White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1926-12-31
AIR MAIL PILOTS
HAVE their TROUBLES


When you think of an air mail pilot
you think Of Something almost perfect
and don't take into consideration that
after all he is only human being and
his path is not All roses. The Passed
Herald last week printed some of the
experiences of these pilots, which the
Spokesman believes will be sufficiently
interesting to it's readers to publish.
On December 6, Pilot Endert, flying
between Boise and Salt Lake city was
forced down near; Strevell, Idaho on
account of dense fog. He had his mail
plane towed five miles over hump"
and the air was cleared sufficiently so
that he took of, and completed the trip.
He was one Of the four pilots making
Salt Lake his first stop that day.
Last week Pilot Joe Taft, on the
Pasco- Boise flight arrived Lere much
later than usual one day. He had found
fog on his way between Boise and
Pasco and had mounted to $4,000
foot altitude, taken his compass course
and had started over the fog. He had
set his course to overcome the wind
drift. After seeing nothing but fog for
more than an hour he discovered that
the wind had changed, and he changed
his course to almost right angles to his
previous course. I'm about IS minutes
he sighted Pendseton, Oregon in the
dim distance. He then set his course
for Pasco and made the local air port.
On Tuesday, December IA, Pilot
George Buck started from Boise with
the ncrthbound mail. He arrived in
Pasco about an hour late. While cross
ing the Blue Mountains he was caught
in binding sfSwstorm and was
forced 10 fly low, at times in canons
and among trees At times he was
forced to stand in the cockpit of his
plane in order to see at all. Owing to
his goggles becoming coated with
sleet and snow he. was forced to re-
move them. When he landed in Pasco
his face was badly beaten up by hail
and by icicles whiM had formed on
the air plane ndafallen into the pro-
peller blast, which gave them added
velocity. u
Owing to the fact that Mr.. Taft was
being held in Boise to bring up late
mail from Salt Lake City, Pilot Buck
s.arted fer Boise the next morning with
the eastbound mail. He left Pasco be-
fore daylight and while, it was still
showing. He had a strong wind
against him. Before reaching the Blue
Mountains he was forced to land once.
He waited until daylight and took off
for Boise in dense fog. Now and then
he would find an sopening in the fog
and make his way across the noun
tains not too sure but that he might
finish in a tree or against a mountain
side. At Union, Oregon he was forced
down by strong wind, SO strong that
cars. were blown 1odffs <hc highway in
that vicinity. This wind also drifted SO
much snow from the ground that there
was practically no visibility.
Pilot Buck returned to LaGrandc
with the mail and held it there until
train time and sent it by rail to Boise
where it was taken by plane again to
Salt Lake. Pilot Buck then started to
return to Pasco but was forced down
by dense fog at Helix, Oregon. He left
the plane there and returned tc Pasco
by train.
Early the next morning Mr.. Buck
with Chris Larson, the mechanic at the
local air port, drove to Helix with the
mail in an auto. They drove 90 miles
through fog and sect which froze
to the windshield until they were
forced to open the glass in order to see
the road. The fog was still very dense
but they at once went to work to re-
mcve acoating a of one half inch of ice
from the air plane. After clearing the
plane they warmed up the motor ready
for the flight with the mail when the
fog lifted. After warming up the motor
every two hours but the fog never
lifting they finally sent the mail out
by rail.
Late that afternoon a west wind
cleared the fog sufficiently so that
Pilot Buck was able to take off and re-
turn the air plane tc Pasco, while Mr..
Larson drove the car back.
1t has been strenuous storm period
for the air mail men yet the mail has
been on time much of the time, and a
large part of the delays have been
caused by the transcontinental mail
being late in arriving at Salt Lake
City.