First Lieutenant Harold Ross Harris, Air Service, United States Army, 1922.
17 April 1923: At Wilbur Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, First Lieutenant Harold Ross Harris set two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Speed Records, flying a modified de Havilland XDH-4L powered by a Hall-Scott Liberty 375 engine. Lieutenant Harris averaged 184.03 kilometers per hour (114.35 miles per hour) over a 1,500 kilometer (932.1 miles) closed circuit,¹ and 183.82 kilometers per hour (114.22 miles per hour) over a 2,000 kilometer (1,242.7 mile) course. ²
Harold R. Harris was an important figure in the development of aircraft following World War I. He served as Engineering Officer for the U.S. Army at McCook Field and flew many experimental aircraft, setting records for speed and altitude, and worked on the development of airplanes, engines and other equipment. Harris was the first man to use a parachute to escape an airplane during an actual in-flight emergency.
In civil aviation, Harris was an executive with the company that would become Pan American World Airways. During World War II, he was chief of staff of the Air Transport Command, retiring with the rank of brigadier general, and then returning to commercial aviation as a vice president of Pan Am and later president of Northwest Airlines.
de Havilland XDH-4L A.S. 64593, FAI World Speed record holder. (FAI)
The XDH-4L was a variant of the Airco DH.4, designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. It was a two-place, single-engine biplane intended as a bomber, but the type served in virtually every capacity during World War I and the years following. At McCook Field, American-built DH-4s were commonly used as test beds for engines and other aeronautical equipment.
The standard Airco DH.4 had a crew of two. It was 30 feet, 8 inches (9.347 meters) long with a wingspan of 43 feet, 4 inches (13.208 meters) and height of 11 feet (3.353 meters). Empty weight was 2,387 pounds (1,085 kilograms) and loaded weight was 3,472 pounds (1,578 kilograms). British-built DH.4s were powered by a 1,240.54-cubic-inch-displacement (20.33 liter) liquid-cooled Rolls-Royce Eagle overhead cam 60° V-12 engine which produced 375 horsepower. A gear-reduction system kept propeller r.p.m. below engine speed for greater efficiency.
American-built DH.4 airplanes were produced by the Boeing Airplane Company, Dayton-Wright Airplane Company, Fisher Body Corporation, and Standard Aircraft Corporation. Most were powered by the Liberty L12 engine.
Major Henry H. Arnold standing beside the first Liberty 12 aircraft engine turned out for war use. “Hap” Arnold would later hold the 5-star rank of General of the Army and General of the Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)
The Liberty L12 aircraft engine was designed by Jesse G. Vincent of the Packard Motor Car Company and Elbert J. Hall of the Hall-Scott Motor Company. It was a water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 1,649.336-cubic-inch-displacement (27.028 liter) Liberty L-12 single overhead cam (SOHC) 45° V-12 engine with a compression ratio of 5.4:1. The Liberty produced 408 horsepower at 1,800 r.p.m. The L-12 as a right-hand tractor, direct-drive engine and it turned turned a two-bladed fixed-pitch wooden propeller. The Liberty 12 was 5 feet, 7.375 inches (1.711 meters) long, 2 feet, 3.0 inches (0.686 meters) wide, and 3 feet, 5.5 inches (1.054 meters) high. It weighed 844 pounds (383 kilograms). This engine was produced by Ford Motor Company, as well as the Buick and Cadillac Divisions of General Motors, The Lincoln Motor Company (which was formed by Henry Leland, the former manager of Cadillac, specifically to manufacture these aircraft engines), Marmon Motor Car Company and Packard. Hall-Scott was too small to produce engines in the numbers required.
Following World War I, many DH-4s were rebuilt by Boeing and Atlantic Aircraft. An improved version, the DH-4M, used a tubular steel framework instead of the usual wood construction. DH-4s remained in service with the United States Army as late as 1932.
De Havilland XDH-4L, U.S. Army Air Service serial number A.S. 64593, was used for engineering tests at McCook Field. It carried project number P193 painted on its rudder. At the time of the world speed records, it was powered by a Hall-Scott Liberty 375, a 375 horsepower version of the Liberty V-12 engine. The rear cockpit was faired over and a 185 gallon (700.3 liter) fuel tank installed for long range flights.
Lieutenants Oakland G. Kelly and John A. Macready with the fuel drums for their duration flight in front of the Fokker T-2, A.S. 64233. (U.S. Air Force)
16–17 April 1923: At Wilbur Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, U.S. Army Air Service pilots Lieutenant Oakland George Kelly and Lieutenant John Arthur Macready set six Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for speed, distance and duration, flying the Nederlandse Vliegtuigenfabriek Fokker T-2, serial number A.S. 64233, which they planned to fly non-stop across the United States of America.
They flew 2,500 kilometers (1,553.428 miles) at an average speed of 115.60 kilometers per hour (51.83 miles per hour);¹ 3,000 kilometers (1,864.114 miles) at 115.27 kilometers per hour (71.63 miles per hour);² 3,500 kilometers (2,174.799 miles) at 114.82 kilometers per hour (71.35 miles per hour);³ 4,000 kilometers (2,485.485 miles) at 113.93 kilometers per hour (70.79 miles per hour);⁴ flew a total distance of 4,050 kilometers (2,517 miles);⁵ and stayed aloft for 36 hours, 4 minutes, 34 seconds.⁶ Their overall average speed was 112.26 kilometers per hour (69.76 miles per hour).
Lieutenant Oakley George Kelly, U.S. Army Air Service. (FAI)Lieutenant John A. Macready, U.S. Army Air Service
The Fokker F.IV was built by Anthony Fokker’s Nederlandse Vliegtuigenfabriek at Veere, Netherlands in 1921. The Air Service purchased two and designated the type T-2, with serial numbers A.S. 64233 and A.S. 64234.
Several modifications were made to prepare for the transcontinental flight. Normally flown by a single pilot in an open cockpit, a second set of controls was installed so that the airplane could be controlled from inside while the two pilots changed positions. On this flight, it carried 735 gallons (2,782 liters) of gasoline in three fuel tanks.
For its time, the Fokker was a large airplane: 49 feet (14.9 meters) long, with a wing span of 82 feet (25 meters). The high-wing monoplane was powered by a 1,649.3-cubic-inch-displacement (27.028 liter) liquid-cooled Liberty L12 single overhead cam (SOHC) 45° V-12 engine producing 420 horsepower. The airplane was designed to carry 8–10 passengers in an enclosed cabin.
The second Fokker T-2, A.S. 64234, also designated A-2 (ambulance). (U.S. Air Force)
From 2–3 May 1923, MacReady and Kelly succeeded in their non-stop transcontinental flight, flying from Roosevelt-Hazelhurst Field, Long Island, New York, to Rockwell Field (now, NAS North Island), San Diego, California, 2,470 miles (3,975 kilometers) in 26 hours, 50 minutes, 38.8 seconds, for an average speed of 92 miles per hour (148 kilometers per hour).
The U.S. Army Air Service transferred A.S. 64223 to the Smithsonian Institution in January 1924. It is on display at the National Air and Space Museum.
Lieutenant Commander George Clinton Watkins, United States Navy, set a World Altitude Record with a Grumman F11F-1F Super Tiger, 18 April 1958. (U.S. Navy)
16 April 1958: At Edwards Air Force Base, California, test pilot Lieutenant Commander George Clinton Watkins, United States Navy, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Altitude Record of 23,449 meters (76,932 feet) ¹ with a Grumman F11F-1F Tiger, Bureau of Aeronautics serial number (Bu. No.) 138647.
Lieutenant Commander Watkins wore a David Clark Co. C-1 capstan-type partial-pressure suit with an International Latex Corporation (ILC Dover) K-1 helmet and face plate for protection at high altitudes.
The Valley Times reported:
Edwards Flier Sets Altitude Mark For Jets
By WALT KEESHAN JR. Valley Times Aviation Editor
EL CENTRO — The world’s altitude record for jet planes has been taken to the Antelope Valley by a Navy pilot dressed in a Mars-like suit who flew to the edge of space at 76,828.8 feet above Mojave.
This historic event, announced yesterday at the third annual Naval Air Weapons meet, staged in the Imperial Valley, brought the Distinguished Flying Cross to LCDR George C. Watkins, 37, who gave America the first altitude record it has held in 28 years. The flight was Wednesday.
Flying a F-11-1F Super Tiger, Watkins, of Pasadena, proved that jet airplanes can operate for a brief period of time 14 miles above earth—a period long enough to launch missiles into space.
45-Minute Flight
The actual flight which took Watkins up into the Ozonosphere lasted 45 minutes and covered a distance of 500 miles stretching from Needles to Mojave. He stayed at the record altitude for four seconds.
Watkins flew in a patch like a ballistic missile strapped in his swept-wing fighter, Outside the snug cockpit the temperature was 69 degrees below zero.
The swept-wing fighter shot from the Edwards Air Force Base runway loaded with 6,270 pounds of fuel and raced for Needles, 210 miles to the east.
Making a U-turn 30 miles beyond Needles, Watkins poured on teh speed and dashed toward Edwards with his throttle wide open at 1,260 miles per hour (Mach 1.9) at 40,000 feet.
Cruise Climb
Watkins slowly began to cruise climb, rising 1,500 feet a minute until he had only 400 pounds of fuel left. Rising skyward the afterburner cut off at 65,000 feet and he was on his way.
The altimeter began to spin crazily and all the energy he had built up pushed him up at a rate of 50,000 feet a minute in what pilots call a zoom-glide.
As he eased over the top at 76,828.8 feet, the Super Tiger was only going 100 miles an hour and Watkins was experiencing zero-gravity for more than a minute—an uncomfortable 60 seconds when he became weightless and objects began floating in the cockpit.
Outside the sky was very deep blue. He was the first jet pilot to see this new color. “I hardly had time to look,” Watkins said.
Lands Without Fuel
During the record run he had to hit a five mile square area in the sky so that radar cameras on the ground could officially record his record. He landed without enough fuel to taxi back to the hangar.
The record run was part of “Operation Apollo” now being staged at Edwards. He will try for 84,000 feet probably the first part of next week when the temperature gets down to a minus 79 degrees outside. The colder it is the faster he can go.
The Air Force and the Navy are both interested in this altitude mark because solid missiles could be launched from these sky platforms and fired at tremendously increased distances—maybe put in orbit.
The record Watkins broke was 70,308 feet set by the British last year in a combination jet and rocket powered airplane.
—Valley Times, Vol. 21, No. 93, Friday 18 April 1958, Page 1, Column 3, and Page 2, Column 3
Watkins’ flight was observed by the National Aeronautic Association and certified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). For his record-setting flight, Lieutenant Commander Watkins was presented the Distinguished Flying Cross by Vice Admiral William F. Davis, Jr., Deputy Chief of Operations for Air.
Grumman F11F-1F Tiger, Bu. No. 138647, in flight near Edwards AFB, California. (U.S. Navy)
The F11F-1F Tiger was a higher performance variant of the U.S. Navy F11F single-seat, single-engine swept wing aircraft carrier-based supersonic fighter. The last two regular production F11F-1 Tigers, Bu. Nos. 138646 and 138647 were completed as F11F-2s, with the standard Westinghouse J65-WE-18 turbojet engine replaced by a more powerful General Electric YJ79-GE-3, which produced 9,300 pounds of thrust (41.37 kilonewtons), or 14,350 pounds (63.83 kilonewtons) with afterburner. The air intakes on each side of the fuselage were longer and had a larger area to provide greater airflow for the new engine. After testing, the fuselage was lengthened 1 foot, 1½ inches (0.343 meters) and an upgraded J79 engine installed. The first “Super Tiger” was damaged beyond repair in a takeoff accident and was “expended” as a training aid for fire fighters.
The U.S. Navy determined that the F11F-2 was too heavy for operation aboard carriers and did not place any orders. The designation was changed from F11F-2 to F11F-1F, and later, to F-11B, although the remaining aircraft was no longer flying by that time.
The F11F-1F Tiger is 48 feet, 0.5 inches (14.643 meters) long with a wingspan of 31 feet, 7.5 inches (9.639 meters) and overall height of 13 feet, 10 inches (4.216 meters). The Super Tiger has an empty weight of 16,457 pounds (7,465 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 26,086 pounds (11,832 kilograms).
The General Electric J79 is a single-spool axial-flow afterburning turbojet, which used a 17-stage compressor and 3-stage turbine. The engine is 17 feet, 3.5 inches (5.271 meters) long, 3 feet, 2.3 inches (0.973 meters) in diameter, and weighs 3,325 pounds (1,508 kilograms).
With the YJ79 engine, the F11F-1F has a maximum speed of 836 miles per hour (1,345 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, 1,325 miles per hour (2,132 kilometers per hour) at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters) and 1,400 miles per hour (2,253 kilometers per hour) at 40,000 feet (12,192 meters). Cruise speed is 580 miles per hour (933 kilometers per hour). It had an initial rate of climb of 8,950 feet per minute (45.5 meters per second) and service ceiling of 50,300 feet (15,331 meters). Range with internal fuel was 1,136 miles (1,828 kilometers).
The Tiger’s armament consisted of four 20 mm Colt Mk 12 autocannon with 125 rounds of ammunition per gun, and four AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles.
The single remaining F11F-1F, Bu. No. 138647, is on static display at the Naval Air Weapons center, China Lake, California.
George Clinton Watkins was born at Alhambra, California, 10 March 1921, the third of seven children of Edward Francis Watkins, a purchasing agent for the Edison Company, and Louise Whipple Ward Watkins. (Mrs. Watkins was a candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1938.) George’s brother, James, would later serve as Chief of Naval Operations.
George was educated at the Army and Navy Academy, Carlsbad, California, and at The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, before being appointed to the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. He entered the Academy 3 July 1940. He graduated and was commissioned as an Ensign, United States Navy, 9 June 1943. He was then assigned as a gunnery officer aboard the battleship, USS Pennsylvania (BB-38). Ensign Watkins was promoted to the rank of lieutenant (junior grade), 1 September 1944.
Near the end of the war, Lieutenant (j.g.) Watkins entered pilot training. He graduated and was awarded the gold wings of a Naval Aviator in 1945. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, 1 April 1946. His first operational assignment was as pilot of a Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber with VT-41. In 1950 Watkins attended the Navy’s test pilot school at NAS Patuxent River on the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. Among his classmates were future astronauts John H. Glenn and Alan B. Shepard. Lieutenant Watkins served as a fighter pilot during the Korean War, flying the Grumman F9F-6 with VF-24, aboard USS Yorktown (CVA-10)then returned to duty as a test pilot. On 1 January 1954, he was promoted to lieutenant commander.
George Watkins was the first U.S. Navy pilot to fly higher than 60,000 feet (18,288 meters), and 70,000 feet (21,336 meters). In 1956, he set a speed record of 1,210 miles per hour (1,947.3 kilometers per hour). Lieutenant Commander Watkins was promoted to the rank of commander, 1 March 1958. He was assigned as Commander Air Group 13 in August 1961. On 9 May 1962, Commander Watkins became the first U.S. Navy pilot to have made 1,000 aircraft carrier landings.
Commander Watkins was promoted to the rank of captain, 1 July 1964. Captain Watkins served in planning assignments at the Pentagon, and was an aide to Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.
USS Mars (AFS-1). (United States Navy)Captain George Clinton Watkins, United States Navy (1921–2005)
From 14 December 1965 to 12 December 1966, Captain Watkins commanded USS Mars (AFS-1), a combat stores ship. (Experience commanding a deep draft ship was a requirement before serving as captain of an aircraft carrier).
He later served as a technical adviser for the 1970 20th Century Fox/Toei Company movie, “Tora! Tora! Tora!,” about the Japanese attack against Pearl Harbor which brought the United States of America into World War II.
By the time Captain Watkins retired from the Navy in 1973, he had flown more than 200 aircraft types, made 1,418 landings on 37 aircraft carriers, and logged more than 16,000 flight hours. He continued flying after he retired, operating sailplane schools at Santa Monica and Lompoc, California. He had flown more than 21,000 hours during 26,000 flights.
Captain Watkins married Miss Monica Agnes Dobbyn, 20 years his junior, at Virginia Beach, Virginia, 9 June 1979. Mrs. Watkins is the author of Cats Have Angels Too, Angelaura & Company, 1998.
Captain Watkins died 18 September 2005 at the age of 84 years. His ashes were spread at sea from the deck of a United States Navy aircraft carrier.
This McDonnell RF-101C-60-MC Voodoo, 56-055, is the sister ship of the airplane flown by Captain Edwards to set a World Speed Record, 15 April 1959. (Hervé Cariou)
15 April 1959: Captain George A. Edwards, Jr., United States Air Force, assigned to the 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over a Closed Circuit of 500 Kilometers (310.686 miles) Without Payload at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Captain Edwards flew a McDonnell RF-101C-60-MC Voodoo, serial number 56-054. His speed over the course averaged 1,313.677 kilometers per hour (816.281 miles per hour).¹
Captain Edwards told The Nashville Tennessean, “The flight was routine. The plane ran like a scalded dog.”
Nine days earlier, Colonel Edward H. Taylor flew another McDonnell RF-101C to a World Record for Speed Over a 1000 Kilometer Course of 1,126.62 kilometers per hour (700.05 miles per hour).²
The RF-101C Voodoo was an unarmed reconnaissance variant of the F-101C fighter. It was 69 feet, 4 inches (21.133 meters) long with a wingspan of 39 feet, 8 inches (12.090 meters). The height was 18 feet (5.486 meters). Empty weight for the RF-101C was 26,136 pounds (11,855 kilograms), with a maximum takeoff weight of 51,000 pounds (23,133 kilograms).
RF-101 on ramp with cameras. (United States Air Force 140114-F-DW547-001)
The RF-101C was powered by two Pratt & Whitney J57-P-13 turbojet engines. The J57 was a two-spool axial-flow turbojet which had a 16-stage compressor (9 low- and 7 high-pressure stages), 8 combustors and a 3-stage turbine (1 high- and 2 low-pressure stages). The J57-P-13 was rated at 10,200 pounds of thrust (45.37 kilonewtons), and 15,800 pounds (70.28 kilonewtons) with afterburner.
Cutaway illustration of the J57 afterburning turbojet engine. (U.S. Air Force)
The aircraft had a maximum speed of 1,012 miles per hour (1,629 kilometers per hour) at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). The service ceiling was 55,300 feet (16,855 meters). The Voodoo could carry up to three drop tanks, giving a total fuel capacity of 3,150 gallons (11,294 liters) and a maximum range of 2,145 miles (3,452 kilometers).
The RF-101C carried six cameras in its nose. Two Fairchild KA-1s were aimed downward, with four KA-2s facing forward, down and to each side.
Beginning in 1954, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation built 807 F-101 Voodoos. 166 of these were the RF-101C variant. This was the only F-101 Voodoo variant to be used in combat during the Vietnam War. The RF-101C remained in service with the U.S. Air Force until 1979.
This McDonnell RF-101C-45-Voodoo, 56-0183, of the 20th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, is similar in appearance to the Voodoo flown by Captain Edwards, 15 April 1959. (Unattributed)Captain George A. Edwards, Jr., in the cockpit of his McDonnell RF-101C Voodoo, after setting an FAI World Record for Speed. (U.S. Air Force)
George Allie Edwards, Jr., was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1929, the son of George Allie Edwards, an automobile agent, and Veriar (“Vera”) Lenier Edwards. When his father died, his mother, younger sister Jane, and George went to live with Mrs. Edwards’ parents at Crossville, Tennessee. He attended Cumberland High School and studied at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He took flight lessons at the age of 15 and accumulated more than 2,000 flight hours over the next six years.
In 1951, during the Korean War, Edwards entered the United States Air Force as an aviation cadet. He graduated from flight school at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He was assigned to the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Kimpo Air Base, South Korea. As a pilot of North American RF-51D Mustang and Lockheed RF-80 Shooting Star photographic reconnaissance airplanes, he flew 101 combat missions.
His next assignment was as a jet instructor at Bryan Air Force Base, Texas, and then an F-100 pilot with the 354th Tactical fighter Wing. he next served as chief of safety and standardization for the 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. It was during this assignment that he set the world record.
From 1959 to 1962, Edwards was an advisor to the West German Air Force. In recognition for his service, the chief of staff awarded him Luftwaffe pilot’s wings. For the next several years, he rotated through a series of training assignments, education and staff assignments.
Major George A. Edwards climbs to the cockpit of a McDonnell RF-4C Phantom II. (Lake Travis View)
During the Vietnam War, Lieutenant Colonel Edwards commanded the 19th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron which was equipped with the McDonnell RF-4C Phantom II reconnaissance variant. He also commanded a detachment of the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, and flew the Martin RB-57 Canberra. Edwards flew another 213 combat missions.
Colonel Edwards went on to command the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, (which he had previously served with during the Korean War), Bergstom Air Force Base, Texas; as a brigadier general, was vice commander of 12th Air Force; commander 314th Air Division, Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, and also commanded the Korean Air Defense Sector. Edwards was promoted to Major General 1 August 1976, with an effective date of rank of 1 July 1973.
Major General George A. Edwards, Jr., United States Air Force.
During his career in the United States Air Force, Major General George A. Edwards, Jr., was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with four oak leaf clusters (5 awards), the Bronze Star, Air Medal with 19 oak leaf clusters (20 awards), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Presidential Unit Citation emblem, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award ribbon with four oak leaf clusters (5 awards).
General Edwards retired from the Air Force 1 March 1984 after 33 years of service. As of 2015, the General and Mrs. Edwards live near Austin, Texas.
Ruth Nichols with the Lockheed Vega. Her records are painted on the engine cowling. (FAI)
13 April 1931: Ruth Rowland Nichols set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Speed Record of 338.99 kilometers per hour (210.64 miles per hour) over a 3 kilometer course at Carlton, Minnesota.¹
Nichols’ airplane was a 1928 Lockheed Model 5 Vega Special, serial number 619, registered NR496M, and owned by Powell Crosley, Jr. He had named the airplane The New Cincinnati.
Ruth Nichols Sets Air Mark With 210.65 Miles an Hour
New York Girl on One Dash Attains 226.88 Miles Over measured Course at Detroit
Detroit, April 13.—All records for airplane speed with a woman pilot were shattered today when Miss Ruth Nichols, Rye, New York, raced over the three kilometer course at Grosse Ile an an average speed of 210.65 miles an hour. Amelia Earhart Putnam formerly held the record at 181.1 miles per hour.²
Miss Nichols, using a Lockheed Vega plane, powered with a Wasp motor, made four flights over the measured course. On one dash she attained a speed of 226.88 miles an hour.
Hazardous Flight
The course, one of these recognized in the United States, is laid out along the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad Line. In addition to the rails for guide lines, white strips of cloth marked the route.
After a few warm-up turns over the course Miss Nichols signalled she was ready. The flight was doubly hazardous because she was forced to fly extremely low.
The plane used was the same in which she set the altitude record recently eclipsed by Miss Elinor Smith.³
Miss Nichols, who in the last few months had shattered about all the aviation records there are for women—although her altitude record was broken by Elinor Smith—was the main feature of the aviation show.
There was a good crowd to cheer the tall, smiling Rye woman when she climbed from her record-breaking plane.
“It really isn’t anything to do,” she said. “All a girl needs is a good ship and nerve.”
May Fly the Atlantic
She sensed her speed, followed strips of white cloth which outlined teh course, and in a very matter of fact way established the record.
She was asked concerning reports she planned a transatlantic flight, and answered:
“Fly the ocean? Well, why shouldn’t a girl do the trick?” she said. “There is no reason why one shouldn’t be able. The main requirement is a good ship, I think. If I get one, I may do it. This plane is the same one in which I set a record of 30 hours, 12 minutes for a flight from Los Angeles to New York and return, It has flown many thousands of miles in addition, and was used in the altitude flight. You saw what it did today.”
When Miss Nichols’ plane reached its top speed of 226.88 miles an hour she was but 51.60 miles behind the world’s record for land planes, held by Adjutant Bonnett, of France, who went 278.48.
Inside the mammoth aviation show hangar today air enthusiasts discovered they were walking about the aisles with Henry Ford.
The motor car magnate visited the show with W. B. Mayo, Ford engineer, and his two grandsons, Henri II and Benson Ford. Ford viewed the exhibit of his own giant liners and then inspected other exhibits.
He took particular interest in new inventions displayed. He was in the hangar an hour and a half before his presence became known generally.
