Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-02
CAPT. PAGE FOURTH
I AIR RACE VICTIM
PIungeS to Earth in front of
| Grandstand as 100000
Look On.
BY JOSEPH S: EDGERTON,
stan CORRESPONDENT Of The Star.

Chicago, September 2.--When the piue
and gold racer of Capt. Arthur H. Page,
Marine Corps, Of the National Capital,
plowed into the ground at shutdown
yesterday in roaring dive, the 1880
National Air Races went down into his
tory as the bloodiest in the long series
OF these aviation classics, with crashes,
deaths and II injuries.
Capt Page, known as one of the finest
military pilots in the country, appar-
emily lost control of his plane on the
seventeenth lap of the Thompson
Trophy race and went down struggling
CALAMITY in long curving plunge. 1t
seemed to observers that an aileron
control wire had snapped. He smashed
into the ground at speed of 100 miles
per hour or more, throwing up a great
cloud of earth as from a bursting shell.
The plane made its final plunge di-
rectly in front of the grandstand before
the eyes of 100000 spectators, crashing
on the far side of the field. Page was
alive when dragged from the torn
wreckage. He died few hours later
at an Evanston hospital
When he crashed Page was leading
the field in a brilliant race. His speed
up to the fifteenth lap was 297.95 miles
per hour. He went down in a rebuilt
Curtiss- Hawk Navy fighting plane which
carried him to victory In the CurtiSS
Marine Trophy race at Washington last
June. Page superintendent the REBUILD
ing OF the plane, which was converted
from a blplane to a monoplane, from
a Seaplane to a 1andplaae and from
military plane into a plane fis only for
racing. He had a Curtiss Conqueror
u nlar. wswanp
scoop which pushed up the power to
nearly 800 horsepower, it was reported.
Conducted Blind Flying Study.
Capt. Page has been on duty in the
Navy Bureau Of Aeronautics, for many
months He has been conducting
study in blind flying and recently few
blind from Omaha, Nebr., to Anacostia
Naval Air Station, Washington, to DEM
onstrate the practicability Of blind fly-
ing by airplane instruments and radio
range beaconS.
Last Spring, just prior to the Curtiss
Race Capt. Page made a remarkable
flight from the National Capital to
Nicaragua to deliver a new Marine
Corps tri-motored transport plane and
to ferry back an old ship. He made
the round trip in six days of elapsed
time, getting back just in time to enter
in the Curtiss Race. The Thompson
Trophy Race, for which Capt. Page
built his plane, was the first of series
of 10 annual races held in an effort to
revive speed plane development in the
United States 1t is hoped that the
race in time will come to take the
place of the old Pulitzer Races, which
ranked as one Of the greatest aviation
events.
with Capt. Page out of the way
and Capt. Frank Hawks, picked for q
leading place in the race, but by rea-
son of forced landing on the fourth
lap, Charles w. Speed" Holman Of
Minneapolis flashed across the finish
line in the lead. His speed was 201 81
miles per hour for the 100 miles. He
few Laird biplane powered with q
Pratt a. Whitney Wasp Junior, which
he brought to Chicago just before the
start of the race.
Second place was captured by James
Haislip Of St. Louis In a Travelair
mystery ship with speed OF 1895
miles per hour, and third place by b.
o. Howard, st. Louis airmail pilot, In
a tiny white n1onoplane of his own de-
sign and construction, powered with
90-horsepower Wright Gypsy engine.
His speed was 1923 miles per hour.
Old Record Unbeaten.
Inc 1IlOultoOII IuCC A0hCA W DAAAB -
new American speed record, the 266-
miles-per-hour record, made seven years
ago at Mitchell Field, N. Y, by Lieut..
Afford j. Williams. jr., former Navy
racing and acrobatic pilot, still stand
ing. Lieut.. Williams witnessed the I'M
successful assault on his old record just
after completing one Of the gamest ex-
hibitions of acrobatic flying yet seen at
the show. Handicapped by faulty
fuel pressure system, he flew the plane
with one hand, using the other to main
tain fuel pressure with @ handpump.
Despite the great handicap he put on
a magnificent display Of acrobatic fly
ing. including the famous inverted fall
ing-leaf, which he created at Wash
ington last Spring in his farewell to the
Navy.
Pages crash was almost as spec
tacular as that which cost the life of
Lieut.. Jack p. De Shazo, u. S. N. Last
week Do Shazo dove into the ground up
side down just as he crossed the finish
line in third place in Navy fighting
plane race. His plane burst into flames
as 1t crashed. De Shazo died instantly.
One spectator was fatally injured and
died few minutes later, while IA per-
sons were injured.
Page was approaching the field pylon
directly in front Of the grandstands
when his plane turned of to the left
inside the pylon, wabbling slightly on
the turn. The left wing dropped and
he never Strengthened up, continuing on
IN the curve with the left wing low
until he struck. The fact that the
plane struck on the left wing and land
ing gear Is credited with saving him
from instant death. The wing struc-
tur. and LANDING gear crumpled taking
up the first shock.
Flag COnceaIs Crash.
The great crowds rose in the stands
as Page struck. He hit earth directly
behind United States nag flying in
front of the judges stand, which par
tally concealed the crash from the
view OF the race officials and occupants
of the press stand. There was an i'm
mediate rush of field and staff cars,
motor cycles and field attendants and
spectators across the airport toward the
scene of the crash, which would have
made safe landing impossible had one
OF the remaining contestants been fore
ed down. Fortunately they all contin-
ued with the race, passing almost .di-
rectly over Pages crumpled plane.
Within a minute or two after the
crash, while the last planes still were
flying the course, the sunset gun was
fired, bugler played taps and the
crowds stood with barred heads, many
thought the ceremony was for Page.
Many woman spectators wept openly.
1t is apparent from the races here
that designers and builders of racing
airplanes are following the examples
of the builder of racing automobiles
They are turning to engines of lower
horsepower smaller planes and cleaner
design to achieve greater speed rather
than to sheer brute power and greater
size.
The racing automobile of today is q