The sun., 1919-07-27
FLY TO BOARDWALK
IN FIRST AIR TRAIN
Two New York Women In
augurate Regular Aerial
Passenger Service.
FLY BACK IN A STORM
Flying Boat Has Fifty Foot
Wing Spread and 75
T Mile Speed.

A brass band, an announcer and q
life Insurance agent were lacking yes
terday morning and afternoon, but be-
yond that everything was lovely at the
start Of the FIRST regular serial passen-
ger service on this side OF the globe.
with two young women passengers
Pilot Bob Hewitt made fight from
New York to Atlantic City and return
In q seaplane. A gale Of wind was
encountered on the way back and tine
two fares-they had paid $500 each
for the experience--sat shivering with
fright while lightning played about the
afr craft. Twice on the northward
passage the plane alighted on the water
when the cock controlling the flow of
oil needed adjustment.
The start was made at 1 o'clock and
Atlantic City was reached at 3:25. 1t
was Z o'clock last evening when Hewitt
and his passengers took of for New
York and darkness had fallen before
they dropped into the Hudson, of
Eighty-third street
Probably never before on the banks
o. the more or less pellucid Hudson had
SO much concentrated confusion been
crammed into 30 small a space as ut
the float at Eighty-third street since the
days when H. Hudson made his first sale
OF hrewater. Despite the believing of
publicity agents. the curt demands of
camera men, the hoarse queries of re-
'porters, the tapping Of the river, the
.shrill advice of 2.14s,27s children, the
swish Of oars. the pun Of launches and
a great undertone OF comment from
volunteer audience made up of the par
ents, relatives, friends and retainers of
the 2.143.273 children, the flying boats
engine finally made itself heard. and the
ship shot away to Atlantic City with its
two women passengers battened under a
mica hatch at p. M, scant two hours
after the time 1t was supposed to go.
Sensation followed sensation 20 rap
idly at the waterfront that when the
seaplsne finally did get away, friskiug
from, one wave top to another, and
finally making a beautiful takeoff with
Pilot Bob Hewitt at the stick, 1t was
somewhat of an anti-climax. Perhaps
the ship would have gotten away a little
nearer to its schedule time but billie
Allen, wife of John A. Hoagland, baking
powder magnate, and leading lady of the
occasion. decided after listening to the
gurgle Of water running into the ia
diator of the machine. that she. too.
wanted a drink. So she despatched
Anna, her colored maid, to q drug store
TO get some mineral water (name de-
leted) and about 1000 people waited
inpatiently for Annals return. When
Anna came she got an ovation.
Uncertainty Delightful.
From the. start the great event was
tinged with that delightful uncertainty
which always lends charm to first under
takings. The Travellers Company, COM
posed Of several young aviators who saw
service In the war, announced at various
times that the start would be made from
Ninety-sixth street, 115th street and
Eighty-sixth street, SO. of course, nobody
was much surprised when Eighty-third
street was finally decided upon, at IL 40.
But some scores of people who waited
streets went home convinced that avia-
ton isn't.
The flying boat itself arrived from At
lantic City, the headquarters Of the COM
pany, at IL :25 o'clock. with Pilot Bob
Hewitt at the stick and Pilot Charles
Todd Seims and Pilot Miles Kellin
aboard. She is a pretty little boat, built
by the Aeromarine Company, and has a
wing spread of fifty feet ana a length of
twenty-six Her wings are cream color
and the boat itself is of mahogany. The
motor Is a $50 horsepower eight cylin-
der engine capable Of driving the plane
through the air at seventy-five miles an
hour. Pilot Bob sat in the front cockpit.
unprotected from the weather. while be-
hind him was a compartment containing
two wicker seats for. the passengers.
This was rooted over with mica, SO that
those within were completely protected
from the wind and somewhat from the
roise of the propeller whirling just be-
hind the wings.
whats her manner" was the greeting