The Indianapolis times., 1929-05-27
WORLD PRAISE
SHOWERED ON
AIR CHAMPIONS
Robbins and Kelly Enjoying
Rest After Setting New
Endurance Mark.
$4,000 CHEER FLIERS
Split Propeller Ends SKY
Feat; Rain Also Is
Great Handicap.

Bu United ercss
FT. WORTH, Tex, May 81
Their names written in the pages OF
aviation history, Reg Robbins, 26-
year-old self made" fier, and jim
Kelly, %, former cowpuncher, re-
ceived the plaudits Of the world to-
Gay for accomplishing the greatest
aerial endurance excursion in his
tory.
The two men we're forced to end
theri refueling endurance fight
Sunday when the propeller Of their
rebuilt cabin monoplane Ft Worth
split and threatened disaster.
When they brought their plane to
rest on Meacham field, they had
been in the air 172 hours and 81
minutes, nearly twenty-five hours
greater than the former worlds
mark set by the army plane Ques-
tior Mark
Weary, spattered with oil, un-
shaven and deafened by the con-
slant roar of their Wright WhirlWind
motor. Robbins and Kelly had only
regrets that the propeller failed
them. They we're positive they could
have remained a1oft at least 300
hours.
Mob Charges Down
They we're engulfed by cheering
mob of $4,000 persons who gathered
at the field and threatened to crush
them with their enthusiastic ac-
claim. The two young men had
dropped word earlier in the day
that they were expecting to land at 4
o'clock and the news flashed through
Fl Worth.
Early in the afternoon crowd
started gathering on Meacham field,
churned to mud by the rain which
had q great deal to do with the end
ing Of the flight. When the fiers
set their plane down at 4:07. the
mob surged forward, breaking
through police lines to reach the
f1iers
Mrs. Robbins and the 5-year-old
son of the f1ier and Mrs. Kelly, the
ex-coWboy'S bride OF six weeks, were
lifted to the shoulders of men in
the crowd and carried to the plane.
Weeping for joy, the two women
embraced their husbands, Kelly de-
scribing the enthusiastic kisses
from his bride as by far the best
record possible.
Lady Heath Cheers Then
Lady Mary Heath, noted English
aviatrix, was in the foreground in
stocking feet. Her shoes were pulled
off by the mud as she ran to accord
the fiiers welcome. She carried
yreaths which she tossed over the
heads of the two men. Still shooE
less, she accompanied the men on q
parade through town.
Robbins and Kelly were taken in
a police car to their homes, to rest
their weary bodies before Ft.
Worth accorded them banquetS,
dinners and other fonors to acclaim
their feat.
The men went aloft at 1888 a.
m. Sunday. May 19. They droned
around and around Meacham field,
the engine of their plane never tal-
tering in its grind.
Friday an electric storm broke
and the two scared higher, turning
toward Dallas, thirty miles away.
to escape the storm. But the con-
slant beat of the propeller widened
break which started when the
propeller struck q belt buckle and
the added struggle against the RAIN
which started again Saturday night
caused it to swell.
Finally the vibration became so
great as to cause the men to decide
that they would better put an end
to their circling.
Refuelers Are Praised
The refueling crew, K. *. Hoft-
man and H. s. Jones, fed from the
plaudits of the crowd and could not
be located. Kelly and Robbins were
loud in their praise of the two, IN
sisting that they deserved as much
credit as did the men who remained
in air longer than human beings
ever had before.
AS to the Wright whirlWind mo-
tor. the two could not praise 1t high
enough. Telling of their fight, they
constantly interjected comment on
how well the nine-cylindered motor
functioned. The motor had carried
the plane $4,000 miles before the
fight started.
Robbins and Kelly and the re-
fueling crew will receive about
$4,000 to divide as result OF their
flight. The Ft. Worth Chamber OF
Commerce has raised $4,000 for
them and they were offered 500 for
every hour over the old record that