Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-05
FOG DELAYS ARMY
BOMBERS' FLIGHT
One Plane Alone Makes Hop
From Augusta to Shreve-
port, La.
BY FREDERICK n. NELLY.

SHREVEPORT. La, September g.
The aviator's ink, fog and clouds with
a co,nrlex for clinging to the tree tops
especialIy in country so rough and roll
ing that a safe landing is virtually I'M
possible, continued to attach itself yes
tsr6sv 70 the amanda Of bombing
planes moving from the Atlantic to the
Pacific Coast.
Only one plane got through that
carving Lieut.. J. E. Upston OF the once
NJ The chief of Air Corps i'll Washins-
fo,, an6 the writer but the fact that
fhn others were unable 10 make II IS
no reflection against the plotting OK the
have az the wheels Of the bis TWIN
Liberty keystone ships.
Orc lone plane. free from formation
Hvlne, free from the orders ana laoIal
understanding and obligation that goes
u,ith following a leader. has mucn
better chance charging through the ar
y,ars hell than a unit as large as the
>I,t+, mat now is working its way 10
Arc Pacific on the longest tactlcai
nznsuveT yet undertaken,
Malone Plane Haits.
A. the crack Of dawn i'll Augusta the
hor-,hsrs were winging UP at the
r,,,,-;c,ual airport Before all tempera-
t,,~s cusces reached the satisfactory
roi,,s one bomber piloted by Lieut., A.
I < Malone. had 10 drop by the way
side Something just woulont Work.
end in accordance with prearranged
rIanes the flight was not to be held up
owing 10 the failure of one ship,
60 at Gas o'clock. under threaten
f,c skies. eight bombeTs ieaped into the
air. They had been preceded by
Douglas two-seater observation plane
few minutes earlier and we're followed
BY the Boiling Field Curtis Falcon,
piloted by Lieut.. Upston. The way
ahead did not look sweet and the SKIES
held something of an unpleasant at
TnoSnhere Spreading out little to
make fying easier for the lombard
n,ent pilots. the squadron rode the air
while the Falcon sat alongside and at
a higher level. with its two occupants
watching the show from their flying
grsndstand seat.
Suddenly the Douglas two-seater was
seen heading back for the airport:
Pilot Bradshaw of this ship looked
neither to the right nor left. 1t looked
like his old war-built Liberty was tg-
uring on letting him down" even
though IL was brand new.
Fog Begins to Form.
The clouds gradually took on double
aspect. Close TO the ground right In
the tree tops little patches began to
form. while Immediately overhead at
800 feet was thicker and ug1er
LAYER. The Falcon continued straight
on the compass course. The ground
-S@l.r "a frs1k-.
ed back and saw the bombers bearing
10 the left or the east as il was. in an
effort to 90 around this muck.
Lieut.. Upston. seeing occasional holes
ahead however. kept the nose of the
ship right on the course. Then the
stuff began to close in all around. In
another minute We were alone. with
neither sky nor ground visible.
sllroud of damp. cianlmy fog and clouds
enveloped the plane This was blind
flying in the truest sense.
The bonhers used their heads. To ny
formation through that stuff when the
ends Of the wings Of the Falcon were
hardly visible would be calling for
service above and beyond the can Of
duty In time ct peaee and probably
would result In placing lie ana limb
at the wIlim of fate.
There was no let up ahead. Nov and
then heeting glimpse OF tree top
would be gained, Lieut. Upston glided
down through the white stun cautious
~ leveItag of frequently, until We
we're at $50 feet Here We caught
sight Of a river which. we later dis
covered. ran past the town OF Mflledge-
vile, but We didn't see it at the time.
The pilot circied and banked and
matched with this queer meteorological
80.
everyday hard work for the cross
country pilot.
Land at Macon.
As there is an end to everything. so
vas there an end TO this. The tree
top clouds and fog became thinner and
thinner and disappeared. We looked
around no bornbers. We thought so.
And there was Macon ahead with
black mist on the horizon. Suddenly
the roar of the faithful. TO date. Cur
tiss Dig, modern horsepower en-
gine ceased.
The pilot had cut the gun and was
giving the municipal airport of Macon
the Once-oyer. He then went down
lower and dragged" ii. looking for
bitches or other distractions. Then ne
landed and, borrowing telephone at
nearby country store, communicated
with Maxwell Field. Montgomery, Ala,
for conditions there Finding them per-
feet. the journey was resumed. Lieut..
Upston, who knows this country. ex-
planned that there are many hills pc
tween Macon and Montgomery, and II
the weather was what We had just foWn
through. he would do no more tree-bop
flying until ii cleared A few minutes
out Of Macon we picked up nlgn
ceiling and clear weather. which on-
tanned until We reached Shreveport at
5.25 o'clock, Eastern time, eliminating
a days flight Of It's miles in hours
and Is minutes.
Al Maxwell Field we found the bomb
ers had turned back We sensed their
disappointment and the disappointment
Of the cities and towns along The line,
especially Shreveport. which had pre-
pared a big blowout in their honor.
up 70 the present the country over
which We have flown and over which
the nolnbers have yet TO nv Is rough,
rolling wooded and, generally speaking,
moor. A let-d0wn Of Our engine any
time would have called forth some pilot
ing far above the high standard Lieut.,
upston already has maintained through
out the trip.
Back Seat Passenger Entertained.
The back seat passenger. with ndh'
tns % 90 20 while away the time. but
bounce and bump In the rough air tna'
took holc Of US at point near FOR
Benning. Ga. and continued UP a
Shreveport, vas treated 70 running
Are Of sightseeing barker tactics b.
Lieut. UpSton.
AS We passed thriving city on oui
left. q note came back through NOUS
hole in me wall separating the I'VE
Cockpiis
Jackson, Miss. half way 70 SheYe
port Scientific observations: Time
nm. e. s 7 revolutions per nlnut
800 81 degrees. oil, ditto, compass
course 270 degrees; oil pressure, 30
rounds per square Inch, altitude, 280
fnot. atr Etlepd InH uftles Der hour