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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0704.PDF
OCTOBER 29. 1925 THE NEW YORK AIR MEET Details of the Pulitzer Race SOME particulars of the Pulitzer Race, held during the New York Air Meet at Mitchell Field, Long Island, have now come to hand from a friend who is at present with the British Schneider Cup team in America. Writing from Baltimore, our correspondent says that on October 10, when the Pulitzer Race should have been held, a veritable hurricane was blowing. In the morning a wind of 4P m.p.h. at ground level, and 65 m.p.h. at 500 ft., was blowing, and the wind was gradually getting up. Several members of the British Schneider Cup team had decided to go from Baltimore to New York to witness the race for the Pulitzer trophy, and, although information had been received^ before the party left Baltimore that the race would be 'postponed, it was decided to make the trip. The British visitors reached Mitchell Field about 11 a.m., and it was found that very strict arrangements had been made to make certain that no unauthorised person could get near the machines. The United States Army—complete with fixed bayonets—-was obdurate, and for a time it looked as if the British visitors had made a fruitless journey. Ulti- mately, however, Maj. Brooks came to the rescue of the party, and from then onwards everything appears to have been plain sailing. Among the machines to be seen at Mitchell Field our correspondent appears to have been particularly impressed by the Remington-Burnelli, which, apparently, is now employed as a sort of flying motor-car show-room. Inside this machine, our correspondent states, was an Essex limousine, which, it was claimed, had actually been built in the machine, the inside of which resembled a small motor showroom. It was gathered that the Remington Burnelli is making a tour of the different towns, and is probably the only flying motor show-room in existence. On view at Mitchell Field was also a new type of air-cooled engine, the new five-cylinder Rickenbacker radial, which, according to its designer, the famous American Ace, is going to revolutionise cheap flying. Naturally, the most interesting " exhibits," from the point of view of the British visitors, were the two Curtiss Racers, and, with the kind assistance of Maj. Brooks, the party was given every opportunity of making a thorough inspection. Concerning the racers, our correspondent states : " They are certainly very impressive machines, beautifully streamlined, and racers every inch of them. They are, of course, fitted with wing radiators, and the engines are the latest type high-compression Curtiss V.I400. It was gathered that the normal revolutions of these engines are 2,400 r.p.m., and that they develop 619 b.h.p. The weight is stated to be 700 lbs., "so that the weight works out at 1 -13 lb./h.p. The engines are fitted with Reed propellers made in the Curtiss factories." After a thorough inspection of the racers, Maj. Brooks very kindly placed a staff car at the disposal of the British visitors to take them back to New York. The hurricane had been raging all day, and, naturally, those of the British team who were in New York were somewhat anxious concerning the British " hopes " at Bay Shore Park. During the evening, efforts were made to get into touch with those left behind in charge of the machines at Bay Shore Park, but it was not until the next morning that communica- tion was established. It was then learned that the Super- marine-Napier S.4 had been damaged by a falling tent-pole, as already mentioned in FLIGHT, but that the damage could be repaired in time for the Schneider Cup Race. Concerning the tents in which the Schneider Cup racers were housed, our correspondent states that these were of the ordinar3' war-time type of canvas hangars, and that the heavy rain came through as if the tents had been sieves. Working on the machines in such conditions was extremely unpleasant, and our correspondent considers that very much better accommodation should have been provided. By this it is not meant to infer that the British challengers were any worse off than the other Schneider Cup machines ; in fact, everybody seems to have been " in the same boat." On Monday, October 12, the weather had improved, the wind having practically dropped, although visibility was none too good. The British visitors arrived at Mitchell Field about 12.30, and on their way down called at Curtiss Field, where a great deal of aerial activity was observed. Soon after their arrival at Mitchell Field the British visitors were met by Mr. C R. Fairey, who invited the party to partake of sandwiches, etc.