Seward daily gateway., 1924-02-20
SiTKA AND SEWARD ARE DESIG- MATED ILLUSTRATIONS FOR
 ROUND WORLD FLYERS
PLANES WILL LAND IN BAY
Present Plans of Lieut.. BsseIl Will Call for Planes Here April 5th-
 Will Tune Up and Leave.

Lieutenant Clayton E. Bissel, U. $ Army air service who is arranging fol the proposed flight around the world by Army airmen, arrived in Seward on the Admiral Watson last night, anG is a guest of the Hotel Van Glider
 The Alaska base for the First Divi sion of the flight around the world will be at Unalaska, but Seward and Sitka are sub-stations for the air fleet of four planes, which will be equipped with pontoons for landing in the water
 Beyond Dutch Harbor, Lieut.. Bis sell will have the use of the hshenes boat Elder, and when the air fleet ar rives at Unalaska there will be two critters to give aid and provide wire less assistance, which will be neces- sarv in the long flight from Attu to Kurile island, near Japan, distance of $50 miles, the longest leg of the flight
 The schedule of the squadron will be as follows.
 Seattle to Prince Rupert. $50 miles. Prince Rupert to Sitka, 300 miles; Sitka to Cordova, 459 miles; Cordo- va to Seward, 140 miles; Seward to Chignik, 45O miles; Chignik to Dutch Harbor. 45O miles; Dutch Harbor to Atka. $50 miles; Atka to Attu, 53O miles
 From Attu to Kuriles on the Asiatic coast, $50 miles
 If present plans are followed the air squadron will reach Seward some time about April 5th or 9th, stopping over a day to tune up their machines.
 The planes will be under command of Major Martin, who will pilot one of them himself. The others will be ni1oted by Lieut. Lee Wade, Lieut.. Brick Nelson, and Lieut.. Lowell Smith all aviators of note, who have heen in the service for many years. The machines were built by the Doug las Company of Santa Monica, Calif., and will be biplanes with 40 h.p. Ll- bertv motors and wing spread o1 Ill tv feet. A mechanic will be carried in each machine.
 The main purposes of the fhght' said Lieut.. Bissell are:
 1. To win for the United States the credit for the first around-the-world air flight;
 2. To test the equipment of Ameri- can made machines;
 3, To train the personnel of the Tinted States army air service;
 4. To foster interest in Alaska;
 :. To make survey of the commer- cial air navigation possibilities;
 6. To complete the first circumna- vigation of the world in the air with American machines and American personnel during the lifetime of Or vile Wright, the inventor of the air plane.
 There will be no attempt to break any worlds records, said Lieut.. BIS sell. The expedition will leave Se- attle April 1, and it is expected to re- turn there in August. This will per nit them to cross the Pacific in April and May and the Atlanticc in July and August.
 One man will be in charge of ar rangements for the flight in each of six divisions. The first rom Seattle to Shimshu, Japen, the second from Shimshu to Calcntta, India; the third from Calcutta to Constantinople; the fourth from Constantinople to Lon- don; the fifth from London to Amer ica; the sixth across the continent from the Atlantic coast to Seattle, the starting point.
 The machines will be equipped as sea planes from Seattle to Calcutta, as land planes from there to Scot land, and sea planes again from Eng