Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-27
TEXANS FACET|OUS
NOTES Barred SPIRIT
Robbins and Kelly Little In
pressed by Own Diary
on Endurance Hop.
BY S. I. EVANS.


Special Dispatch to The Star and the North
American Newspaper Alliance.
FORT WORTH, Tex, May 27.-From
the mechanical routine of railroad shops
and the open life of a Texas cattle
range to international fame in having
established the world flight endurance
record is the story that was dramatical-
ly climaxed yesterday afternoon when
Reg Robbins and Cowboy Jim Kelly in
They landed at 4:05 pm, Fort Worth
time, and were aloft 172 hours and 80
minutes, almost % hours longer than
the Question Mark.
The chief preparation for the flight
was overhauling the ship.
There wasn't any bother about finan-
cial backing. They didn't have any.
1t was Reg's ship and Regs big idea
and that was about all he and his CO.
pilot needed. They made arrangements
for gas and oil and for food. They
flight legal. And then they went up.
They went up to stand the strain of
keeping a ship aloft for at least $50
hours, with the monotonous sound of
the motor beating into their brains.
Kelly Creased Rocker Arms.
They went up to keep alert for days
with only a few hours sleep nightly
snatched in a hammock that rolled
around one like a divers suit, espe-
cially after Kelly nearly broke rib in
falling from the hammock on the floor
in a space three feet square. They
took to the air to run the risk of having
to abandon ship with burned out
motor.
No one has ever proved just how long
q motor might run. They left the
ground, trusting to steady nerve. ex-
pert plotting, and a knowledge of the
ship to save them from crashing in
midair when the tickliSh job of ref1uel
ing was executed and to luck to keep
them from spinning to earth in flames
during the same process.
Kelly took some extra chances, served
up as side dish to the list above. He
had to climb daily out of the cockpit
and make a hazardous journey over
narrow cat walk with only few planks
between him and the checkered green
earth, hundreds of feet below, to grease
the rocker arms. They might have used
been less efficient, but they were going
to stay until they busted something
besides record"
Furthermore, Kelly had wife, a
bride OF six weeks, whom he left down
on the ground when he went up. The
ranks of the longtime married will
now smile broad grin, but Kelly miss
ed that girl. There was love story in
q magazine in the ship, and before the
flight was well underway, Kelly had
read 1t through twice, according to the
testimony Of notes Robbins dropped
down.
Once Robbins wrote, I'm afraid
can't stay up much longer. Kelly has
a parachute and is thinking of his wife.
can't refuel alone"
Little Impressed by Daring.
Many notes in a similar facetious
tone indicated that the flyers were little
impressed with their own daring. They
wrote humorously of the eccentricities
of the hammock, of the temperature in
the clouds and gratefully of the fried
chicken which was lowered to them
daily. One note read:
st am wondering how I can divide
this time up and sell it for passenger
hops, like the farmer sold the old well
for post holes"
Again: "4,400 feet over Dallas, just
foolln' around. Some one from Love
Field just came up to look us over"
After one of Kelly's visits over the
once in a while I think I smell meat
frying. look and Jim will show me
the back of his hand where he hit the
exhaust pipe, which is red hot all the
time"
Admit They Were Tired.
Their confidence in their ability to
break the record was demonstrated
when Cowboy Kelly wrote a note say
ing: will stay up until we break some
thing besides the record"
Eventually notes began to come down
intimating fatigue on the part of the
flyers, but they stuck. At the same time
they admitted they were "a little tired"
They reiterated their determination to
stay up there as long as there was a
revolution left in the engine.
Saturday night they had beaten all
records in the world for sustained
flight, still roaring through the skies to
answer the famous interrogation first
suggested by the Question Mark. One
a mechanic who dreamed of flying
while in the shops of a railroad and
the other a cowboy who watched ships
floating over West Texas plains from
the back of a cow pony-just two
young aviators with a dream and
plenty of grit, and they beat the whole
world.
Copyright, 1929. by North American News
paper Alliance.)
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