Evening star., 1925-09-11
Phi TO TRY FLIGHT
TO HONOLULU SOON:
RODGERS ADVANCED
Trip to Start About Septem-
Der 21-PN-9 Head Made
Assistant Chief.

While eXcitemeT nd happiness
was at its height naval aviation
today over the findin- OF the lost Pm
9 No. l and its crew alive and well,
announcement was made by the Navy
Department that Comdr. John Rodg-
ers, pilot and flight comma nder of the
Pacific coast Hawaiian flight. has
been appointed assistant chief of the
Bureau of Aeronautics and that the
Phi. the third plane of the original
flight project. would undertake a non.
stop fight to the Pacific Islands about
September 81.
Both announcements came as a dis
tinCt surprise. and was received with
almost as much enthusiasm as the re-
covery of the lost seaplane Comdr.
Rodges will succeed Capt. A. w. John
son, who has been assistant chief OF
the bureau beyond the allotted time
and had requested sea duty. For a
long time Ii was known he would
leave the post and his successor was
matter Of great concern TO followers
of aviation. The selection of Comdr
Rodgers was hailed as a great asset
TO nav aviation, owing to his thor
ough knowledge and experience with
the subject.
NIlbur Is fOyerjoyed.
While the entire Navy Department
was ''overjoyed," as Secretary Wilbur
expressed it, naval aviators began to
speculate on the possibilities of the
Boeing patrol PB-D carrying out the
plans laid for it originally. The Navy
Secretary, after the apparent loss of
the PN-9 No. !, had halted its con
templated flight and declared he would
hn nd tal fprr
shown just why it should be done.
Capt. Stanford E. Moses, COM
mander of the flight project on the
Pacific coast, advised the department
today that the flight would take place
after the conclusion of the equinoXial
storms of the Pacific. He reported
that successful tests had been made
with the plane whose fight to
Hawaii had been postponed indefinite.
ly to permit concentration on the
search for the PN-9 No. l.
The PB-1 was scheduled to take off
with the two PMS, but engine
trouble developed at the last moment
and time was not available to install
a new power plant. 1t was to have
taken off the following day in the
wake of the other two. but the forced
landing Of the No. 3 and the disap-
pearance of No. l precluded this.
Carry Huge Fuel Supply.
Capt. Moses stated that the PB-1
on a recent test took off with a load
Of 900 gallons of gasoline, 713 gal
Ions more than the PN-9 No. l car
ried. and regarded this amount as
sufficient for the trip to the islands.
a feature of the planes construction
is that once in the air one of it's two
500 horsepower tandem-mounted mo-
tors may be cut out entirely, and the
craft can continue it's flight on one
motor. The advantage in this Is the
saving of fuel.
Comdr. Rodgers will report to
Washington as soon as possible to as
sumo his new duties, the department
said. Decision on the appointment
was made late last night when Sec
retary Wilbur learned of the rescue of
the PN-9 No. l and its crew. For the
time being, at least Comdr. Rodgers
will retain his present rank and pay,
although his predecessor is a captain.
Comdr. Rodgers is a native Wash
inetonian and was educated in the
public schools. He was among the
first naval officers to receive aviation
training, having taken instruction
from the Wright brothers in Dayton,
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