Evening star., 1947-08-31
Mantz Smashes
Own As Record
BendixV Victory
Averages 460 MPH;
Another Hollywood
Man Close Second
Bv the Associ,fsd Press

CLEVELAND, Aug. 3U.-Paul
Mantz of Hollywood, Calf,
flashed his Psi Mustang over
rain-sodden Cleveland airport
today one minute and 18 sec
onds ahead of another Holly
wood psi pilot to win the $10,-
600 first prize in the Bendix
trophy race. 1t was his second
victory In as many years. He
broke his own 1946 record by av-
eraging 460.423 miles an hour.
Joe De Bona, a Hollywood real
estate man sponsorad fhy Movie Act
or Jimmie Stewart and Producer
Robert Riskin, averaged only %
miles an hour under Mantz in cop
ping the $4,50O second prize.
Their times for the 2,050-mile hop
which started early today at Van
Nuys, Calf, we're: MantZ, four
hours, rs minutes and 81 seconds;
De Bona, four hours, 28 min
utes and Is seconds, for 1882
m.p.h. average.
Lunken Wins Third Place.
Edmund P. "Ebby" Lunken, 35-
year-old Cincinnatian, also flying
a North American Psi Mustang,
came in third to earn $4,000. His
elapsed time was four hours, So
minutes and 43 seconds, an average
of ALA miles.
Six other f1iers followed before
the 6 pm. deadline, but three of
the starters got only part way be-
fore various troubles forced them
to drop out. None of the three was
injured.
James c. Ruble of Houston, Tex,
plotting the P-38 Flying Shamrock
on which Owner Glenn Mccarthy,
Houston oil man, had bet $4,000
against Mantz, was reported here
to have bailed out on an Indian
reservation 100 miles north of King
man and Flagstaff, Ariz., when his
left engine caught fire. He suffered
only scratches in landing and was
picked up by an Indian on horse.
The crash occurred at 1872 am.
(E. S. T), and the plane was de-
molished, according to representa-
tive for his sponsor.
Compass Diverts plane
Miss Dianna G. Cyrus of Santa
Paula, Calf. came down at Saginaw,
Mich, when her compass went
haywire" and took her twin-engine
A-26 off its course. She planned to
refuel and continue to Cleveland
later tonight.
The third non-finisher was Joseph
Kinkella of Kingman, Ariz., who
was forced down at Pueblo, Colo,
when his P-63 developed fuel-line
trouble. -
Bruce Gimble Of Greenwich
Conn, flying a Psi entered by
Jacqueline Cochran, was fourth;
william Eddy of La Jolla, Calf,
fifth, also in a Psi. Tommy May
son of Burbank, Calf, sixth: and
F. E. Whitton of Indianapolis. Ind,
seventh. William P. Lear, jr., of
North Hollywood, Calf, finished
OQt Vi GllC VI lAC lllOllCys
Woman Pilot Wins $1,000.
Mrs. Jane Page Hlavacek, cne-time
WASP from Wilmette, ILL.,. the only
woman to finish, won $1,000 as the
first woman pilot to finish" Her
average speed of 247.8 M.P.H. was
lowest among the finishing nine.
Mantz, who finished third in the
Bendix in 1888 and 1899, sheared
nearly $50 miles an hour off the
1899 record for the event when the
races were resumed last year after
a six-year wartime lapse. He
averaged 435 miles an hour in his
1916 triumph.
Except for the Bendix, which was
run in two divisions, with four Air
Force Lockheed P-8O Shooting Stars
in the -" or jet division, all races
were cancelled because of local
thunderstorns. One of the jets,
flown by Col. Leon Gray. landed
in Cleveland, while the others were
directed to Patterson Field near
Dayton, Ohio. because of bad
weather at the time they were due
here. Col Gray said he failed to
receive word of the change in plans.
Impromptu Show Staged.
So many people decided to stay
despite cancellation of the six-hour
program of flying acrobatic, demon
strations and races, that the man
agement put on a lengthy show of
stunt flying and glider demonstra-
tions. The crowd refused to be dis
couraged even by the occasional
rains which kept the grassy field
soggy and sometimes ankle deep
in water.
Mrs. Hlavacek, tall and attrac-
tive blond, made stop at st. Jo-
sepl1, Mo-, after getting worried
about her plane. Her time was 8
hours Is minutes SO seconds and her
speed 247.3 miles per hour.
Mrs. Hlavacek, who had taken off
an hour and a half early because
she wanted to fly in women's
closed course race scheduled for
this afternoon, said she had planned
to fly at 10000 feet in her L,ockheed
(See AIR RACES, Page A-7)
AI>x MILL