Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-05
Hunter Brothers Left With
No Alternative But to
Return to Earth.
NEW RECORD PASSES OLD
BY FIVE AND HALF DAYS
Crowd and Ground Aides Surprised
by Sudden Termination
of Long Test.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
CHICAGO, July 5.-The longest sus-
tanned airplane flight in the worlds
history has ended.
The finish came at 5:21:3O Central
standard time) last night. John and
Kenneth Hunter, who rose from the
plough to the plane, landed in the
Fourth Of July twilight at Sky Harbor
airport with a world refueling en-
durancs record of $50 hours, Al minutes
and IS seconds blazoned on the wings
OF their City Of Chicago.
The end was as unexpected as the
beginning % days ago was inauspicious.
A clogged hitter stopped the oil how,
the motor was scared from lack of
Iuorication, a hurried landing was made
and the old record of 42o:21:30 was
lett l53 hours and 20 minutes behind.
OIL Screen Was CIOgged.
Just what happened to the City Of
Chicago's motor was explained today by
motor experts.
The oil screen had clogged," said
one. Department OF Commerce recIlla-
lions require that this screen be taken
out ano thoroughly cleaned every 20
hours. This, of course, had not been
zone. It's only cleaning had been done
with the end OF q knife.
yesterday 1t became obvious that
the screen had to be taken out and
cleaned, which meant, of course. that
the oil would squirt out under 80 pounds
pressure. In preliminary tests John and
kenneth Hunter had shown us that
tney could do this with the motor run
nlng by going up high and shutting
down the motor, letting the plane slou,i1
lose altitude. But when Kenneth tried
1t they did not have enough altitude
and the oil spurted out so fast when
ne took out the screen that there was
notnlng TO do but land. They were so
low they could not throttle down the
motor without crashing"
Honoay thousands who had jammed
/ the airport since early day fioundered
IN the suddenness of the descent.
They had just seen the endurance
ship succored by the Big Ben, the pro-
Ylding plane manned by Albert and
Waiter Hunter, two more of the
brothers, who learned to nv in the
pastures OF their farm home at Sparta,
| III. 90 ''''
Crowd Couldn't See.
Thousands thought the City of Chi
cago was set for another night Of
monotony They could not see the oil
squirting back onto the flyers instead
OF flowing into the overheated motor.
They did not know the Hunter brothers
could do naught but end thar more
than three weeks OF uninterrupted
! flight.
So many planes pock-marked the air
that the blue monoplane City of Chi
cago sped to within 100 feet of the
ground before it was noticed. Then
! came the spontaneous combustion of
human enthusiasm.
The mob milled to the center of the
| held, ignoring the death sweep of the
planes propeller John Hunter, at the
controls, outwitted the pack, TAXED to
the far southwest corner of the field
back-tracked his trail twice, pivoted and
then skirted the north Of the field into
the hangar.
But the pack was near its quarry.
| Police and airport officials were help-
less, and the Spartans OF the air were
besieged in the hangar. officials OF the
National Aeronautical Association man
aged to muscle in and grab the baro-
graph. Protection for the plane was
| hnally established, and a souvenir hunt-
erS were denied even a Speck of the oil
that splotched the fuselage and wings.
The world soon knew Of the descent,
Continued on Page 8, Column IL