New Britain herald., 1927-06-21
MAN WILL
 to IN BYRD PLANE Former Norwegian Naval Lieu-
 tenant Is One Selected HOP TODAY IS UNLIKELY

Four Persons to Prove Machine
 Can Carry That Number Over
 Atlantic Ocean.
 Roosevelt Field. N. r, June T P,-Announcement was made today that fourth man will travel in the tran-Atlantic monoplane America" on it's ocean flight and that that man will be Bernt Balchen, former lieutenant in the Norwegian navy
 T decided to take a fourth man." Commander Richard E.. Byrd, who is in charge of the expedition, an- nounced, ito demonstrate that such number can be carried on a trans oceanic trip. I should like to call this fourth man a passenger, but Balchen is so useful that in effect at least he will be an important member of the crew."
 Weather Not Promising.
 In announcing Balchen's appoint ment in mid morning. Byrd said at that time there seemed to be only about one chance in 10 of hopping off for Europs tonight. He said that with such weather reports as he then had he would tentatively set tomorrow morning as the earliest time for a take-off.
 Lieut.. Balchen is an experienced pilot. navigator and mechanic. He came into wide notice in 192 when he flew over the Arctic wastes in search of the missing expedition headed by Roald Amundsen. Last year he was member of .Amund- sens north pole expedition in the airship Norge. being stationed at Spitzgergen.
 There Balchen became friendly with Commander Byrd. who was getting ready for his polar flight in the Miss Josephine Ford and after Byard had flown over the pole he brought Balcten back to this coun- try.
 Made Final Tests. Balchen became member O. the flying staff of the F'okkcr a,rplane staff at Teterboro and it was he who made the final tests on the "Ameri- ca and flew it from New Jersey to Roosevelt Field. where it was of ficially turned over to Byrd. During the month of preparation here Balchen has been constantly about the hangar. aiding in many ways. Byrd said today that Balchen would probably be called on during the flight 10 act as navigator while he takes his turn at the controls to relieve Bert Acosta. the flight pilot. Balchen also promises to be of as- sistance to George Neville, flight engineer. because of Balchen's long experience with airplane engines.
 Weather is Very Bad
 Take off for France will be impos- sible either tonight or tomorrow morning and present atmospheric conditions do not look favorable for a hop off any time tomorrow, James IT. Kimball. weather bureau mete- orologist, announced today.
 Tt doesn't look so good now" he said shortly before noon. as it did before we got the detailed reports of the later morning in. There is a storm that has been moving north east from Hatteras since Sunday night that makes a departure to- night or in the morning impossible.
 "That storm is now east of Nan tucket and south of Halifax. It is of considerable intensity. There were winds of AS miles an hour last night off Nantucket and that was not at the center of the disturbance. The prospect for an ocean flight any was before We got the latest reports on the movements of this storm cen ter, which is heading directly for the Grand Banks"
 By tho Associated Press
 Numerous Flights Planned Numerous ocean flights are now being planned as the result of tho successful journeys across the At lnatic made by Charles A. Lindbergh Clarence D. ChamberIin and Charles A. Levine. None of the flights. how. ever. were planned before Lind. bergh and Chamberlin started theirs
 Commander Richard E. Byrd. who flew over the north pole. will fly from New York to Paris as soon as the weather permits. He expects to have three men with him.
 The navy department at Washing ton has announced that there Is a possibility that the dirigible Los An geles may attempt a flight from Lakehurst. N. J.. its home port. to Honolulu.
 Lieutenans Lester J. Maitland and Albert Hagenberger. army pilots. have announced they will attempt a San Francisco-H Honolulu flight with in three weeks. B. H. Griffin, of Okla homa City, is expected to hop off on the same flight the latter part of July.
 Lieutenant Carl Ben Eielson. for mer navy pilot. has entered the pro- posed Seattle-to- flight, for which a prize of s25,0oo has been offered.
 Ernest l.. Smith. air mail pilot, has announced that he expects to hop off from San Francisco within ten days for a flight to Honolulu.
 Richard Grace, Hollywood aviator, is reported en route to Honolulu. whence he may hop off for a flight to San Francisco.
 Captain Frank Malkovsky and Lieutenant Ludwid Pavlovsky, CZechoslovakian airmen. have de- clared their intention of flying from
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