Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-01

mat the observer unhurt went back to
Che tail.
"A change in the stabilizer will make it all
right I think" he said.
And another Job was finished.
AL WILLIAMS stays at any Job be Is as
signed or to which he assigns himself until
1t is done. He worked for three years on
the Mercury his racing plane though that
was not the beginning Of his high-speed work.
He was member of the Navy racing team in
1922 1923 and 1924 He won the Pulitzer
Trophy race at st. Louis in 1928 and later
made a speed record of 266.59 miles an hour
at Mitchell Field. Since then he has unof-
6cially exceeded that speed. going high
rs 800 or more.
In the speed flights at Mitchell Field he
tived from an altitude of 5000 feet with wide
open throttle before crossing the starting line.
and he is believed to have attained speed
of more than 325 miles an hour in the dive.
Williams is also famous for his unusual aero
battles, including inverted climbs and outside
loops, both common and inverted. He has
devised one maneuver called the vertical IS"
which can be used ii aerial combat to escape
from pilot close behind.
But racing is his primary interest. He super
intended the planning and construction of his
$l75,000 racer, meanwhile keeping himself in
flying trim on the Nays fastest pursuit ships.
He believed it to be the fastest ship built
though he never made claim for its exact
speed. Reports from England that the new
planes there are attaining $50 miles an hour
did not disturb him, and some reports said
that his plane was capable Of making $50,
perhaps more.
Williams is deadly serious about high-speed
racing
"Straight-away flying at 300 miles an hour
Or more is not hard On a ship or pilot" he
recently said. "A pilot could stand 500 miles
an hour straight ahead without difficulty,
though no plane can even approach that now
But taking of. landing. and turning in racing
planes must be done with utmost care.
The Mercury was designed to take off be-
tween ITO and 100 miles an hour. That means
it must be headed exactly into the wind the
water cannot be rough, and there cannot be
even the smallest obstacles, such as drifting
bits Of wood. Not until it reaches 110-good
flying speed for most planes-will it leave the
water. Once it is off, everything happens
almost too fast for thinking.
When the ship finally gets to its full flying
speed, 1t trembleS like live thing The slight
est touch of the controls is enough to direct
1t, and it is hard not to overcontrol.
St'T>HE pilot has to be fastened in very tightly,
for at such speeds the slightest bump
or air current will feel like terrible jar. In
stead Of rising and falling with the currents
as ordinary planes do. the racer cuts through
them in flash, but In that instant it feels as
though the plane has been hit rapidly with a
sledge. If the pilot were not fastened tight
he would find his back and shoulders black
and blue from being tossed around in the cock
pit. He might easily lose control too. There
are other things which a racing pilot instinc-
lively remembers. One is not to let himself
get out in the wind blast. Were he to put
Asr 1t
probably would get his arm or neck broken: