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FLIER FIGHTS
  DEATH HIGH
    OVER FIELD
_________
Broken Wheel Control is 
    Cause of Wichita 
       Crack-up
________
  WICHITA, Kan., Aug. 23. - Maj. 
James H. Doolittle, famous air ace, 
nosed his plane gently into the 
ground at the airport here after a 
thrilling hour aloft, in which he 
faced almost certain death.
  With his retractable landing gear 
jammed in the fuselage of his tiny 
biplane, Doolittle circled above the 
airport for many minutes struggling 
to restore the wheels to normal po-
sition.
  At last his gas nearly exhausted,
he succeeded in restoring the right
wheel to normal place, and in bring-
ing the other wheel down about hal-
way from the fuselage.
        ATTEMPTS LANDING
  Then he cut his motor to its lowest
speed and attempted a landing.
  The plane rocked back and forth 
as the uneven landing gear struck 
the runway, and seemed about to 
overturn.  Finally, losing speed, it
nosed into the earth, breaking the 
propeller.
  Unharmed except for minor
bruises, the famous pilot, holder of 
the transcontinental flight record,
stepped from his partially wrecked 
ship and smiled at the crowd which 
rushed toward him. 
  His first concern then was for his
ship, a biplane, and he examined it
carefully.  Then, assured that only
replacement of the propeller and 
minor repairs would be necessary,
he walked to the hangar.
         TESTS PLANE
  The audacious airman, noted for
his daring even in those hazardous
days of stunt flying after the world 
war, took the little shop aloft for
speed tests after having some repairs 
made here.
  He wore a parachute, but hand only
about enough gas for an hour's fly-
ing when he left the ground.
  Once off the runway he drew up 
the peculiar landing gear, built to
give the plane greater speed, into the
fuselage.  After half an hour of fly-
ing he circled for a landing.
  Then it was discovered the gear
had jammed.  A landing at 90 miles 
an hour in a plane without wheels
appeared the only alternative to a 
parachute jump.  
       FREES ONE WHEEL
  But Doolittle kept up his struggle
with the levers controlling the gear.
Aided by messages of advice carried
by a plane piloted by Truston Kirk,
Wichita flier, he succeeded in free-
[in] the right wheel.
  A little later he banked sharply 
to the right and forced the left wheel
about half way out of the fuselage.
  As the wheels touched the crowd 
held its breath.  The plane veered
sharply to the left, lost speed and 
nosed down on its propellor as the
watching hundreds signed their re-
life.
    Record 8 - 23
  SARATOGA ENTRIES

MAJ, DOOLITTLE FOILS DEATH IN AIR
__
  WICHITA, Kan., Aug. 23--Major James H. Doolittle, famous air ace, landed his speed plane safely at the airport here at 12:45 p. m. today, after a thrilling hour in which he faced possible death or injury.
  With his retractable landing gear jammed in the fuselage of his tiny biplane, Doolittle circled above the airport for many minutes, struggling to restore the wheels to normal position.
  At last, his gas nearly exhausted, he succeeded in restoring the right wheel to normal place, ad in bringing the other wheel down about half way from the fuselage.
  Then he cut his motor to its slowest speed and attempted a landing. The plane rocked back and forth as the uneven landing gear struck the runway and seemed about to overturn. Finally, losing speed, it nosed into the earth, breaking the propeller.
  Doolittle's dramatic fight for life occurred as he was testing the speed-ship with which he had set the present coast-to-coast record of 11 hours and 11 minutes.
  The plane, rebuilt for the Bendix trophy race next Saturday, was too badly damaged to be repaired for the race.
  A message plane, piloted by Truston Kirk, Wichita pilot, went aloft at intervals of a few minutes to carry encouragement and advice to the flier by means of a blackboard held by a passenger in Kirk's ship.
  At 12:25 the plane went aloft with this message:
  "Pull the pin and zoom. Bank hard to the right."


sturald 8-23