Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-14
Associate Declares Navy Fly
er's Hop-0ff Depends on
Weather Conditions To-
morrow Evening.
FEW.HOUR ST0P0VER.
TO PRECEDE RETURN TRIP
Official Confirmation Is Lacking,
but Excitement at His Hangar
Is Evident - Project Pushed
That Lindbergh May Be Present
to Witness Beginning.
By the Associated Press.

6y the Associated fress.
| mitchell FIELD, N. Y, June IL.
"A man close to the flying camp OF
Comdr. Richard Evelyn Byrd, who
asked that his identity be shielded,
told the Associated Press today that,
weather permitting, Byrd will hop
off either tomorrow night or Thurs
day morning for a round-trip Eu-
ropean fight, stopping i'll Paris only
few hours.
This man expressed the opinion,
which he said was based on per-
senal knowledge, that the early
take-off would be made SO that
Charles Lindbergh might be present
to wish luck to Byrd, just as Byrd
wished him luck when he took off.
The round trip. with brief stop-off,
had been decided on, he stated, be-
cause it was believed Clarence Cham
berlin and Charles Levine intended
to fly home from Europe, and that,
therefore, one-way flight would no
longer have any great savor of orig
inality.
Admits Early Start.
Met by an Associated Press reporter
in the Lindbergh crowd yesterday,
Comdr. Byrd said that he was plan
ming to leave for Paris soon, but not
until after the first flush Of the cele.
bration for Lindbergh. Because he
is scheduled to receive an honorary
degree from university Wednesday,
it was supposed that the fight would
he postponed until the end aof 4lae
week. but today It was said that
weather was the only thing that could
now delay the take-of tomorrow night
or early Thursday morning.
Grover Whaien speaking over the
telephone for Rodman Wanamaker,
financial backer of the Byrd fight.
declined either to deny or confirm the
report of round-trip flight. He said
he could not comment on the report
in any way at the time and that there
was no statement to be given out con.
cerning the Byrd plans just now. 4
Mechanics Keep Silent.
At the Byrd hangar at Roosevelt
Field mechanics professed ignorance
about the plans for a -round-trip flight,
DuI IneT6 SEEMED 10 DC q IeeHtIS VI
excitement and secrecy about the
hangar which suggested that some.
thing unusual was in the air.
The tri-motored Fokker America"
which will be manned by Byrd, George
Neville and Bert Acosta, who, with
Chamberlin, holds the world record
for endurance flying, was said to be in
readiness for a hop-off whenever 1t
should be decided to leave.
James Kimbail of the Weather
Bureau of New York, questioned by
telephone concerning atmospheric
conditions. said that, as he had been
given to understand that Byrd would
not leave before the end of the week,
he had taken no steps to compile
weather charts. He had no data, he
said, concerning probable conditions
for the other side of the ocean, but on
this side there was stormy weather
which would not be favorable for
flying.
1t was learned here this afternoon
that the food decided on for a trans
atlantic flight had been slowed aboard
the America and that the gas tanks
were filed. The light landing gear had
also been changed for the transatlan.
tic wheels, indicating that no more
test flying was planned before the
takeoff.