armyairservice

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_aerial_circumnavigation

Maj. Gen. Mason Patrick (USAAS) speaks to crew of the Douglas World Cruiser, "Chicago" (USAAS Ser. A.S. 23-1230), Lt. Lowell Smith and 1st Lt. Les Arnold at Mitchel Field, Long Island, NY, on September 8, 1924. See: Here's an aerial photo of the Douglas World Cruisers at Mitchel Field from the San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM) collection on the Flickr Commons. Note the letters on the roofs of the hangars spelling out "MI T C H E L." A portion of a letter is on the hangar roof just visible in front of the engine in the Bain photo above.

Thanks [https://www.flickr.com/photos/danuneken] and TVL1970. We'll add this information to all of the photos showing the Chicago and it's crew.

Burt Eugene Skeel (1894-1924) www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5000691 He was killed on October 4, 1924 when the wings of his Curtiss broke away from the fuselage when he was at 2,000 feet (615 m), and he went into a dive at about 275 mph (440 km/h). (Source: Wikipedia)

His flight suit is also his check list.

Thanks Richard Norton, we'll fix the spelling of his name.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Maughan

Richard Norton: Thanks for providing more information about this person.

Russell Maughan is standing beside a Curtiss R-6 Racer (US Army Air Service Serial No. AS 68564, McCook Field number P-278). The particular aircraft in the photo would win (with Lt. Maughan at the controls) the Pulitzer Trophy during the 1922 National Air Races held at Selfridge Field, Michigan. The following year, Lt. Maughan would set a new international speed record of 236.5 mph flying the very same aircraft. This R-6 would be destroyed in a fatal air crash at the National Air Races at Wilbur Wright Field (present day Wright Patterson AFB) on October 4, 1924, killing pilot Capt. Burt E. Skeel. Reports state the wings broke away from the aircraft while Skeel was flying at a height of approximately 2,000-ft, sending the aircraft into a dive into the ground at a speed in excess of 285 mph.

TVL1970: Thanks for identifying the type of airplane depicted in this photograph.