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Waco 66

IN - In October, 1923, the Air Races were held in St. Louis. Geo. was flying "C.D." and a load from the Aero Club of Illinois. Geo. arranged for Buddie and me to go in a Laird swallow with Billie Burke, a "swell pilot and equally swell guy" from Okamulgee, Oklahoma. If Geo. said so, it was oke with me. So ar the only other pilot we had flown was with Mattie Laird. The Swallow had a Hisso motor, and was reputed as fast, so we let the logey Breguet, get a head start, from the only spot on Ashburne that wasn't "soupy." Billie folded his Rand Mc Nally, and buckled Buddie and me in the one belt, and we were off. It was the first time that I had ever felt that the motor was a strong hand reaching out and literally pulling us throught the air. Ho, hum, for OX5's after this, sez I!

When we got over what should have been the Mississippi, the fog was so thick we could have shut off the motor and hung suspended in it. Billie yelled, "Where's St. Louis?" According to the time, we should have been there. Billie said he didn't like the fog, too many ships headed for the meet. If a body meet a body comin' thru the fog...... We came into a clear space and Billie landed. We were in Missouri all right, but the farmers told us way past St./ Louis. We took off, back thru the fog,(or was it clouds?,) saw lots of corn fields the other side, and one open field. The rain broke suddenly, drenching us. Billie took his hands off the stick, after throttling down the motor and shouted, "I don't know where we are any more thank Jack Rabbit!" I had been trying to find the airport too, so we went in and landed. The farmers climbed under the wing, out of the rain, with us, and told us we were in Illinois. We laughed! Just two(and a half) persons on the shuttle! The sun came out, we took off, and right where the fog had been, was the field, covered with ships.