Supreme Endurance

Captain Lowell Smith and Lieutenant John Richter, flying in an Army de Haviland over San Diego, broke all previous endurance records by staying up for nearly 45 hours. Incidentally Smith and Richter broke speed records in covering distances of 2,500, 3,000, 3,500 and 4,000 kilometers. But most important of all, they achieved a complete demonstration of the possibility of refuelling from the air. Twice they received gasoline from a sister ship above them and they even got a nice, hot breakfast on a third aerial contact. The extension of this system of refuelling opens new vistas in aviation. Commercial and mail planes would be able to fly across the continent without having to carry huge supplies of gas.