Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-06
23-DAY FLYERS GET
ROLES IN THEATER
Pilots Of Endurance Plane
/ WrestIe With Managers
and Admirers.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
CHICAGO, July 5.-Their aerial la
bors ended after $50 hours 41l2 minutes
of continuous flying to world record,
the brothers Hunter pried sticky eyelids
apart today to face the trial of I'M
accustomed roles
Contentious managers-six of them
public adulation and the inSistent solic-
ttation Of professional exploiters COM
bined to make their return to earth as
narrowing as the three weeks they spent
in the air over Sky Harbor Airport.
The two brothers, John and Ken
meth, who piloted the City of Chicago
to a new world record by margin Of
1873 hours over that of the st. Louis
Robin, arose at IL o'clock after 10 hours
OF sleep, breakfasted and, with the
other Hunters brothers, Walter and AL
bert, switched managers for the fifth
time.
Rushed to Theater.
All four were then rushed to a Loop
theater with their sister Irene, to begin
vaudeville appearances. Their plans fol-
lowing the next week in the theater
were indefinite. They said they would
be unable to attend a celebration plan
ned for them Monday in their home
town, Sparta, Ill.
The end of the Hunter boys epic
flight came at sara pm. &C. S. To,
the Fourth of July, owing to clogging
of an oil filter and a leak in the oil
gauge line. This defect caused hot oil
to squirt over the flyers and indicated
quick failure of the Steel-hearted en-
CINE that had carried them for weary
days without faltering.
So the Illinois aviators, who had
spent many days of their lives like
moles in mines to earn the plane with
which they Shamed the flying power of
birds, settled to earth as the motor be-
gan to heat for lack of oil. There was
not only no panic in the landing, but
even strategy. as John Hunter at the
controls TAXED about the crowded field
to avoid the people and even drove
the grimy plane right into its hangar.
Crowd Pushed Back.
Caught on the shoulders of admiring
friends, the aviators were taken to a
secluded room for pictures and inter-
views after the invading crowd had
been pushed back enough to release the
fatigued but happy flyers from the
plane. Then after the first real bath
in % days and clean clothes to replace
the oil spattered overalls. the pilots and
their brothers. sister Irene and the
mother were taken to town.
Tired enough to sleep standing. the
flyers were forced to sit through a severe
series of dinner speeches, probably more
horrid to their tired ears than the
drome of the endurance motor But
eventually they were let go to bed at
midnight. They had been back to
earth after a longer flight than was
ever made, but to make them feel more
at home, the Hunters were lodged in
bungalow apartment 800 feet above the
street atop hotel suite once occupied
by President Coolidge.
Sleep Is Swell.
And, how they slept! They had been
able to snatch short maps in the plane,
sometimes fairly long rests, but there
was always tension, frequently sudden
awakening by the other brother to help
with refueling, even to crawl out on the
nose of the ship close behind the hot,
throbbing engine to adjust some mocha
nism. Kenneth once had crawled to the
end of the fuselage to detach paper and
string that had clogged the rudder and
elevators.
So today was different as they left
the limelight of endurance flyers to
struggle with contending managers, as
piring bookers, advertisers, and even to
arrange TO answer a suit for holding up
their earnings of some COO for the
flight.
TT was easier someways up in the
air" said John.