—an invitation which was grate- fully accepted, particularly the etc. Conversation naturally turned on the performances likely to be put up by the Curtiss racers in the Pulitzer Race. Mr. Fairey maintained thatthey would probably reach anything from 255 to 260 m.p.h. Mr. H. P. Folland doubted this, and a bet was arranged onthe 250 m.p.h. basis. After the race Mr. Folland had the pleasure of relieving Mr. Fairey of a fair amount of Americancurrency. As regards the actual race meeting at Mitchell Field, on October 12, the first race was for light 'planes. Six machines started in the race, and of these two failed to complete the first lap, the remaining four finishing the race, which was one of ten laps of a five-mile course for the " Scientific American " trophy for efficiency, and the " Aero Digest " trophy for speed. The best time was made, as already recorded in a previous issue of FLIGHT, by the Powell racer, piloted by Joseph A. Faucher, whose average speed was 76* 1 m.p.h. The Powell light 'plane was fitted with a Bristol " Cherub " engine. The second race of the day was for the John L. Mitchell trophy, and was for Curtiss P.W.8 " Pursuit " 'planes, all fitted with Curtiss D.12 engines. Ten machines started in this race, all the pilots belonging to the first Pursuit group. The machines are America's latest type of pursuit aeroplanes, and have been developed from the Curtiss high-speed racing machines. The race was over a distance of 120 miles, and consisted of ten laps of a twelve-mile course. The race proved particularly interesting, and some very fine cornering was seen. Nine of the ten machines which started completed the course, one machine dropping out in the fourth lap. The race was won by Lieut. T. K. Mathews, at an average speed of 161 -5 m.p.h. Between the race for the Mitchell trophy and the Pulitzer, "Jimmy " Doolittle did some excellent stunt flying on a Curtiss P.I. One thrilling stunt was Doolittle's big dive from about 5,000 ft. with full engine. While Doolittle was giving his exhibition of stunting, the engines of the Pulitzer machines were being warmed up. In view of the regrettable accident to Bert Skeele in last year's Pulitzer, the regulations for this year's race stipulated that the machines must not reach a height of more than 1,200 ft. at any time prior to the start, and must maintain horizontal flight at a height of not more than 400 ft. over a distance of 1 kilometre, before crossing the starting line, the object of this stipulation "being to discourage diving. The pilots of the Pulitzer machines all wore parachutes, it being their intention that should they experience engine trouble while flying over bad country they would zoom and leave the machines to take care of themselves, the pilots saving their lives by descending in the parachutes. The first man to start was Lieut. A. J. Williams, on a Curtiss Navy Racer, with a Curtiss V.1400 engine. He was followed thirty sees, later by Lieut. Cyrus Bettis, who was piloting a Curtiss Army Racer, also fitted with Curtiss V.1400 engine. The Pulitzer race was one of four laps of a 50 km. circuit, and the fastest time was made by Lieut. Cyrus Bettis, whose average speed was 248 - 99 m.p.h. It is of interest to note that the lap speeds of the winning machine were as follows :— 1st lap 247-8 m.p.h. ; 2nd lap, 249-4 m.p.h.; 3rd lap, 248-7 m.p.h.; 4th lap, 249-97 m.p.h. The second fastest speed was made by the Curtiss Navy Racer, piloted by Lieut. Williams, whose average speed was 241 -71 m.p.h. Williams' speeds in the four laps were: 243-7, 242-1, 241-4 and 243-66 m.p.h. Concerning the relatively low speeds in the Pulitzer, low, that is compared with what had been expected, various explanations have been put forward. One suggestion is that the American pilots were deliberately holding back their machines so as to avoid giving a true indication to the foreign Schneider Cup teams of the real capabilities of their mounts. An American source, which is considered very reliable, states that of the 12 Curtiss V.1400 engines built for the Pulitzer and Schneider Cup races, the first is believed to be a freak because of its marvellous efficiency. When the other motors were tried out, this American source states, they developed defects, and their horse-power was much less than that of the first engine. This first engine was, it was stated, fitted in the prac- tice machine on which Lieut. Williams is claimed to have made 302 m.p.h. before the race. The engines fitted in Bettis' and Williams' machines had been improved before the race, but still were not thought to have come up to the first engine of the batch, and it is now believed that it is this particularly good specimen which was later transferred to Doolittle's Curtiss Army Racer that won the Schneider Cup. If so, this would appear to account for the very great speeds. 704
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