Monday, Jun. 05, 1939

Level-Headed Kid

Last week a fancy new name popped up for a transatlantic stunt hop. A California pilot named Thomas H. Smith called his a "research flight." He took off from Old Orchard Beach, Me. in a light Aeronca powered with a four-cylinder, 65-h.p. engine, started for Ireland with 160 gallons of fuel--enough, he hoped, for 32 to 40 hours. Smith had no permit from the Civil Aeronautics Authority, said he wanted to test the possibilities of light planes for long-distance flights. Said one of Smith's friends: "He is a level-headed kid and I think he'll make it." Forty hours later Irish airmen gave him up, turned out their field flood lights.

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