notwithstanding these difficulties several speed records were established, the most noteworthy being that of Lieutenant B. W. Maynard, who, piloting a D.H.-4 with a four hundred horse-power Liberty Motor, made an average speed of one hundred thirty-three and eighttenths miles an hour for the entire distance of ten hundred and forty miles. The handicap contest, in which the machines competed against their own theoretical still air performances, was won by Major Rudolph Shroeder, piloting a Vought V.E.-7, equipped with a one hundred and fifty horse-power Hispano-Suiza motor.

Roland Rohlfs, piloting a Curtiss Oriole with a 150 horse-power Kirkham motor, was the first civilian to finish and established the fastest time among the civilian entries. He also won first civilian place in the Handicap event.

ROHLFS BREAKS WORLD'S ALTITUDE RECORD

When Roland Rohlfs, chief test pilot for the Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Corp., climbed 34,910 feet above sea level, starting from Roosevelt Field, Mineola, L. I., Sept. 18th, not only did he establish a new official world's record, but revealed the possibilities that are in the upper air for commercial and pleasure flying.

Rohlfs' flight breaks his July record of 30,400 feet and also far surpasses the altitude reported to have been reached by Lieut. Casale, of the French army. Casale's barograph showed 33,100 feet, without air temperature or other corrections. Under rules followed in Europe, it was not necessary for Casale to have such corrections made. For purposes of international comparison, therefore, a similar reading of Rohlfs' barograph is given. According to the report returned by the Bureau of Standards, after the instrument had been calibrated, this shows that he reached an official altitude of 34,910 feet. After the air temperature corrections were made, a minimum altitude of 32,450 feet was shown. Rohlfs thus holds the world's altitude record in both uncorrected (European) and corrected (American) readings.

Rohlfs left the ground at 12:06 and landed at 1:54, within twenty feet of where he took off.

The specifications of the Curtiss "Wasp " Triplane are: Motor K 12-12 cylinder Curtiss 400 horse-power at 2,500 revolutions per minute. The engine did not have a super-charger; nor were any special fuel arrangements made. Weight per rated horse-power 1.70 pounds. Fuel Tank capacity 67 gallons, oil capacity 6 gallons.

Span (all planes) 31 feet 11 inches. Chord (all planes) 42 inches gap (between upper and middle planes) 42 inches gap (between middle and lower planes) 3516 inches. Wing areas, upper wings 112.0 square feet, middle wings 87.71 square feet, lower wings 87.71 square feet. feet. Net weight machine empty 1,825 pounds, gross weight machine and load 2,901 pounds. Useful load 1,076 pounds. Fuel 400 pounds, oil 45 pounds. Performance: speed, maximum, horizontal flight 163 miles per hour, speed minimum horizontal flight 58. miles per hour. Climbing speed 15,000 feet in 10 minutes. Maximum range at economic speed 550 miles.

THE TRANSCONTINENTAL CONTEST

THE greatest aerial contest in history under the direction of the War Department and the American Flying Club was begun on the morning of October 8th, when sixty-four airplanes, of all types, started on the trip which required them to cross the continent twice, New York to San Francisco, a distance of 5,402 miles.

The planes left from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts simultaneously; forty-nine taking off at New York and fifteen at San Francisco. Lieutenant B. W. Maynard, winner of the Toronto-New York race, gained the lead during the early stages of the race, maintaining it to the end, thus winning the contest for elapsed time, in nine days, four hours, twenty-six minutes and five seconds. His nearest competitor, Captain J. O. Donaldson, finished the round trip in nine days, twentyone hours, five minutes and twelve seconds. Captain L. H. Smith was third, having taken eleven days, two hours, fifty-one minutes and twelve seconds to make the 5,400 miles.

In the contest for actual flying time, Lieutenant Alexander Pearson was declared the winner, his time being forty-eight hours, fourteen minutes and eight seconds. Lieutenant L. H. Smith was second, it having taken him fifty-four hours, fourteen minutes and thirteen seconds to make the double crossing. Third place was won by Lieutenant L. S. Worthington, who made the round trip in fifty-four hours, twenty-one minutes and fifty-five seconds.

The order of finish allowing for handicaps was: Pearson, Maynard, Hartney, Smith, Worthington, Donaldson, Manzelman and Reynolds.

The purpose of the race was to demonstrate the despatch with which battle planes could be flown from coast to coast; to compile data which would assist in determining the reliability and general fitness

of the various types of airplanes used; to demonstrate that air mail service between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts is entirely practical; and to prove the commercial value of the airplane.

