Cyrus K. Bettis

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Cyrus K. Bettis
aircrash
Other namesCy Bettis

Lieutenant Cyrus K. Bettis (January 2, 1893 – September 1, 1926) was an American army aviator who won several races and set the then airspeed record for a closed-circuit race in 1925. He died after he crashed his aircraft less than a year later.[1]

Biography

Bettis was born on January 2, 1893, in

airspeed record of 248.99 mph for a closed-circuit race.[5] The record was broken shortly after by Lieutenant Jimmy Doolittle.[6]

On Monday, August 23, 1926, he was leading a formation of three army planes leaving the

spinal meningitis.[3][9]

Legacy

Bettis Field in Pittsburgh was named in his honor.[10] When Westinghouse bought the site in the 1948 and closed the airfield, they named their Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory after him.[3][11]

External links

References

  1. ^ "Cyrus Bettis Collection 1924-1926". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2011-11-26. Cyrus Bettis (1893-1926) was one of the leading Army Air Service pursuit pilots in the early-to-mid-1920s. Born in Carsonville, Michigan, Bettis entered the Army as a flying cadet in February 1918. He attended the school of Military Aeronautics at the University of Illinois and was sent to Camp Dick, Dallas, Texas in April of that year. ...
  2. ^ Cohn, Gene (20 October 1925). "Pioneer Spark Turned Farm Boy to Air Hero". The Evening Independent. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d Stearns, Bob (28 August 1976). "Cy Bettis... 'The Look Of A Bookkeeper But The Soul Of A Conqueror'". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  4. ^ "Cyrus K. Bettis". Early Aviators. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  5. ^ "American ace sets air mark in big races". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 13 October 1925. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  6. ISBN 1-4102-0901-6
    .
  7. ^ "Lieutenant Bettis Last Seen in Dangerous Pennsylvania Mountain Section. Won Pulitzer Trophy. Started From Sesquicentennial for Michigan -- Companions Retrace Route Without Avail". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 24, 1926. Retrieved 2011-11-18. Lieutenant Cyrus K. Bettis, the army flier who left the Sesquicentennial Exposition grounds yesterday morning in an airplane for Selfridge Field in Michigan, is missing. He was last seen west of Lewistown, Pa., heading for Cleveland, as he disappeared in the fog near the eastern slope of the Allegheny Mountains. Lewistown is nearly 200 miles west of Philadelphia.
  8. Newspapers.com
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  9. ^ "Bettis Has Bad Turn. His Parents Notified. Injured Army Flier Develops Spinal Meningitis in Washington Hospital". The New York Times. September 1, 1926. Retrieved 2011-11-18. Lieutenant Cyrus K. Bettis, army aviator, injured in a crash in Pennsylvania last week, has developed spinal meningitis and his condition is critical. ...
  10. ^ "Flying Field to Be Named for Bettis". The New York Times. November 3, 1926. Retrieved 2011-11-18. The Pittsburgh-McKeesport airport near Dravosburg, Pa., is to be named Bettts Field in honor of Cyrus K. Bettis, noted army pilot who lost his life in ...
  11. ^ "Bettis: From Airplanes to Atoms in 10 Years". The Pittsburgh Press. 1 December 1958. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
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