Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-05
AMERICAS LANDING GENTLE,
SAYS BALCTfEN IN OWN STORY
AIighting in Sea With Ground
Plane Is Novel Duty
for Pilot.
Norwegian Looks Forward to
Accompanying Byrd on
South Pole Hop.
BY LIEUT.. BERNT BALCHEN.

BY Cable to The Star and the New York Times
PARIS. July 5.--If it had not been
for the fog and a temporary affec-
ton of our compass there would have
been nothing to it.
We had a good plane. Our motors
never gave us any trouble. Not once
during the whole flight did ! have to
crawl out on the wings to wipe the
engine. That, besides relieving Acos-
ia, was to have been part of my job
when Comdr. Byrd kindly asked me
to go along.
But those engines needed no WHIP
ing nor fixing. They would have
landed us right at Paris If the fog
had not interfered. During the last
part of the trip piloted the plane.
1t was up to me to find lie Bourget
or some other place to land.
For the kind of landing we made
I take full responsibility. / believe
it was a good landing, considering
that l had to land with land plane
at sea, something which is not ordi-
narily done.
Land Landing Impossible.
Why did we not land on land?
Every one is asking that question.
1t could not be done. When you are
flying you can not attempt to land
before you are sure of what is under
you. In that fog l could not be sure
of anything.
People seem to be surprised that /
did not see the Eiffel Tower. No /
did not see it, and l was mighty
glad that l didn't see it. I should not
have liked to shake hands with the
Eiffel Tower before knowing it was
there.
Everybody is talking about it hav-
ing been a thrilling flight. l am not
accustomed to writing articles l am
a Norwegian with only my first citi-
zenship papers and as yet I cannot
express myself well in English.
But the truth is that l do not get
that thrilled" stuff of the people
who talk about flying. I never get
any thrills" out of flying. 1t is no
different to me from driving a motor
car, except that personally 1 prefer
flying. l think it is safer.
Tired of Fog.
So far as this flight across the
ocean is concerned. it was one of
the dullest and most monotonous |
have ever been on. Fog, fog, fog.
You could not see anything. I got
tired of it.
Anyway 1t is wrong for people to
get into their heads the idea that
flying is a circus stunt, thrilling and
| dangerous. What people should learn
is that flying is a safe way to travel,
| one of the safest there is.
l used to fly planes full of dyna-
mite across Hudson Bay on construc-
ton work for the Canadian govern
ment. 1 felt much safer doing it in
a plane than I should have felt in
a railroad car. My friends up there
| in the Canadian woods used to warn
me that if / ever fell my plane and
| would be mistaken for the Aurora
Borealis, but never had a crash.
Twice 1 jumped from a high alti-
tude with a parachute. But I did
that for fun. There was nothing
| wrong with the plane. I have flown
mail planes, passenger and dynamite
planes and my experience convinces
me that flying is now here, only as
dangerous as a lot of things foolish
people do on earth every day of the
week.
Is % Years Old.
I am only 81 years old. I cannot
say what is coming to me in the flu
ture. and knock wood when I say
it, but, so far, I can say that the
years Of my life which have been the
least dangerous have been my flying
years. Certainly they have been much
less perilouS than the year I spent as
a soldier in the Norwegian army. es-
pecially during the way, when Nor
way did not know whether she would
stay neutral or not.
On this flight across the ocean IL
we had had good weather the whole
business would have been as simple
as eating a piece of pie. There would
not have been anything to talk about
except that we left and arrived &C.
cording to schedule.
When we left New York / expected
an even break with the weather. Col
Lindbergh had it. But we did not
have it. It was raining even when
| we started. But that was nothing;
we could stand the rain, and during
the first five hours, or practically I'M
| til we reached Nova Scotia, we could
not complain.
I sat in the rear compartment with
| Comdr. Byrd, so that the plane would
not be nose heavy. We had on board
a big load of gasoline in cans. Until
we could empty some of them the mat
ter of equilibrium was something we
had to think about.
Had Tools Handy.
! had all my tools right handy as
| to be able to climb out on the wings
at the first sign Of motor trouble.
That would not have been hard to do,
because the wings had catwalks along
which I could crawl safely, no matter
how fast or how high we were travel