Douglas daily dispatch., 1927-08-17
(Continued fyom Page onel

SUdIJlIlg OH OF the elgnC plail6S LIE
| thousands of spectators gaSped, stood
mute in suspense of anticipation and
then either cheered wildly or shouted
excitedly as the intrepid airnen either
succeeded or failed in their race to
take the air from the 7000-foot run
way.
OF the four planes reported wing
ing their way toward the islands to-
night the Miss Doran, carrying its
namesake, Miss Mildred Doran, the
| Flying School Teacher" of Flint
Mich, was among those up only
after it had been forced by motor
trouble to return to the airport a
short time after its initial start. Re-
placement of spark plugs and other
!, hastily applied repairs delayed the
plane over an hour. The flying school
teacher and her pilot, John "Auggy'
Pedlar, and navigator, Lieut.. Villas r.
Knope, climbed into their seats and
took the air safely
The other three planes "in the
running" were blessed with the good
] luck of an uneventful take-off. They
were the Golden Eagle, piloted by Jack
/ Frost of Los Angeles and navigated by
Gordon Scott, Los Angeles; The Aloha,
piloted by Martin Jensen, the only
Honolulu entrant, navigated by Paul
Schulter of San Francisco; and the
! Woolaroc, with Art Goebel of Holly
wood, Calf, at the stick and William
Davis, San Diego naval air officer,
navigating.
The two planes that were sent crash
I! ing to earth because their wings would
not lift the heavy ballast of gasoline
were the Ell Canto, the home built
monoplane of Lieut.. Norman A. God
dard of San Diego, navigated by
Lieut. K. G. Hawkins of San Diego,
and the Pacific Flyer, the little orange
| and black monoplane piloted and navi-
gated by Major Livingston Irving OF
Berkley, Calf
The fact that those three men es-
capped death was considered miracul-
Gus by those who witnessed the acct-
dents.
Two planes that were forced to re-
turn late today had not taken the air
They were the Dallas Spirit, entered
and piloted by Captain William Erwin
| Of Dallas, Texas, and navigated by
Alvin EichWaldt of Alameda, Calf,
and the Oklahoma, the first starter,
piloted by Bennett Griffin and navi-
gated by AL Henley. The Miss Doran
made safe second getway after a
delay of ever an hour.
The Dallas Spirit took off beauti-
! fully and flew as far as the Golden
Gate, but was forced to return to the
4 field by mechanical trouble and the
ahoma came back shortly after its
take-off and after circling about the
| field few times to be sure that the
runway was clear it landed safely
Neither the pilot nor navigator would
say why they had returned but me-
chanics were tailed into action to
make some repairs.
The City of Peoria, later renamed
the Air King, was disqualified as q
4 starter in the race after the flight
committee ruled that there was not
enough gasoline capacity to assure the
pilot, c. w. ParkhurSt and navigator
Ralph Loves, safe arrival at the
| islands.
Work was being rushed late today
on the badly ripped Dallas Spirit where
| the cloth was blown from the frame
work shortly after it started. Erwin
assured his friends at the airport thai
he would make another flight attempt
despite the fact tNat he was handi-
capped by the return here.
| Little was said about the Oklahoma
Men we're working on the ship ane
questioners could only surmise by the
intensity of their efforts that the
eastern plane would not abondon the
race.
The two crashes were spectacular
and, strangely, devoid of fire. Elab-
crate preparations had been made by
the field officials to handle gaso-
line fire for it was believed that ii
plane crashed in the take-off it stooc
little chance of escaping being burned
The Ell Encanto failed to lift before
lit arrived at the end of the runway
The plane SWerved off to the right ane
striking rough "nosed over" buryine
I the lower part of the motor in the
ground. The left wing of the plane
4 was completely demolished and the
fuiSelage torn LieutenantS Goddard
! and Hawkins climbed from theil
cabins uninjured, excepting for slight
tscratch on the navigator's nose where
he had bumped it against his radio
SET
! The mishap tc Irving's plane came
on the second take-off attempt. or
the first try the solo flyer failed te
take the air as he neared the end o1
the runway but he succeeded in bring
ing the plane to halt in marsf
lands without damage. =
lie was towed back to the starting
line to await his place at the end OF
the line OF starters III accordance with
the rules agreed to by the flight COM
mittee and pilots.
/ Again he roared down the runway
The. plane lifted few feet from the
ground but could not gain altitude. Il
was more a long hop than a rise
/ When it struck the ground it tippeo
and the right wing was 6rumpled
against the ground. Irvings wife was
among the first to greet the uninjur-
ed flyer us he climber down from the
cockpit. With tears in her eyes she
caressed him and tried to cheer him
in the face of blasted ambition to bt
the first solo flyer to the islands.
The crowds were keenly interested
in Miss Doran after she and her COM