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185- horsepower[strike through] hp Hall-Scott engine. The first flight test of this plane was made on December 3, 1918, at Central Park, Long Island, flown by aviator Cuthbert Mills. Tests continued on following days and the plane did 170 mph before government officials. This performance created quite a stir in aviation circles at that time. Shortly after this, Mills was killed flying the Bullet when a wing came off. Burnelli left the firm, but Christmas rebuilt the plane, then had R.A.F. pilot Captain A. Jolly fly it; he, too, was killed, which ended the Bullet project. 
In 1918 Christmas brought suit against the United States Government for infringement of his aileron patent on all World War I military planes. After a thorough investigation of his claim and its application, the government settled and bought his patent for $100,000. In 1923 the invention was made available by the government to all plane builders, gratis.
Christmas appears to have disappeared from aviation after World War I, but continued to live in the New York area where he reportedly was a consultant in research work. In the late 1940s he was working on insulating materials. Christmas died of pneumonia in New York's Bellevue Hospital on April 14, 1960, at age 94. He was survived by as son. Burial was at Croom, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. He was a member of the Early Bird organization. 
Flying pioneer, Early Bird Dr. William W. Christmas was a true American aviation pioneer of an early period. Plane builder and self-taught pilot, he became a controversial figure and promoter with a constant interest in new ideas and inventions, reportedly holding many patents in various fields. His name must be recorded in the early history of American aviation development.