toons had insufficient buoyancy and
| the rcesrve set, nearing completion
! at the factory, was modified with bulk
| floats.
| These were tested and found to
| function perfectly in the water. elm
| mating the trouble with the first set,
which caused sprays of water to shoot
| up into the path of the propeller.
| However, a series of tests in the air
! at high speeds resulted in a nose
| heaviness tendency of the plane. and
research finally traced the cause to
| the bulkheads built on at the last
minute to correct the original error.
Lieut.. Williams, it is learned, would
not. under these conditions, venture
packard "X' 24-cylnder engine on a
, racing course with 360-degree turns.
Decision Is Lauded.
| Insufficient time remained TO re-
| design and build third set of pom
| toons and still get to Venice two
days before the start of the race in
! order tn qualify in the navigability
and seaworthiness trials. Airmen
closely associated with the project
lauded the decision as constituting n
precaution. which. if not taken. might
have resulted in disaster to the pilot
and plane.
Advices received here today indi-
Gated beyond doubt that had Lieut..
| Williams desired, he could have broken
| the maximum speed record for sea
| planes-258 miles an hour--yesterday y
| and in SO doing compiled with the
| Navy's requirements before the Tren-
ton would be placed at his disposal.
| With the decision to remain at home,
however, Lieut.. Williams agreed not
| to take any unnecessary chances and
return to his original project of first
| smashing all existing speed records
for land planes.
While he Is engaged in this task for
the next week or two. new set Of
pontoons, built from funds which viii.
liams collected to foster the private
racing airplane project, will be under
way. After the pilot has flown the
three.kiIometer course and also has
clipped the speed record for 100 kilo.
meters, he will return to the pontoons
and wade into those records with
vengeance.
When the Williams project was
conceived and executed by the pilot
early in 1926. the thought that the
plane would be a candidate for the
Schneider Cup never occurred to any
one. The Government had engaged
in that competition in 1923. 1924,
| 1925 and 1926. but when the Navy
Withdrew from further competition
every one turned to Williams as
Americas hope of bringing the trophy
home permanently.
The trophy now would have been