zoomer
Well-Known Member
Lt. Cyrus K. Bettis, Air Service, U.S. Army, was a prize-winning pilot in the 1920s. He set speed records in the Curtiss R3C, a plane so streamlined it was years ahead of its time. Some were broken shortly after by his close associate, Lt. Jimmy Doolittle, in the same type plane.
Like many another bold pilot, Cy Bettis never became an old pilot. He crashed in bad weather in Pennsylvania in 1926 and died several days later, aged 33.
Without standard flight kit being issued by the Air Service, pilots privately purchased their own. The golfer-style suede windcheater jacket was popular enough to inspire the creation of Type A-1 shortly after the Air Corps came into being. The 3/4 length coat known today as the "barnstormer" was also a common choice, and could be worn over the suede jacket if desired.
Below, Bettis poses with his R3C-1 landplane (the type was also fitted with floats) in which he won the Pulitzer Trophy. Oct. 12, 1925.
Just two weeks later Bettis poses with Jimmy Doolittle and the R3C-2 seaplane he flew to break Bettis' record and win the Schneider Trophy. Cy wears a belted 4-pocket barnstormer coat over his high-collared service uniform.
An unusually good look at this type coat, an example without belt or upper pockets. Note the extra large buttons, negotiable by gloved hands, and the suede-lined collar, which appears to have had some kind of hook/eye latch.
Cy greets waiting dignitaries at Mitchel Field after the Pulitzer race. With coat worn over jacket, the tiny R3C cockpit must have fit him like a third layer.
Like many another bold pilot, Cy Bettis never became an old pilot. He crashed in bad weather in Pennsylvania in 1926 and died several days later, aged 33.
Without standard flight kit being issued by the Air Service, pilots privately purchased their own. The golfer-style suede windcheater jacket was popular enough to inspire the creation of Type A-1 shortly after the Air Corps came into being. The 3/4 length coat known today as the "barnstormer" was also a common choice, and could be worn over the suede jacket if desired.
Below, Bettis poses with his R3C-1 landplane (the type was also fitted with floats) in which he won the Pulitzer Trophy. Oct. 12, 1925.
Just two weeks later Bettis poses with Jimmy Doolittle and the R3C-2 seaplane he flew to break Bettis' record and win the Schneider Trophy. Cy wears a belted 4-pocket barnstormer coat over his high-collared service uniform.
An unusually good look at this type coat, an example without belt or upper pockets. Note the extra large buttons, negotiable by gloved hands, and the suede-lined collar, which appears to have had some kind of hook/eye latch.
Cy greets waiting dignitaries at Mitchel Field after the Pulitzer race. With coat worn over jacket, the tiny R3C cockpit must have fit him like a third layer.
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