Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-12

"OME OF the WoIlQ ulOSI AanAouS
racing pilots, including one
Schneider winner and another
~ who has travelled faster than any
other man, save one, have been
assigned to the National Air Races IN
Cleveland August 20 to September 4.
Three foreign nations 80 far have ON
cially accepted invitations to particle
pate in the annual classic, and four
others are expected to send their crack
pilots to compete against Americas
finest.
wiley Post and Harold Gatty, whose
race around the globe in less than nine
days makes them ranking figures in
aviation's hall Of fame, have assured
officials that they will be in Cleveland
to participate actively in the races.
Post won the Los Angeles Chicago nom
stop race in connection with the Ma
tional Air Races last year in the Winnie
Mae, the plane in which he circled the
globe.
The three nations which have &C
cepted invitations to participate In the
slovakia. They accepted at the request
of Lieut. Afford j. Williams, jr., former
Navy acrobatic and racing star, who Is
organizing q foreign team to appear at
Cleveland, as he did for the Chicago
races last year.
williams has yet to visit Germany,
France, Spain and Poland, but all four
are expected to accept his invitations,
backed as they are by the official invi-
tations Of the air race officials and
Gov. George White of Ohio, an avia-
ton enthusiast Of no small caliber.
Comdr. Mario de Bernardo, who won
the 1926 Schneider Cup race for Italy
at Hampton Roads, Va, has been desig-
mated by Gen. Italo Balbo, Italian
minister Of aviation, to represent Italy.
In the 1926 contest de Bernardo estab-
lished an average OF 258.873 miles per
hour. Two years later he created a new
world speed record of 318.57 miles per
hour.
Britain's representative is to be
Flight Comdr. Richard L. R. Atcher-
ley, who achieved a speed OF more than
1872 miles per hour as a member OF the
victorious 1929 Schneider team. Only
one man in the world has Travelled
faster. Atcherley represented England
at Chicago last year and, while he did
not have a racing plane put up mas
terly exhibition Of acrobatics each day
of the meet 1t is rumored that he is
to bring over remodeled Schneider
racer for the Cleveland classic.
II Atcherley brings his racer, he will
be entered in the Charles E. Thompson
Trophy race, this country'S outstanding
speed event. A speed OF IT'S miles per
hour will be necessary to qualify for the
Thompson, which was won last year
with a speed Of pol miles per hour,
and 1t Is expected that the winner this
year will have to pass the 240-mile-
per-hour mark.
One Thousand Planes.
Completion of the Nays five-year
aircraft procurement program finds the
aerial fleet with a strength of approx
mately 1000 planes on hand. 1t is viz
tually impossible for any one to say
just how many planes the Navy has
for combat service in case of emer-
gency. The number fluctuates from
day to day as planes are laid up for
routine overhauls or for other reasons.
It Is estimated that more than 10 per
cent of the 1000 planes always are I'M
dergoing overhaul. reducing the number
of daily electives to something less
than 900.
The Navy tables at the beginning Of
the fiscal year showed zoos airplanes,
Of which several-obsolete- then
stricken from the list, reducing the to-