Evening star., 1936-05-08
TWO MARKS GOAL
Of HELEN R|CHEY
Midget Plane Lightened for
Altitude Flight Take-0ff
Tomorrow.

IN a midget single-seater airplane
Hghtened by taking out floor boards,
baggage compartment door and shaw
Ing of additional ounces here and
there. Miss Helen Richey, Bureau of
Air Commerce airmarking pilot, will
take off from Washington Airport
tomorrow morning in an effort to es-
tablish two world altitude records for
light airplanes.
She will seek new world record for
airplanes of the fourth category,
weighing less than 200 Kilograms, or
440.9 pounds, and, if successful, will
automatically establish the first fem
mime international record for air.
planes of the category.
In going after the first of these
records she will seek to better the new
world record of 7,940 feet, established
April "a at Langley Field, Va, by
Benjamin King, local sportsman flyer.
King took the record from France. It
was his seventh world record in less
than a year and three days later he
set an eighth mark.
The airplane Miss Richey will fly is
the one used by King for his altitude
mark. 1t was loaned to her by the
record-holder for the attempt to bet
ter his record.
Miss Richey and King left Wash
tngton yesterday afternoon for Lang
ley Field to bring back the little plane
in which the record attempt will be
made. They are expected to return
to Washington today, Miss Richey at
the controls of the altitude ship.
Also Seeks $500 Prize.
Miss Richey also will seek a 5000
prize offered by Maj. E. M. Brown Of
Endless Caverns to the first woman
flyer to complete record fight on
the airport at Newmarket, Va. To
make the flight from Washington to
Endless Caverns Airport and still have
fuel enough for the altitude flight it
became necessary to install a 4-gal-
Ion reserve fuel tank, bringing the
total fuel capacity of the little ship to
IL gallons. With the extra tank the
little plane will weigh 439 pounds.
Depending upon weather conditions
Miss Richey plans to take off about
$50 or 10 am. tomorrow. She chose
to take off from the local field be-
cause it is about 1000 feet below the
elevation of the Endless Caverns field
Under international regulations, alti-
tude records are measured from sea
level, minus the elevation of the take
of point.
fnTs r ir1rr 11n irTI1t of rNr1
greSsional Airport were changed today
to take advantage of difference of
elevation of more than $50 feet be-
tween that point and Washington
Airport. The little plane will be
weighed in by National Aeronautic
Association officials at Congressional
Airport at about 9 am. and will be
flown to Washington Airport, where
the barograph and oxygen apparatus
will be installed. The record flight is
expected to start about 10 o'clock.
To Be Escorted by King.
King will take off in second air
plane of about the same type and will
escort Miss Richey to Newmarket,
climbing slowly on the way. At an
altitude of about 5000 feet above New
market the planes will part company
and King will land, while Miss Richey
begins her climb to the utmost limit of
the little airplane's performance. She
will use the lightweight oxygen ap-
paratus devised for Kings record
flight.
Should Miss Richey succeed in es-
tablishing a new world mark for wom-
en- she will bring to the United States
its fiftieth world record to. SO for
France. At the beginning of the year
the United States and France were
In a nip-and-tuck battle for leader
ship, first one and then the other
forging into the lead.