Iditarod pioneer., 1917-02-03
CROSSING ENGLISH CHANNEL
 Fl A BRITISH ARMY PLANE

Never were such numbers of planes cm- ployed, and never did they play such an important part as in the battle of the SOmme
 Ihe wastagc of British planes at the front has been supplied by new planes flown across the channel from England. where
 fter coming from the factory, they are ested out at . home aerodrome. The rec ord time in crossing the channel 6. the narrowest point, where the distance is twenty-two miles is eight minutes When the correspondent, who was in Lcndon for a days leave from the front asked certain general at the war office for ocrmission to fly back instead of going by .eamer, train and automobile, the answer gas, Perfectly easy" And to prove it he called up the commander of the flying corps d in five minutes all was arranged over he telephone.
 What about my baggage?" asked the correspondent.
 "Oh, take it along and strap it on," re piled the general "A plane that carries
 6 pounds of bombs will not be bothered ,ith suit case,'
 dozen machines, one after another, were
 Ue to go to France that day as soon as he wire said storm on the other side of he channel had passed,
 The correspondent slipped into a wadded 'acket for protection against the wind, which would also act as a life buoy If he
 .pened to fall into the channel, and took '.js place, a position usually occupied by the observer, who also mans the machine gun.
 She's a good and steady bus" said the pilot. "They flew her down from the fac tory three days ago and she's tuned up and ready for her part in the big show on the other side. You must not expect any fsncv stunts.
 My business is to fly her to France and deliver her in good condition, ready for work"
 The pilot had made thirty such crossings qnd was proud of the fact that he never had come down at any of the way stations
 The course was as straight as line, fol lowing a plotted course of land objects for the route After forty minutes in unvary ;ng steadness of speed above the English hedges he turned at given point for the channel crossing. Usually the crossing is made at a height of 10000 feet This al lows of more leeway to descend to the near. est shore. or to steamer in the channel in case of engine trouble
 On account of thick weather he took he channel this trip at a height of 4,00C feet. As the white acework of surf beat against the chalk line just underfoot the correspondent looked at his watch Then he machine ran into a cloud. The pilot topped the engine, and the machine slid sor 1000 feet until the sea again appeared, qnd ahead as the engine took up its re s~an was the shore.
 As the machine crossed that shore line the correspondent looked again at his watch. The time elansed was seventeen minutes. Tie flight had not been made over the mar row part of the channel. The fastest steamer would have required an hour and quarter and, travelling that way, the passage would have been rough, as a heavy sea was run, ming.
 Finally the aerodrome at the front Wa reached, When storms have prevented mi ration for a period, fifty new machines lave come in from England in one day Frederick Palmer, writing from the Somme front, in tfe New York World