Evening star., 1932-08-28

pLdlIcS OA ulS LIlc pdSL year Tie qualify
ing speed for the Thompson has been
raised from ITS to 200 miles per hour
The new Gee Bee built for Boardman
and to be flown by Gehlbach is an en-
largement of Bayles' ship. with a motor
rated at more than 800 horsepower and
speed of better than 300 miles per
hour, according to the engineering fig
ures.
Robert L. Hall, engineer in charge Of
the construction of BayleS' plane last
year, has left the Granville Bros.
builders of the Gee Bee planes, and this
year will be represented at Cleveland
by two planes of his own. He has built
a Thompson plane for which he claims
a speed of around 300 miles per hour"
Russell Thaw, son of Harry K. and
Evelyn NeSbitt Thaw, is to be Halls
pilot. Halls second plane is to be small,
with q 125-horSepower motor, for entry
in races of restricted engine displace-
ment.
Maj. James H. Doolittle, whose plane
for flying in the BendiX and Thompson
races received setback during the week
when the retractable landing gear OF
his rebuilt Laird racer jammed and
forced him to make crash landing"
at Wichita, still Is hopeful of entering
both events.
Doolittle won the Bendix last year
and continued on to New York TO set
the existing transcontinental speed rec
ord of IL hours, Is minutes and 10 sec
onds. The Laird which he damaged at
Wichita was the rebuilt ship in which
he won last years Bendix and In which
he was flying when forced out OF the
Thompson by engine trouble.
First Foreign Entry.
The first international entry In the
Thompson Trophy race Is Lieut.. Jean
Assolant, French transatlantic flyer,
who will fly a ship loaned to him for
the purpose by the French air min
istry.
Jimmy weddell Of New Orleans, whose
racing plane figured prominently In the
National Air Races last year, has oullt
a new racer for this years meet. Two
special planes built under cover at Los
Angeles and one at Richmond, Va, also
are to be uncovered for the speed events
of this years meet.
The Thompson Trophy race Is an
outgroWth Of the S100-mile closed
course race which long has been a Tea
ture of the National Air Races. the
trophy was offered for the first time
in 1880 and the race since that time
has become one of the worlds fore
most air speed events.
Doug Davis of Atlanta, Ga, one OF
the Cord Cup Derby starters from the
National Capital last Sunday, Is the
only surviving winner OF the race now
famous as the Thompson. Davis was
the winner in 1929, with an average
speed of 1874 miles per hour.
Charles W. Speed" Holman, winner
in 1880, with an average OF 201 miles
per hour, was killed a few months
later in a crash at another air meet.
Lowell Bayles, who won last year at
236 miles per hour, died at Detroit In
his assault on the world landplane
speed record. His speed OF 28l.7o
miles per hour in those trials gave
him the official American speed rec
ord, held for seven years by Lieut.
Afford j. Williams, former Navy speed
king. and the unofficial world land
plane speed record. Though he bet
tered Bonnett's mark by two miles
per hour, he failed to meet the inter
national requirements, which call Tor
a speed of at least AS miles per hour
over the existing record as a condluon
for recognition Of a new official record.
Tiny Racer Built.
One Of the smallest planes likely to
be entered in the Thompson is the
q
builder, who already has record
breaking plane to his credit, and 23-
year-old co-holder of the world re-
f1eling endurance record. The builder
is Gordon Israel, st. Louis, who has
been building planes since he was II
wears old and who joined with Benme
Howard, airmail pilot, in building the
tiny white racing plane in which How
ard won five first-place prizes and two
third places in the 1880 National Air
Races. The pilot IS Kenneth Beans
Hunter, youngest OF the four Hunter
brothers of Sparta, III.
In their new plane Israel and Hunter
have concentrated on reducing drag
bv cutting down dimensions to the
limit of safety. The plane has
span of 10 feet, with total wing area
of only As square feet. The fuselage
is 18 feet long and only 81 inches wide.
The cockpit Is so closely tailored" to
Hunters body that he has to wear felt
slippers in place of shoes to get his
feet on the rudder bar. A removable
cover of metal and shatter-proof glass
Is placed on after the pilot Is seated
and is released, in case OF emergency,
by the pulling Of lever.
The power plant is 260-horsepoWer
Manasco, supercharged, which IS ex-
pected to give a speed in excess OF one
mile per hour for each horsepower. The
landing speed is rs miles per hour. Ihe
propeller is a single metal unit, similar
in design to that of the winning British
Schneider Cup plane.
Speed Dashes Scheduled.
The real speed flights Of the meet
probably will be made, not in the Thomp-
son, but in the Straightaway runs which |
- q faafIIrn nf the |
National Air Races. The average speed |
of the Thompson planes IS lowered ma
terially by the necessity of making py-
Ion turns on the four-mile triangular |
course.
On the straightaway, however, there |
will be nothing to prevent their attain
ing their true maximum speed. The
qualifying runs for the Thompson Will |
be made over one-mile straightaWay |
course at the Cleveland airport. Tne
mile straightaway will form portion
of an official three-kilometer stra1gnt-
away. over which pilots qualifying Tor
the Thompson will be encouraged to try |
for a new world record.
Pilots of both Bendix and Thompson |
planes will be invited to try their speed
on the straightaway mile and three
kilometer courses. Though the Thomp-
son planes are expected TO be the cream |
of the Nations racers, the Bendix also |
will bring out some very fast planes.
Maj Alexander de SeverSky is ex-
pected to enter the Bendix with new
al-metal low wing amphibian built for
him at the Edo plant. This ship, it is
claimed, will have a top speed of 290
miles per hour at 10000 feet. the alti-
tude at which De Seversky plans to fly
across the country. Though primarily
an amphibian the ship is convertible
and De Seversky will fly it as land