Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-31
MARKEDpROGRESS
IN AIR DURING 1926
Notable Exploits in Flying
and Substantial Gains
Recorded for u. S.

i -
notable exploits of flying, including
| flights, respectively, by an airplane
and q dirigible over the North Pole,
| was recorded during 1926.
| While the United States took the
! lead in the private ownership and
| operation of aircraft and is well in
| the front rank in the technical devel-
opment of military aircraft, it was a
| notable feature of the aviation prog
| ress in 1926 that European nations,
especially the Latin countries, made
enormous strides in their flying de-
velopment.
There is a pessimistic note, how
ever, in American aviation circles in
the comparison of American and
European commercial use of air
planes. While the United States
commercial flying has displayed en-
couraging development, in Europe
large airplanes, engaged in CONNER
ial and passenger carrying flights,
are being used extensively, mainly
supported by governmental subsidies.
PaSsenger-Carrying services in the
United States have not been usually
financially successful and aviation IN
this country must largely pay its own
Way bol liz 'ION q lliIANA4b 10 'hNN'N'
0ring to pave the way by establishing
and maintaining airways without re-
sorting to the subsidy policy.
Turn Over Mail Routes.
4 note of the future progress of
commercial aviation is sounded in the
plan of the Post Office Department to
turn over its air mail routes entirely
to private companies in 1927. AVA
ton authorities claim that the main
problem facing the flying industry to
place it on a self-supporting basis is
to establish substantial reductions in
cost of construction, operation and
maintenance, together with betterment
Of the safety of aerial navigation.
Probably as an index for the rosy
future of aviation i'll America the
notable feature of 1926 was the clari-
tication of aeronautiCal legislation,
including the appointment of aviation
secretaries in tie Departments OF
Commerce, Navy and War, and the
tive-year programs for the Army and
Navy Air Corps.
What the Coolidge administration
thinks OF aviation is expressed in the
increase of the air budget of the Gov
eminent by S7,210, 900 for 1928, despite
the administration policy of econ
omy. The President recommended to
Congress appropriations of S523,000,
an increase of $4,000, for the Ma
tional Advisory Committee on Aero
nautics; Army, $24, 1886 300 an in
crease of $4,000, 900: Navy, $4,S55 $50,
q $200 900 increase, and Commerce,
$3,219, 500, an increase of 100000.
Flights to North Pole.
Three flights to the North Pole
were essayed in 1926, two of them sue
cessful, one by an American in an air
plane and another by a Norwegian in
q dirigible. From January to May,
Capt. George Wilkins, Australian
flyer attempted to conquer the Arctic
regions in flights from Alaska. but
all of his three planes met with mis-
haps.
In brilliantly courageous flight,
Lieut.. Comdr. Richard Byrd of The
United States Navy contributed the
greatest aviation exploit of the past
year in a flight on May 9 from SpitZ-
bergen to the North Pole and return
in IS hours and 80 minutes. Roald
Amundsen, the Norwegian Arctic ex-
pIorer, and Comdr. Mobile of the
italian navy followed two days later
with another flight over the pole in
the drigible Norge from Spitzbergen
to Nome, Alaska, a, trip of 1000
miles
Other notable flights were the
Army's hop to South America, and
the exploits of an Englishman, Sir
Alan Gotham, who flew from England
to Capetown, South Africa, and of
two Frenchmen Lieut.. Challes and
Capt Weiser, who few $3.50 miles
from Paris to Bender Abbas. Persia.
An American, Lieut.. James Doolittle
OF the Army, who topped the Andes
from Santiago. Chile, to Buenos Aires
on September 3, displayed an example
of courage, for he flew with both
ankles broken. In smashing all the
seaplane speed records in the
Schneider Cup races, Maj. Mario de
Bernardo on November 10 brought
fame to Italy.
New Record Established.
In the national air meet of Septem-
Der II, Lieut.. c. T. Cuddihy OF the
United States Navy established new
pursuit ship speed record with 180.495
miles per hour. Walter Beach won
the Ford reliability contest, covering
2652 miles with an average speed OF
124 miles an hour on August 81.
American balloonists came TO the
fore, Wade Van Orman capturing
both the national balloon and the Cor
don Bennett international balloon
races.
Probably the worst aviation disaster
Of the year was the burning up of
the giant Sikorslly biplane after it
had left the ground on its New York
to Paris flight. with Capt. Rene
Fonck, French World War ace, at the
controls. Two of the planes crew of
four were killed.
Air traffic multiplied the problems
to police authorities in 1926. In the
South hedge hopping" flying was
prohibited after a cotton farmer was
killed by low-fying plane, while at
the Harvard-Yale crew races air po-
1ica u.era on dTfV 10 DreVent planes