Imperial Valley press., 1927-05-09
NO WORD
YET FROM
AV|AT0RS
Squadron Leaves N. Y.
to Seek Frenchmen Who
Left Paris Sunday.
WEATHER is BAD
Unofficial Report Plane
Seen Off Coast of New
Hampshire.
BY M. D. TRACY
Omitted Press Staff Correspondent

NEW YORK, May 9.-The first
expedition to. search for Captains
Charles Nungesser and Francois
Coli, attempting to fly from Paris
to New York, was organized this
afternoon when at 4:l9 p. m., the
4Oth hour had passed without the
aviators being sighted.
Three planes of the eth Division
Air Service, National Guard, tuned
up to take off from Miller Field,
Staten Island, New York, and search
the Long Island shores as far north
perhaps as Boston for the aviators.
Meanwhile the navy department
at Washington received a message
from the Portsmouth, n. H., naval
base stating that the French plane
had passed over the Isle of Shoals,
about 225 miles from New York,
at 1908 p. m. eastern standard time.
Another squadron of planes left
Boston shortly after p. m. to
search for the two French pilots.
The nine planes from Boston
were forced to return to their home
port within 80 minutes after the
takeoff owing to low visibility.
Few more picturesque persons fly
than Nungesser and Coli. Nunges-
ser, famous as one of Frances
heroes of the war, was wounded
score of times, has undergone 81 sur
gical operations and part of his
skull is an aluminium plate, put in
by surgeons to cover a fracture.
Coli, whose glory in the war was
only slightly less than that of
Nungesser, has but one eye and he
wears black monacle to cover the
eye socket.
Nungesser is 35 years old and Coli
45. They are much alike in tenn
permanent, silent and under stress
not excitable. The calm manner in
which they took off, with a laconic
goodbye to their friends and then
10 miles out dropping the landing
gear of their plane, the only means
they would have of alighting on
land should they reach North
America, was typical of them.
The two men sit almost side by
side in the plane. Nungesser is the
pilot. He sits atyfhis controls
little forward of the position of
Coli s seat. He cannot change his
position. Coli is the navigator and
he can move and work at his in.
struments with little more free
dom than Nungesser.
Neither could get at the engines.
except by miracle, as gasoline
tanks rest between the pilots com.
partment and the motor.
They carry an emergency supply
of concentrated food, hot coffee,
wine and stimulants, including a
preparation designed to prevent
them falling asleep.
The plane is a Levasseur Biplanr,
painted white. On the fuselage is
painted in black and white the skull
and cross bones under q coffin,
thanked bv two candles, which was
the grim insignia of Nungesser's
squadron of aviators during the
war. The French tri color also
adorns the plane.
power but in an emergency and II
in good order, could develop 521
horsepower. it was found in tests.
The normal average speed is 100
miles per hour but 115 can be reach.
ed with favorable winds and other
The plane is known ~ the Marine .
type, in that its body is so built
that it is water proof and could
ride moderate sea for short
time, depending upon weather con-
ditions, without danger to those
aboard. 1t can land on water bnt,
because 1t carries no pontoons, can,
not take off excepting from land
with a landing gear which was
dropped when the flight started
The flight is made without anv
protective patrol other than the
courtesy patrol afforded bv, govern.
ment and private shipping light
house and radio stations,