- Richard James (aviator)
Richard James (1911-?) set the junior
transcontinental air speed record in 1928. He completed the flight on December 15, 1928, arriving inSan Francisco . He had left fromNew York . The elapsed flying time was 48 hours, spread over one month. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Richard James |url= |quote=Curtiss Field, New York (Associated Press) Richard James, 17-year-old pilot, completed on December 15 a transcontinental flight begun October 30 in San Francisco, to win a $1000 prize ... |publisher=Associated Press inChristian Science Monitor |date=December 15 ,1928 |accessdate=2007-11-28 ] His record stood till 1930, when it was broken byFrank Goldsborough . [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Flights & Flyers. American Boy. |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,752559,00.html |quote=A flight from New York to Los Angeles, begun on Monday and completed Sunday, is not in itself remarkable. But if the flyer be the young son of a crack airman who met spectacular death; and if the boy seeks a "junior speed record," public fancy is captured. Last week Frank Goldsborough, 19, son of the late Brice Goldsborough, crossed the U.S. in 34 hours 3 minutes flying time, in a biplane named American Boy. Previous 'record' of 48 hours, set last year by 18-year-old Richard James, was spread over a month elapsed time. Young Goldsborough's flight was punctuated by forced landings. Overtaken by darkness near El Paso, he settled down on the desert beside a truck. 'Two prospectors were in it. They treated me royally, shared their food and water with me. In taking off next morning along a narrow road lined by telegraph poles, I had a cross wind and just clipped the lower left wing tip, but I got into the air safely.' |publisher=Time (magazine) |date=May 12 ,1930 |accessdate=2007-09-25 ] [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Richard James |url= |quote=(Associated Press) Richard James of New York, competing in the Curtiss Field $1000 prize for the youngest flyer to make the transcontinental trip from New York to San Francisco ... |publisher=Havre Daily News |date=August 30 ,1928 |accessdate=2007-11-28 ] He was born inFlushing, Queens and flew aTravel Air . [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Fliers Risk Lives in Fire at Curtiss Field. Save 5 Planes as Hangar and 3 Ships Burn. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0910F93455167A93C3AA1788D85F4D8285F9 |quote=Curtiss Field, Long Island , Sunday, March 31, 1929. Pilots and mechanics aided by members of the Garden City Fire Department, risked their lives this morning to save five airplanes from a burning hangar on the west corner of the field, where another hangar was attacked by fire a few days ago. ... Among the planes that were saved were theTravelair , in which Richard James, boy pilot of Flushing, made a transcontinental flight a few months ago ... |publisher=New York Times |date=March 31 ,1929 |accessdate=2007-11-28 ]References
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