New-York tribune., 1919-07-07
Some Tickish
Moments, Says
Flight Pilot
Continued from page 1

dash for Boston to get fuel to COM
plete the voyage.
at was shortly after this that the
wind veered in our favor and enabled
us to complete the fight unassisted
did not cancel the calls for help, how
ever, because we did not know how
long the favorable wind would last.
During the voyage the crew was
divided into two watches, four hours
on and four hours off. The crew off
watch slept in hammocks. These were
comfortable, and the ship was steady
even when we passed through the
thunderstorms."
United States Officer Speaks
Commander Zachary Lansdowne. the
United States naval officer who made
the. fight as observer at the invitation
of the British Admiralty, said:
owe left East Fortune at 1:45, G.
NJ. T., July 2; crossed Scotland and
were off the northern coast Of Ireland
at a. m. the same day. Fifty-nine
hours later we reached Newfoundland,
where we encountered severe depres-
sion and strong headwinds. The wind
was blowing at fifty miles an hour.
"The delay in our arrival was due to
efforts to conserve our gasolene. We
started to run short off the coast of
Newfoundland We came slowly on
three engines during the last two days
best airship pilot in the world. Gen
eral Maitland, who has been head of all
the British airship service since the
beginning of the war, is largely respon
sible for the development of airship
service. To my mind the voyage was
most interesting and instructive, and |
am glad to be the United States Navy
Departments representative. Several
new lessons were learned on the trip
which l cannot disclose now.
Bucked Weather All Day
"The trip was peculiarly difficult
because of the weather. AS you know,
the weather travels west to east and
we were bucking it all the way over.
We ran into several thunder squalls
over the Gulf of Maine. The time Of
the trip to the point Of landing was
108 hours and 12 minutes. The sleep
ing quarters on board were comfort
able. In fact, everything was lovely.
~ attended to the elevator and rud-
der controls and often was assigned
TO watch the gas pressure in the keel"
Major John Edward Maddox Pritch-
ard, the officer who descended by para
chute, said:
"We received word by wireless that
Major Hugh Fuller had gone to Bos-
ton, and we did not know what ar
rangements had been made to land us.
1t was thought best that descend and
see that all was o X. My drop in
the parachute was nothing unusual
just normal parachute descension."
Lieutenant Guy Harris, meteorolo-
gist, "the man responsible for the
weather." said:
cit was a most extraordinary voy-
age. At times it seemed as though ten
thousand devils were staring at US.
have got the wind up even now. But
she is a wonderful old bus, and is
commanded by the most wonderful
man in the airship service.
Being responsible for the weather
predictions, I was worried throughout
the trip, because I know the vagaries
Of the weather on this side.
"While coming down the coast yes
terday l leaned out of the window of
one of the cars and an icily cold blast
struck me in the face. This was fol
lowed moment later by blast so hot
that / had to pull myself back hur-
rledly into the car as it was unbear-
able. l imagine it was the result OF
the ocean currents below US.
Pleased With U. S. Service
"My worry disappeared as soon a:
we arrived and | found such top-hole
service arranged for US. 1t was quite
q relief and / am very glad l want tt