Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-11
WILLIAMS EXPECTS
TEST TO Be BRIEF
Navy Speed Ace Contem-
plates Only 3-Minute Flight
to Get Feel of Plane.
BY JOSEPH s. EDGERTON.
Aviation Editor OF The Star.

many minutes II the plans OF Lieut..
Afford J. Williams, crack Navy speed
pilot, for the first aerial test Of his
$4,000 Mercury racing plane are
realized.
The initial flight, which was to have
been made today was cancelled abruptly
when Lieut.. williams careful exami-
nation of the trim little racer revealed
what appeared to be twisting Of the
propeller. He ordered the metal blade
removed and had It sent to the Ana
costa Naval Air Station In Washington
to be- checked for pitch.
IL 10 expected that the propeller will
be returned tomorrow afternoon or
early Monday morning. There Is no
plane in America with o propeller like
| the one on Williams ship. The blade,
representing long, careful research, Is
! pitched to an angle of 30 degrees, as
o. finSt pitches of II to Is degrees used
on many commercial planes.
! Plane Built fer Speed.
The propeller and every inch Of the
trim. wicked-!ooking craft, fashioned in
every particular for speed, and speed
! alone, has been the result OF intense
study. The plane Y q scientific battle
ground. Its conf ruction at many
/ points represents pioneering In new
rields and no man can say with any
! degree Of certainty Just what will hap
! pen when the tiny wings lift their load
of roaring, hre-Spitting motor into the
| air.
No airplane wings ever built In Amer
| lea have been called upon to carry the
/ load which will be imposed upon the
| wood and metal span of the Mercury.
| Though but 26I2 feet from tip to tip.
these wings must support a load OF
400 pounds, the weight upon each
! square foot of wing surface, it Is eSti-
mated, aseregating something like 80
! pounds.
The frst night of the plane probably
will be exceedingly brief. Lieut.. Will
| liams. it Is expected, will barely lift
/ the ship of the water and get It up 10
! good flying speed before he will land
/ again. The flight Is expected 10 be
! straiehtaway and close to the surface
! Of the water.
Flight TO Be Short.
The night may be over within three
minutes. They will be among the most
| crowded minutes Lieut.. williams has
! ever lived, however.
There isn't much time TO think when
| you are In q plane going rs fast IS l
hope this one will" lieut.. Williams
! said I'll probably In the air only
! two or three ~ - es the first time,
! then I sha" = and give myself time
| TO thin ~ the impressions l gained.
| happen too quickly"
! Though williams Is one Of the fore
most speed pilots this country has pro-
! duced, he has little to guide him in
handling the new plane. No pilot IN
I the country has flown anything like II,
! and he must work out his problems
! alone
| He has no way OF knowing how the
| plane will handle in the air or how
fast its racing propeller and HOO
horsepower motor will pull 1t through
more than 3l8 miles per hour or the
plane will not be entered In the
Schneider races. Though the last
Schneider race, held in 1927, was won
for Great Britain by Flight Lieut.. 8. n.
| webster. with o speed of 26l.7 miles
per hour Lieut.. DARCY GreiE later
pushed the same plane up to the
present world record speed Of 3lS miles
per hour over a measured course.
II the frst trial hop Of Lieut..
! williams plane Ia succession, one or two
| more experimental hops may be made
/ before he puts It over q speed trial
! course which has been laid out by the
Navy just of Kent Island, near the
Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay OPP
| poSite the mouth Of the Severn River.
Fate Depends en- Trials.
Upon the results of the speed trials.
, over A three kilometer course will rest
! the fate Of the plane. II the present
/ speed record Is not exceeded substan-
| tally, Lieut.. williams has stated. the
/ plane will not be entered In the
! Schneider races. II the automatic
! timing devices show that the plane is
capable of passing the record easily
! Lieut.. williams will take 1t to England
immediately to prepare for the coming
! contests at Cowes, Isle OF wight
| September 6 and Z.
Participation In a world speed classic
! will be no novelty for williams. He Is
| among the best OF the worlds recog-
! nized racing pilots. He was member
/ of the Navy racing teams in 1922. 1928
| and 1924 and was winner OF the
! Pulitzer speed trophy at st. Louis In
/ 1928. His record of 1865 miles per
| hour over q straisht-away course that
| year still stands as the official American
| speed record.
In the coming Schneider contest. how.
ever. williams will be facing the keenest
competition he has known. with MS
plane. largely Of his own design. he VIII
stage a one-man race against the gov.
! eminent trained teams OF three nations.
Great Britain, France and Italy have
| thrown the full resources OF their gov
ernments behind their racing teams
Williams has h 1 the sympathy OF ms
own government but that Is ABOUT All.
! His plane was financed and built by
small sroup Of private citizens and ne
! is to Nv, II at all. not as an ohlcer OF
! the United States Navy but as private
American citizen.
Britain's Plans Elaborate.
Great Britain has made long and
elaborate preparations to defend its
title. Not one but number of planes
have been built, each q little better
than the last. England will not depend
unon one pilot or one plane. A team
of picked flyers has been undergoing
! intensive training in racing planes.
| working up gradually to greater and
greater speeds as faster ships have been
produced.
The French and italian teams have
been going through much the same
! AGAINST them will be pitted q great
! American pilot and an as yet untried
plane.
| This years Schneider race will be the
tenth since the classic was established
In 1918. The contest now Is biennial
event and the next race IL not to be
| held until 1881.
The race has been won twice by the
limited States--in 1923 and 1928. In
| Io93 the first time the United States
entered the contest, Lieut.. David Kit-
tenhouse q. S. NJ, won in Curtiss
racer with q speed Of 177.3s miles per
hour. It was q victory without oppo-
sition, the only other contender being
q fellow Navy pilot. italy furnished no