415 M. P. H.

Into a gusty sky which experts called "barely safe'' for speed flying, Flight Lieut. George H. Stainforth took off from the waters at Calshot one afternoon last week. His purpose: to beat his own record of 379.05 m. p. h. average for the 1.8-mi. j speed course, which he made in the Schneider Trophy Races last month (TIME, Sept. 21). His spidery seaplane was the same but the engine was new, specially built for this test, with an estimated life of perhaps an hour at top speed when it would develop 2,600 h. p. The fuel, too, was something different: a mixture of refined gasoline, wood alcohol and ethyl.

Lieut. Stainforth dived onto the course, crossed the starting line at about 7 mi. per min., 100 ft. above the surface of the water. Five times he flashed back & forth along the straightaway, guiding himself by cloud formations, while electric timing cameras caught the picture that was too fleeting for any stopwatch to record accurately. Spectators watched nervously while Lieut. Stainforth made a landing at 100 m. p. h. in a choppy sea. Said he quietly: "I believe I've broken the record." Then he went to officers' mess.

When the timing films had been developed and inspected about 4:30 a.m., officials found the flyer playing "shove ha'penny" in the messroom. They told him his average time was 408.8 m. p. h.; his best lap, 415.2 m. p. h. Said Lieut. Stainforth, "I thought I had done it," and turned back to his game.

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