The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1918-01-25
MAKES
1N|T1ALFEIGHT
.... H|GHOqEROAHU.
Maler Clark Rise TO Height Of
More Than Six Thousand Feet
In Machine necentIy Received
OFFICER LOOKS DOWN Z
sn'''1s ON INVERTED RAINBOW
Finds Ar Bitterly Cod, Thermo-
meter Registering Forty De-
grees, But Few Holes IN Air

Soaring mile.high, with q Thousand
feet to spare at times above that eleva-
tion,. the army's first modern seaplnne
assigned for service in the Hawaiian
Islands made it's initial flight above
Oahu yesterday forenoon, piloted by
Major Harold NJ. Clark, U. s. A., chief
of the Sixth Aero Squadron, observed
by the forces at theinapal station and
Fort Kamehameha, and by civilians
who thronged the Roof Garden in Ho-
no'ulu TO watch the black speck rise
and descend. =. E...st5
Theainstrnments in the ear recorded
1 an elevation Of six thousand feet at
the highest point Of the flight, but no
INSTRUMENTS were nerded to inform the
daring officer that Mt that height the
1 air was bitter cold. y The instruments
gave a record Of about forty degrees,
an astounding difference in the tenn
perature on land, which was then about
seycnty:two degrees. e, ''sful u
First Real Test ~ ..le,s I, y NJ
Shortly before ten o'clock the sea-
plane rose from its mooring pace near
the naval station. II was the first
fine the craft had been put into mo
fion for q real test. The motor hum
med "sweetly, = as the avintors say,
the propeller worked smoothly and
with such rapidity that II appeared TO
be only a circular film Of vapor. The
'lane gradually arose, from the water
surface and took to It's own wings No
effort was mafle' By itiioAmajor TO fly TO
any distance from his base, but on wide
-ircles the machine rose and rose until
t became q speek in the sky,
For forty minutes he remaiued up,
i testing the machine under various con-
I ditions Of ascent and descent, but at
tempting no t'stunts' OF an acrobatie
nature, which arc now ~ war stunts"
< on all European battlefropts.
I The successful flight was. q source Of
pleasure to the major, Who says he
would rather ny any time than drive
an auto or speed in q motor boat.
ttThe sigfif Feature Of the entire
flight was the fact that willis. 70 lands
men, there appear to be strong. con
trRfy and contradictory y Ind currents
chanbeiing through the canyons from
the Koelau Mountains, the air is COM
4 peratiyely smooth and oven above.
Flying mp there lis plcasnrable.. end
gives the flyer every opportunity to
work his machine out 20 determine
i evetE variety Of movement necessary
70 making \ respond exactly to each
shift Of the levers. ~ KY
Rainbow Beneath ~ if-,.ft,
! While at the highest point the major
Witnessed an iaerial eKhibitiou which Is
seldom accorded 10 those who live close
ia teri, ,.;,,5 s'r% Ss., Is ssss .
Sreu.ifpl rainbow appeared. the major
iookiRg down upan I've bow Of the arch.
T1e, two prismaticseolored ehds stream
4 II dsrnwhBd and away from him just
he RIVER e, Of the iSfcW from the land.
4 Major Clark was pattieularly, inn
r~essed with the behavior Of the air
uTrepts ADORE the mouptaintop eleva-
ton md said that for flights the air
| conditions In Ha wall appeared 70 be
Ear better than those encountered at
Ssn Aptorio, Texns. He encountered
q few puts aud broker sections an the
currents; hut these wore Of no eonsc-
quence az far as his flight movements
were concerned. Down In san Antonio
the mir fairly5stboiAo and pockets r
rrn'ng for q eemplete mastery Of the
machine to operate 1t safely. X
Hawaii Just Right 5a.,iE
( Hawaii. in,MaSorf Ciaslfs opinion. is
INST right for f'igh's. Other flights
/ will be undertaken frequentlv, and in
! be near future the majortwill take up
one Of his men.
I Major Clark lie one Of the Youngest
majors in the service, and received his
! first commissions in the army only foul
/ Years ago, He was appointsd . first
Lieutenant Of cavalry ON March ID
! | 1913. He was horn IN Minnesota and
was commissioned from California. The
} major, has been stationed in Hawaii
! only. = few weeks,
rt4 "a T----5-4 tssft1- W.,