The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1927-01-22
AVIATION HAS,
MADE STEADY
DEVELOPMENT
Several Notable Exploits Of
Flying Have Been Record
ed During This Year


Washington, Jan. 22.--GP)-Sub-
st4ntisl progress in the development
OF aviation, both commercial and mil
itary. together with several notable
exploits of flying. including flights
respectively by an airplane and a
diriglble over the North Pole, was
While the United States took the
operation Of aircraft and is we'll in
the front rank in the technical, devel-
opment of military aircraft, it was a
notable feature Of the aviation pro-
gress in 1926 that European nations,
especially the Latin countries, made
enormous strides in their flying
development.
There is a pessimistic note, how
ever, in American aviation circles in
the comparison Of American and Eu-
ropean commercial use Of airplanes.
While the United States commercial
flying has displayed encouraging
development, In Europe large air
planes, engaged in commercial and
passenger carrying flights, are being
used extensively mainly supported bv
governmental subsidies. Passenger
carrying services in the United States
have not been usually financially
successful and aviation in this coun-
try must largely pay its own way,
but the government is endeavoring to
pave the. way by establishing and
maintaining airways without resort
ing to the subsidy policy.
Private Operation of Mail Routes
"A note of the future progress of
commercial aviation is sounded in the
plan of the postoffice department to
turn over it's air mail routes entirely
to private companies in 1927. Avi-
alton authorities claim that the
main problem facing the flying
industry to place it on a self-support-
ing basis, is to establish substantial
reductions in cost Of construction,
operation and maintenance, together
with betterment Of the safety Of
aerial navigation.
Probably rs an index for the rosy
future of aviation in America the no.
table feature of 1926 was the clarifi-
cation Of aeronautical legislation, in
GLIDING the appointment of aviation
secretaries in the Departments of
Commerce, Navy and War and the
five-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 $7,21O,O0O for 1928, de-
spite the Administrations policy of
economy. The president recommended
to Congress, appropriations of $685.
600, an increase of $4,000 for the
National Advisory Committee on
.Aeronautics; Army $24, 1896 300, an in
crease of $4,00O.0OO; Navy &4,855,85O.
2 5000 900 increase and commerce,
$3,219,6OO, an increase of $4,000, OOC.
Three Polar Flights
Three flights to the North Pole
were essayed in 1926, two of them
successful, one by an American in
an airplane and another by Nor.
wegian in a dirigible. From January
to May Captain George Wilkins, Aus
tralian flier, attempted to conquer
the Arctic regions in flights from
Alaska, but all of his three planes
met with mishaps. In q brilliantly
courageous flight Lieutenant Com
mander Richard Byrd of the United
States Navy contributed the greatest
aviation exploit Of the past year in
. flight on May from -Spitzbergen
TO the North Pole and return in fif-
teen hours and thirty minutes. Roald
Amundsen, the Norwegian Arctic ex-
aplorer, and Commander Mobile of the
Italian Navy followed two days later
with another flight over the Pole in
the Dirigible Norge from Spitzbergen
to Nome, Alaska, 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 Eng
land to Capetown, South Africa, and
Of two .Frenchmen, 1t. Challes and
Captain Weiser, who flew $3.50 miles
from Paris to Bender Abbas, Persia.
An American, 1t. 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. Insmashing all the
seaplane speed records in the Schnei-
der up races, Major Mario de Bcrnadi
on November IL brought fame to
Italy.
New Record Set
In the National air meet of Sep
United States Navy established new
pursuit shipspeed record with 1So495
miles per hour. Walter Beach won
the Ford Reliability contest, cover
ing 1852 miles with an average speed
Of 124 miles an hour, on August q.
American balloonists came to the
fore, Wade Van Orman capturing both
the national balloon and the Gordon
Bennett international balloon traces.
Probably the worst aviation dis
aster Of the year was the burning up
OF the giant Sikorsky biplane after
t had left the ground on it's New
ssi k control, En Tno world e ID war s.n ace
crew Of four were killed.
Air traffic multiplied the problems
to- police authorities in 1926. In the
&QYth ..hedge hopping" flying was
prohibited alter q cotton farmer was
killed by low flying plane, while at