Evening star., 1924-07-06
World Flight Progress in India
Enables Pick-Up of Lost Time
Flyers No'o on Edge Of Persia-Want to
Make ngland Soon Because of Prospects
of Early Autun,n in North atlantic.
BY LIEUT.. r.. j. BROWN, JR.,
Chairman World Flight Committee.

BY LIEUT.. r.. j. BROWN, JR.,
Chairman World Flight Committee.
Much to the surprise and gratifca-
tion of the officials of the War De-
partment. the United States Army
air service round the-world flight
was able to completely reft the
air cruisers with new wings. and
new motors and to replace the pom
toons used for landing on the water
with the regular wheel landing gear,
which they will use until England
has been reached. in three days,
when it was thought improbable that
this complete metamorphosis could
be accomplished in less than a week
However. this splendid progress was
not unattended by misfortune The
flight commanders jinx seemed to have
followed him to Calcutta, for while
working on the upper wing of the
cruiser Chicago, he slipped and
Smith did not consider this painful
injury of sufficient Importance to
keep him from taking his accustom-
ed place in the pilots cockpit of the
flagship and leading his flight to-
ward Allahabad on the dawn OF
July l.
Flew Into Mountains.
After leaving the royal air force
airdrome at Dumdum. North Calcutta,
the flight soon passed out of the low
lands of the lower Ganges Valley,
with its paddy fields and teeming
rural population into the high, rolling
and somewhat mountainous country
in northwestern Bengal and finally
into the plains of Bihar and the
united provinces of India in which
Allahabad is situated.
The country flown over during this
Journey is devoted entirely to agri-
culture and that portion over which
the flight passed in Bengal. Bihar
and the southern part of the united
provinces, is perhaps the most densely
world. The population is composed
mostly of Hindus and Mohammedans
and though, the cultural differences
between these people is great, they
intermingle in all the towns and
carry on ordinary business inter-
animistics. worshipers of the ele-
ments, will be found throughout this
area, in all classes, even among the
subtle minded Bengali scholars.
Welcomed by British.
When the flight landed at the royal
air force airdrome, west of the sacred
city of Allahabad, the American air
aviators stationed there. While all of
these officers are anxious to see Capt
Stuart Maclaren succeed in flying
round the world first. they have taken
his American competitors to their
bosomS with that characteristic hos
pitality and sportsmanship for which
rhey are noted throughout the world
The distance from Calcutta to ALA
habad, AS miles, was covered in six
hours and twenty minutes flying time.
or at the rate of about Seventy-one
miles per hour for the entire dis
tance. flying against head winds and
encountering several thunderstorms,
which made it necessary to detour
considerably from the direct route
and contributed to the slow average
speed for this flight. However. con-
sidering these obstacles, the planes
were able to make much faster time
than had heretofore been possible
with the heavy, bulky pontoons,
which were left at Calcutta.
The flight landed in perfect condi-