The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-05-27
STAYS AL0FT SEVEN
AND A HALF DAYS;
PROPELLER SPLITS
Ex.Cowboy and Railroad Ne.
!
chanic Forced Down After
Buckle Chips Propeller
BOTH PRAISE EACH OTHER
Make Perfect Landing as Huge
Crowd Breaks Police Lines
to Greet Flyers
BOTH PRAISE EACH OTHER

Fort Worth, Tex. May T.-tR'-
Having added almost q full day 70
the worlds endurance flight record.
r. L. Robbins. and James Kelly
eschcwed the admiration Of the ma
ton and slept today while experts
made q careful examination OF their
single motored monoplane Fort
Worth which they brought to earth
yesterday after soaring almost sew
en- and one-half days.
The two pilots, one an cx-cowooy.
the other q former railroad mechanic.
kept the Fort Worth aloft in good
and bad weather for 172 hours 81
minutes and one second. The record
beats the mark Of $50 hours. 40 min
utes and IS seconds made by the
army monoplanc question Mark" ny
Fl hours, 81 minutes and IS SECONDS.
The army plane had three motors, q
crew Of five men and an expert
ground crew.
Robbins has had six years expert
ence as q flyer. but Kelly came OIL
the range only q year and hall ago.
Divide Credit for Success
The two flyers divided credit Tor
the success Of their flight. Kelly
pointed out that Robbins ability TO
ret the most out of the motor. With
out straining it was largely rcspon-
sible for its performance. Robbins
attributed q large share of their sue
cess to the intrepedity Of Kelly. who
frequently crawled all around Inc
hood Of the plane to grease the valve
rock1r arnas. The Question Mark was
brought to eartlhby valve trouble.
It was on ono Of these trips 10
grease the valve that Kelly had an
a26cldent which eventually forced the
plane down. A loose buckle on his
safety belt nicked both blades OF the
propeller during Saturday nights
transforms. Moisture penetrated the
scar on the blades and caused the
propeller to swell and split.
Propeller Vibrates Badly
Shortly after noon yesterday the
pilots dropped q note saying the pro-
peller was vibrating badly and that
they would have to descend soon.
They kept the plane in the air, how
ever, until q moment after 4:O5 p. m.
They decided that the risk Of the
propeller flying to pieces and per-
haps causing them to crash was too
great. Robbins made perfect land
ing.
The plane had scarcely touched the
ground before the enthusiastic crowd,
sloshing through mud was upon It.
A fence. q Gordon Of police and spe-
cial guard around the plane wilted
before the rush.
Mrs. Robbins and Mrs. Kelly. a
bride Of q few weeks, were carried to
the plane over the heads Of the crowd.
Police and volunteers fought the
crowd back inch by inch as the plane
was brought up to the line. The
jam in front Of It was SO tight that
many daintily sl1od women lost their
shoes. and went home with their hose
ana dresses covered with mud.
Flyers Grin for Cameras
The flyers were slightly deaf and
contented themselves for the most
part with grinning happily at the
news reel cameras and the crowd.
Each Of the pilots won . total
Of $l,lOO from several air transport
companies and purse Of $4,000 IS
being raised for them by the Fort
Worth association Of commerce.
Tomorrow they will attend a ban.
quet given in their honor by 1000 lo-
cal citizens. The plane used 1910
gallons Of gasoline on the flight and
It is conservatively estimated that It
Travelled more than 10000 miles.