Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-29
Yellow Bird Forced to Return
as Motor Vibration Rends
Wing Gas Tank.
GREEN FLASH DAMAGED
BY TIP.OVER ON BEACH
American Flyers Break Spoke in
Wheel When Craft Is Jerked
Around by Rough Sand.

BY the Associated Press.
OLD ORCHARD, Me, May %
Transatlantic flights of the monoplanes
Green Flash and Yellow Bird we're def
initely postponed for today after take
off attempts ended in near disaster.
After receiving weather advices which
indicated continued fair weather for
tomorrow, the flyers decided to abandon
a second attempt today. Pilot Roger
Q. Williams of the Green Flash said
an carly start tomorrow would permit
g. full day of daylight.
The American monoplane Green
Flash didn't even get off the beach, one
wheel dropping into soft sand on the
take-off and whirling the ship in a
line and necesSitated through investi-
cation for possible damage due to
strain.
Seam Opens in Fuel Tank.
The French monoplane Yellow Bird
got into the air but a seam in one of
the wing tanks opened and it returned
after Commute struggle to gain
altitude.
How soon the planes could be pre-
pared for second attempt was not i'm
mediately known, but 1t was generally
felt that the take-off had been delayed
at least for several hours and many felt
that in order to get a full day of day.
light flying, at the beginning of the
nlght, the avlators would postpone their
next start until tomorrow.
The American plane was manned by
Roger w. Williams and Lewis A. Yancy.
the French craft by Rene Lefevre, Jean
Assolant and Armeno Lotti.
Green Flash First to Start.
The Green Flash, adhering to sched-
ule, was the first of the two transatlan-
tic planes to move down the beach for
take-off. The two planes started from
point more than a mile down the long
sandy stretch from the hangar, and
observers could not distinguish between
them in the haze both having yellow
wings and the green fuselage of the
Green Flash not being diScernible head
on.
The mishap to the American plane
was not known at the time to have held
up her start. When the Yellow Bird
began to move forward, crowds on the
beach believed the Green Flash had re-
sumed her course. It was not until the
French plane rolled past the hangar
that it was realized it was not the
American monoplane that was getting
away.
The Green Flash was found to have
broken a spoke in the left wheel and
to have loosened other spokes. Will
liams, the pilot, Immediately ordered
new wheel from another Bellanca mon
oplane now on the beach.
Melka Describes Troubles.
Lieut.. L. NJ Melka, pilot of the
Coast Guard plane which accompanied
1n irI coiI !,
began to lose what little altitude they
had gained after the take-off upon
reaching Portland Lightship, miles be-
yond Cape Elizabeth and a dozen miles
from Old Orchard
He said he thought the Yellow Bird
touched the water several times and
he wirelessed call to Coast Guard
vessels for assistance. He quickly
countermanded the order when the
plane dumped fuel and gained altitude.
Armeno Lotti, backer of the Yellow
Bird flight, in statement after his
return, told of his expectations for an
other take-off attempt as soon as the
gasoline tank could be repaired.
Il was forced to come back" he said
because of a leak in the gasoline tank,
the seam of which was parted. I be-
lieve, by the tremendous vibration of
the motor. I had figured my take-off
almost perfectly. thought that I would
just miss the water, but although
struck it, the ship ieaped into the air
as gracefully as I expected it would.
Notes Heavy Consumption"
IT had gained an altitude of 200 feet
and my motor was functioning perfect
ly when I noticed that the gasoline in
dicator was registering a tremendous
consumption, which felt certain was
not being used by the motor.
TO have continued in the face of a