Evening star., 1931-12-20


who proves best his ability to get {
the one with whom they would m
If we should combine all these quail
ties and attempt to find the one man
who rates highest. who should we have?
Would he be an American? The Eng
lishman probably would not think So
In fact, c. G. Grey, one Of the eminent
British aviation authorities, has Sc
lected as his example Of the worlds best
pilot Squadron Leader the Honorable
H. j. L. Hinkler, A. F. c., D. S. M, r.
A. A F., better known to the world as
Bert Hinkler, hero of many out
standing aerial exploits. The French
and the Italians probably would have
their own candidates.
In America the mind turns to such
men as Lindbergh, Doolittle, Williams
and Hawks. Some might want to in
clude Wiley Post or some one of the
veterans who have been pushing mail
and transport planes around without
mishap for thousands of hours.
Lndbergh certainly is the world S
most publici2ed pilot. though that, of
course, is no criterion of pure plotting
ability Doolittle is regarded by many
as one of the most versatile and COM
pletely developed all-around aerial
geniuses the world has seen. "Ar' Will
liams has achieved his fame chiefly as
an acrobatic and speed flyer, but in
these fields he has built up a reputa :
ton which cannot be ignored. Hawks
has gained his share of world fame.
Four Splendid Pilots.
All four are unquestionably splendid
flyers. All of them are highly rated as
acrobatic pilots, Doolittle and Williams
ranking among the worlds finest in this
respect, with Lindbergh and Hawks
trailing not far behind. Doolittle and
Williams are Schneider Trophy racers
and Hawks and Lindbergh have held
their share of cross country speed rec
ords
Llndbergh, Doolittle and Hawks are
good navigators, though when it comes
to aerial navigation such men as
Lieut. Albert F. Hegenberger, Harold
Gatty and Lieut.. Comdr. P. v. H.
Weems stand head and shoulders above
them Doolittle is the only pilot who
has succeeded in taking off, flying a
course, returning and landing absolute
ly "blnd'-that is, without being able
to see out of the cockpit of his plane.
Llndbergh, Doolittle and Hawks, and
to lesser extent Williams, have dem
onstrated their skill not only in America
but also abroad and have won undis-
puted laurels in competition with the
worlds best Doolittle, Hawks and
Llndbergh all have held the transcon-
tlnental speed record; Williams for
seven years held the American speed
record, which he lost only within the
past three months to Lowell Bayles
kill, d a few days ago while attempting
to let new official world landplane
speed record
While Lindbergh Is most Justly famed
Tor his many long flights, he also is a
most versatile pilot He flies all tvpes
of planes and flies them all well. He
Is a reasonably good acrobatic pilot
though better are to be found. He had
TO be a good navigator to do as well
on his many trips as he has done. He
was Known as good airrnail pilot be-
1ore ne became famous. despite the fact
that he lost four planes.
Doolittle's Record.
Doolittle is a splendid all-round pilot
and has had one of the worlds most
consistently brilliant aviation careers.
He is known as the finest pilot the
Army Air Corps has produced He has
peen Schneider racer, a magnificent
Test pilot, one of the worlds foremost
acrobatic pilots, and, withal, no small
ngure In aeronautical research.
Doohttle, In Prince of Wales role, -
VISITED South America some years ago
when competition between American
and European manufacturers was at its
height and by his splendid work turned
the tide toward American planes. His
exploits there included a flight across
tne Andes with both legs in plaster
casts at crucial moment in the cam
paign Last year he "barnstormed''
Europe to demonstrate American mill
tary aircraft and, with Lindbergh and
Ha"kS, formed a trio which has done
more to impress American aviation on
european minds than any DEVELOPMENTS
SINCE the days OF the Wright brothers
first flights.
Winner of the Schneider trophy race
IN 1926, Doolittle lately has again turned
ms attention to speed, capturing the
transcontinental speed record and link
ing the capitals of Canada, the United
states and Mexico between dawn-glov
and dark. eo"
Hawks has gained most of his fame
In his fast little Mystery S." the ship
In which he set record after record in
America and in which he astounded all
OF Europe last Summer. He also is one
OF the countryS outstanding glider
pilots and is an unusually skillful aero
batic flyer. Like Lindbergh and Doc
little, he is navigator of no mean IT.
tainments
Williams, alone of the four, has done
no commercial flying He did all of his
ny1ng in the Navy until his resigna-
tlon last year. He took brilliant part
in series Of Schneider and Pulitzer
speed races, and has been regarded as
the king of American speed pilots. He
Is understood to have been selected as
the pilot who will carry the American
speed banner for the Mobiles of the Mys-
tic Shrine in their S16.000,000 cam
paign to put America first in the skies
In point Of speed. He ranked as the
Nays foremost acrobatic pilot and was
the star of many an aviation meet, find
ing in Doolittle his only real COM
petitor.
Other Noted Americans.
There are many other American pilots
who can qualify as really great flyers.
The late Charles w. Speed" Holman
and Freddie Lund, also killed in an
aviation meet. were among them.
Hinkler's attainments qualify him
above all others for recognition as the
worlds greatest pilot, in the opinion Of
Mfr, Grey, After stating that he ad-
-yaapces his claim for Hinkler's exalted
title without hesitation" Grey adds
"And am fairly sure that If you ask
the same question of the man WI Is,
according to your ideas, the world o best
pilot, he will agree that Bert Hinkler
can beat him on more points than he
can beat Hinkler."
Hinkler, 1t was pointed out, not only
Is an amazingly good pilot, as has been
demonstrated on his many long flights,
dncluding a solo crossing of the South
Atlantic, but he also is famed as a me-
chanic, inventor of airplane equipment,
navigator and combat pilot. He Is an
able test pilot and has flown all tpyes
OF ships, from Schneider Cup racers to
big transports.
Hinkler's achievements In the air in
clude the first nonstop flight from New
York to Kingston, Jamaica, distance
OF 1900 miles; the first west-to-east
South Atlantic crossing, from Natal,
Brazil, to Bathurst, Gambia, distance
of 1000 miles, and other long flights be-
tween British possessions