Evening star., 1927-10-10
FRENCH PLANE OFF
ON ARGENTINE HOP
Costes and lie Brix, Prevent
ed From Atlantic Attempt,
Start Southwark.
By the Associated Press.


lie BOURGET, France, October 10.
Prevented by bad weather from at
tempting the Paris-to.New York flight
this late in the season. Dieudonne
Costes and Lieut.. Joseph lie Brix
turned the nose of their plane the
Nungesser-Coli to the South today,
with Buenos Aires as their ultimate
destination.
They took, off at 9:43 o'clock, hop
ing to make st. Louis. Senegal, 1000
miles away, on the first hop, then
cross the South Atlantic to Natal on
the Brazilian coast, and proceed to
the Argentine capital, with one more
stop at Rio de Janeiro.
Their Breguet military biplane, in
which Costes has made several notable
long distance flights, totaling $4,000
miles, with various companions, rose
easily after a run of 1900 yards, cir
cled the field twice and soon disap-
peared to the southwark over Paris!
It was escorted on it's way by mil
itary plane, which had previously
gone aloft to investigate the weather
conditions.
Signals All Is Well.
Soon after the start LIE BriX was
heard signaling on the radio that all
was going well. The start was de-
layed for more than an hour await
ing the clearing of a haze which
hung over the field. Then Costes dis
covered he had forgotten his favor1te
leather hemlet, and it was brought
over from Villacoublay by another
plane.
A great crowd of South Americans,
aviators and French notables, waved
farewell to the men, whose flight IS
exnected TO blaze the way for an air
mail service between Paris ana oouen
America. The plane carries 1,Ioo
mounds of baggage and newspapers
and mail, including two small pack
ages addressed to President de Alvear
of Argentina by Secretary BemoeFs
of the legation IN Paris.
Only $50 gallons Of gasoline, ABOUT
three-fourth of the planes capaclty,
were taken for the first leg of the
flight. The plane is driven by single
Hispano-Suiza motor.
Equipped for Emergency.
> All the tanks are equipped with
uuick-emptying device which also
seals them and converts them INTO
buoys for the plane in case OF 1orceo
alighting at sea. The cochplt -
watertight. A collapsed balloon nas
is stored under part of the fuselage
With a hottie of compressed air at
tached, to aid in floating the plane IN
an emergency. In addition to THESE
nrecautions. the airmen have small
rubber lifeboat.
The provisions carried include
chamnagne. coffee, distilled water,
biscuits. sandwiches, bananas and
sugar. Sun helmets were taken along
for use in the torrid zone. The
plane's radio has a range or ABOUT
800 miles, and the call letters are
The route of the first leg lay south
to Bordeaux, across Spain TO CID
raltar. Tangier and Rahat, Morocco
and thence down the coast to 81.
Louis.
Plan Three.day Flight.
s'Paris to Buenos Aires in three
days-thats what we are after" said
costes as he climbed into the cockpit.
Experts agreed that, if successful, the
flight would be more valuable air
feat for France than the crossing of
the North Atlantic in one hop, as 1t
would supply data for the Paris
Buenos Aires air mail, for which the
Latecoere Co. has a contract.
The plane thus constitutes the first
regular air mail ever leaving Paris
for South America. When the plane
took off today two of her fuel tanks,
each Of $50 gallons capacity, We're
empty. These tanks, remodeled into
post office compartments, were labeled
with the names of the cities to be Wis
tied and filled with letters and small
parcels.
Naval Lieut.. Joseph LIE .Brix, the
navigator and wireless operator, in
tended to broadcast the planes call
letters, FRAN, every hour while
flying over land and to give the
planes position every quarter hour
while over the Atlantic.