Omaha daily bee., 1919-07-07
JAZZ MUSIC ON
BIC BLIMP AS
1T CROSSES SEA
Log Kept on RIA Recites
fascinating Daily Story Of
British DirigibIe's Trip
Scotland to u. S.

| Continued From Page One.)
leaving the ground" reads an entry
made after the airship hardly hat
taken the air, but it is followed al
most Immediately by a description
of the first breakfast in the air
which ends:
I'm the adjoining compartment
the graphaphone was entertaining
the crews with the latest jazz tunes.
Then comes an account of sleeping
in hammocks aboard a service air,
ship. with a word of caution for the
unwary sleeper.
There is only a thin outer cover
of fabric on the underside of the
keel on each side of the walking
way and the luckless individual who
tips out of this hammock would III
all probability break right through
this and soon find himself in the
Atlantic
There follows a series of word
pictures of cloud formations, show
ing that, as in the case of Alcock
and Brown, the R-34 was at times
floating between two layers; of wire
less messages breaking through
these cloud banks to bring cheer to
the adventures; of meals cooked
over exhaust pipes, and engine re-
pairs made with chewing gum; OF
the discovery of feline stowaway
struggled aboard by a superstitious
member of the crew-and then the
sighting of ice fields and Newfound-
land. with terse observations on
aerial navigation.
Like to Stop For Shoot.
Instead of finding expressed at
this point exuberance of captain and
crew, it is remarked that the airmen
think they would like to stop at
New Foundland and Nova Scotia
some time for shooting and fishing,
as the forests and lakes viewed from
the air hold promise of much game
and fish.
Then comes more anxious entry:
The petrol question is becoming
decidedly serious"
And again:
For some little while past there
has been distinct evidences of cleo
trical disturbances"
Then comes description of two
thunderstorms successfully evaded
-"set down quite simply as they
occurred and more or less in the
form of diary" as General Matt
land promised at the head of his
log. The story told in the log, as
recorded by General Maitland, fol-
lows:
Distances covered were as fol-
lows:
East Fortune to Trinity Bay, N.
F., 1850 sea miles; Trinity Bay N.
F. to New York, 1880 sea miles.
1T was originally intended that
this flight should have taken place
at the beginning of June, but owing
to the uncertainty of the Germans
signing the peace terms, the British
admiralty decided to detain her for
an extended cruise up the Baltic and
along the German coast line. This
fight occupied So hours under ad-
verse weather conditions, during
which time an air distance of rough
ly 2,400 miles was covered.
AT the conclusion of this flight
the ship was taken over from the
admiralty by the air ministry and
the airship was quickly overhauled
for the journey to the United States
of America.
Journey Starts Before Time Set.
"The date and time of sailing de-
cided upon was a. M, on the morn
ing of Wednesday, July 2, and the
press representatives were notified
by the air ministry to be at East
Fortune the day previously.
AT 80 a. m, on the early morn
ing of Wednesday, July 2, the air
ship was taken out from her shed
and actually took the air 10 minutes
later, thus starting on her long voy-
age exactly 10 minutes in advance
of scheduled time"
The story of the flight as entered
in the log follows:
'1:42 a. M, Wednesday. July z:
"The R-34 slowly arose from the
hands of the landing party and was
completely swallowed up in the low
lying clouds at a height of 100 feet.
When flying at night, possibly on
account of the darkness, there is
always feeling of loneliness. i'm
mediately after leaving the ground.
The loneliness on this occasion was
accentuated by the faint cheers of
the landing party coming upwards
through the mist, after all signs of
the earth had disappeared.
Owing to the stormy nature of
zee morning the air at 1900 feet
the height at which the airship was
traveling-was most disturbed and
'bumpy', due to the wind being
broken up by the mountains to the
north, causing violent wind currents
and air pockets.
THE most disturbed conditions
were met in the mouth of the Clyde,
south of Loeb Lomond, which. sur
rounded by high mountains, looked
particularly beautiful in the gray
dawn light.
"The islands at the mouth of the
Firth of Clyde were quickly passed.
The north coast of Ireland appeared
for a time and shortly afterward
faded away as we headed out into
the Atlantic.
"The various incidents of the voy-
age are set down quite simply as
they occurred and more or less in
the form of diary. No attempt
has been made to write them as
connected story. 1t is felt that, by
recording each incident in this way,
most of them trivial. a few of vital