Yesterday 18,000 went through the gates, while thousands more stood about City Airp0ort to watch the planes. They say among other things the unofficial setting of a new altitude mark by light planes.
Kenneth Scholter, 19-year-old pilot from Hudson, Ohio, attained 19,500 feet ina tiny Aeronca monoplane, powered by a 30 horsepower motor yesterday.
Built by the Lockheed Aircraft Company, Burbank, California, the Vega was a single-engine high-wing monoplane with fixed landing gear. It was flown by a single pilot in an open cockpit and could be configured to carry four to six passengers.
The Lockheed Vega was a very state-of-the-art aircraft for its time. The prototype flew for the first time 4 July 1927 at Mines Field, Los Angeles, California. It used a streamlined monocoque fuselage made of molded plywood. The wing and tail surfaces were fully cantilevered, requiring no bracing wires or struts to support them. The fuselage was molded laminated plywood monocoque construction and the wing was cantilevered wood.
The Model 5 Vega is 27 feet, 6 inches (8.382 meters) long with a wingspan of 41 feet (12.497 meters) and overall height of 8 feet, 2 inches (2.489 meters). Its empty weight is 2,595 pounds (1,177 kilograms) and gross weight is 4,500 pounds (2,041 kilograms).
Nichols’ airplane was powered by an air-cooled, supercharged 1,343.804-cubic-inch-displacement (22.021 liter) Pratt & Whitney Wasp C nine-cylinder radial engine with a compression ratio of 5.25:1. It was rated at 420 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m. at Sea Level, burning 58-octane gasoline. The engine drove a two-bladed controllable-pitch Hamilton Standard propeller through direct drive. The Wasp C was 3 feet, 6.63 inches (1.083 meters) long, 4 feet, 3.44 inches (1.3-7 meters) in diameter and weighed 745 pounds (338 kilograms).
“Ruth Nichols was the only woman to hold simultaneously the women’s world speed, altitude, and distance records for heavy landplanes. She soloed in a flying boat and received her pilot’s license after graduating from Wellesley College in 1924, becoming the first woman in New York to do so. Defying her parents wishes to follow the proper life of a young woman, in January 1928 she flew nonstop from New York City to Miami with Harry Rogers in a Fairchild FC-2. The publicity stunt brought Nichols fame as “The Flying Debutante” and provided headlines for Rogers’ airline too. Sherman Fairchild took note and hired Nichols as a northeast sales manager for Fairchild Aircraft and Engine Corporation. She helped to found the Long Island Aviation Country Club, an exclusive flying club and participated in the 19,312-meter (12,000-mile) Sportsman Air Tour to promote the establishment of clubs around the country. She was also a founder of Sportsman Pilot magazine. Nichols set several women’s records in 1931, among them a speed record of 339.0952 kph (210.704 mph), an altitude record of 8,760 meters (28,743 feet), and a nonstop distance record of 3182.638 kilometers (1,977.6 miles). Her hopes to become the first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean were dashed by two crashes of a Lockheed Vega in 1931, in which she was severely injured, and again in 1932. In 1940, Nichols founded Relief Wings, a humanitarian air service for disaster relief that quickly became an adjunct relief service of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) during World War II. Nichols became a lieutenant colonel in the CAP. After the war she organized a mission in support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and became an advisor to the CAP on air ambulance missions. In 1958, she flew a Delta Dagger at 1,609 kph (1,000 mph) at an altitude of 15,544 meters (51,000 feet). A Hamilton variable pitch propeller (which allowed a pilot to select a climb or cruise position for the blades), from her Lockheed Vega is displayed in the Golden Age of Flight gallery. Nichols’ autobiography is titled Wings for Life.”
— Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum, Women In Aviation and Space History, The Golden Age of Flight.
¹ FAI Record File Number 12282
² FAI Record File Number 12326: 291.55 kilometers per hour (181.16 miles per hour), Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A., 5 July 1930
³ FAI Record File Number 12228: 8,761 meters (27,743.44 feet), Jersey City Airport, New Jersey, U.S.A., 6 March 1931
Ruth Nichols with Walter D. Wood, National Aeronautic Association, who is holding the sealed barograph after setting FAI World Altitude Record. (FAI)