The total distance of the route from Mineola to San Francisco was 2,700 miles. Between these two points, stops were required at twenty controls, at the following points at which stops of at least twenty minutes and not more than forty-eight hours had to be made. The control stops were Binghamton, Rochester, and Buffalo, New York; Cleveland and Bryan, Ohio; Chicago and Rock Island, Illinois; Des Moines, Iowa; Omaha, St. Paul, North Platte and Sidney, Nebraska; Cheyenne, Wolcott and Green River, Wyoming; Salt Lake City and Salduro, Utah; Battle Mountain and Reno, Nevada; and Sacramento, California. The average distance between controls was 123 miles. The shortest jump was fifty-six miles between Rochester and Buffalo, the longest, 180 miles between Buffalo and Cleveland. The altitude of the land at the lowest control, San Francisco, was fifteen feet; at the highest, Wolcott, Wyoming, 6,623 feet. Time changed at Cleveland, North Platte and Salt Lake City.

The contestants covered a total of 124,777 miles, a great many times under adverse weather conditions. The race served to lay out the first transcontinental air route, with stops at not more than 180 miles apart. It also proved the necessity of weather reports and other meteorological information for pilots on cross country flights. Much valuable technical information was obtained, which would have been impossible to get in any other way.

A Hispano-Suiza engine was the only motor to make the complete round trip.

LONDON-AUSTRALIA FLIGHT

(November 12th-December 10th)

was

THE longest flight during 1919 the longest in history made by Captain Ross Smith, flying 11,500 miles from England to Australia. Of the four entrants, the Vickers-Vimy-Rolls with Captain Smith in command, and a crew of three men, was the second to leave England. As it was stipulated that the flight should be completed in one month, Captain Smith who left Hounslow near London on November 12th, arrived at Port Darwin in "the nick of time."

On November 18th, Captain Smith reached Cairo and on November 19th continued his flight. He reached Delhi, India, Novem

ber 23rd. Thence he continued east until he reached Rangoon, turning southward at that city, making a number of stops along the Malay Peninsula and in the Islands of Oceanica. He arrived at Bima, on Sunbawa Island, near Java, December 8th, and flew across the channel to Port Darwin, near the northern-most tip of Australia, December 10th.

Specifications of the Australian Vickers-Vimy-Rolls are: Motors 2, Rolls Royce "Eagle," Mark VIII, 400 horse-power. Fuel capacity 516 gallons, oil capacity 40 gallons. The span of both upper and lower planes is 67 feet, the chord 10 feet 6 inches, the gap 10 feet 8 inches and overall length 42 feet 8 inches, overall height 15 feet 3 inches. The wing area is 1,330 square feet. Weight of machine empty is 3 tons, when carrying her full load on the flight to Australia, consisting of 4 men, 516 gallons of petrol, 40 gallons of oil and 10 gallons of water, together with spares, kit, tools and sundries (adding to another 800 pounds), the weight fully loaded is 51⁄2 tons. Maximum speed is over 100 miles per hour.

APPENDIX

I

U. S. AIRCRAFT MARKINGS

66

Since demobilization U. S. Army and Navy aircraft again display the star insignia" of pre-war days.

It consists of a red circle inside of a white, five-pointed star, inside of a blue circumscribed circle. The circumference of the inner circle is tangent to the lines forming a pentagon made by connecting the inner points of the star. The inner circle is red, that portion of the star not covered by the inner circle is white, and that portion of the circumscribed circle not covered by either the inner circle or star is blue; the colors to be the same shades as those in the American Flag.

Insignia are placed on the upper and lower surfaces, respectively, of the upper and lower planes of each wing in such position that the circumference of the circumscribed circle shall be tangent to the outer tips of the planes. One point of each star is pointed directly forward and the diameter of the insignia is 60 inches.

In addition to the "star insignia" United States aircraft bear on the rudder three equally wide vertical bands - red, white and blue.

No provision exists in the form of a law for the marking of United States civilian aircraft. The nationality mark assigned to the United States by the International Air Navigation Convention is the letter" N.” (See Chapter IV).

II

ARMY AIR SERVICE RATINGS

Following are the ratings for flying personnel in the Army Air Service.

Officers

PILOTS

Airplane.

RESERVE MILITARY AVIATOR (R.M.A.), recently changed to AIRPLANE PILOT. This R.M.A. rating was given to flying cadets (student pilots) upon satisfactory completion of flying training and upon accepting commission. "Airplane Pilot" is now a substituted term for Reserve Military Aviator," from October 16th, 1919.

JUNIOR MILITARY AVIATOR (J.M.A.), Established by Act of Congress. July, 1914. It could be earned by Regular Army officers only after passing certain prescribed tests. Under regulations of November, 1917, Reserve Military Aviators and temporary officers commissioned under Act of July 24th, 1917, could be rated as J.M.A.'s after having served satisfactorily for six months in the United States as such or after three months on active service in time of war, or after four months as such in training station and two on active service in time of war, except that in time of war, any R.M.A. who especially distinguishes himself in active service may, upon proper recommendation and approval, be rated as J.M.A.

MILITARY AVIATOR (M.A.), Instituted by Act of Congress, July, 1911, normally given to Regular Army officers only after having served three years as