Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1923-08-23
MAIL PLANES
FINISH FLIGHTS
ACROSS j. s.
One Reaches New York and One
Lands AT Frisco; Mail Was
Quickly Handled

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 22-San
Francisco moved nearly four davis fra
vel nearer to New York TODAY thru
the success of the air mail services Ist
test OF night flying westbound
Pilot Clair K. Vance brought moro
than 4O0 pounds of mail from East
ern points to Crissy field here tonight
at OBS O'Clock, thirty-four hours and
Is minutes after the first batch of il
had LETT Hampstead field, Long Is
land, yesterday morning.
The mail was delivered tonight so
that within an hour official messages
from Mayor Hylan of New York to
Mayor Rolph of San Francisco. or
from Eastern mail officials to those in
charge of the services affairs in the
West, was being read
The last rays of the setting sun.
sweeping up through the Golden Gate
toward the Berkeley hills across San
francisco Bay, gilded Vance's on-rush
ing plane as it came |ut of the even
ing haze. Vance came on rapidly and
settled down to the/field, against the
wind, without circling. He made a
quick and graceful landing, his plane
touching the ground less than minute
after the roar of the motor was heard.
The propeller of his plane had not
stopped when a mail truck was back
ed up to the plane and men threw the
pouches of mail from the cock pit
to the truck, which sped away to the
post office
Halt dozen messengers with motor
cycles popping stood by for special
delivery letters and presently dashed
away to make deliveries.
Vance clambered out of his seat
with smile. He is a veteran air mail
pilot and, except for an added effort
to make speed on the fields and in
flight. today's effort was nothing I'M
usual for him He served as an in
structor in France for American av-
iators.
Vance said there had been no I'M
usual incident in connection with his
flight.
A. c. Nelson superintendent of
the Western Division of the air mail
service, and Col w. f. Gilmore of
the air service of the ninth corps area
of the army, extended official greet
ings to Vance.
Arrival at Hampstead
Hampstead, N. Y. Aug. 22-Pilot
c. Eugene Johnson of the air mail
service landed at Hazelhurst field at
Ala O'Clock Eastern standard time this
afternoon with load of mail which
had started from Cheyenne, Wyo., last
night after the first eastbound effort
at transcontinental air mail service had
been broken at Laramie, Wyo., fifty
miles west of Cheyenne. Johnson
where h" relie7cd Pilot Wagner.
Immediately after Johnson landed
tic mail bags were III 'oaded and were
rushed on truck to Mineola, where
they were put on a train for New
York Within two hours after the
plane touched ground the mail was
being delivered
Johnson flew from here to Cleveland
taking the first westbound air mail
When he arrived there he was i'll with
tonslitis, from which. he had been suf-
fering for several days, but neverthe-
less insisted upon making the return
trip.
He made the 435 miles in three
hours and twelve minutes, averaging
approximately $40 miles an hour. At
one time, over Belle Fonte, Pa, he
attained an altitude of 1000 feet The
plane was DeHaviland two-p.sen-
ger, the extra space being used for
the mail cargo.
The Eastern flight from San Fran
cisco was broken when Pilot Collision
had trouble in reaching Cheyenne and
the relay plane started off without
waiting for him