Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-09-22
7. A. 7. AERIAL
BUSINESS GOOD
MANAGER says
Number of Passengers
Increasing; Browns
vile Only Six Hours
From Dallas


dinner and attend a theater that
evening.
Mail a letter at Brownsville az
noon and have 1t read in Chicago
early the next morning.
This is what air passenger and
mail service being supplied by Tex
as Air Transport, Inc. is doing 10
bring the Valley closer to the out
side world.
And the people are showing ap-
probation for such service. accord
ing to Sid Brown, division manager.
The air mail and passenger lines.
in operation since March Q. have
enjoyed a wonderful growth in bus
mess and the volume for each
month is better than the preceding
month, the manager says.
Business Good
In August an average Of two pas
sengefs per day were taken nortl,
from Brownsville and the south
bound traffic averaged one and a.
fraction persons per day. This Is.
about double the number OF per-
sons carried the first month Of
operation.
Mail traffic has shown a like
growth. An average days load now
Is from rs to 95 pounds. When the
line was started it was a little more
than half this amount.
The mail and passenger lines.
although operated by the same firm
are entirely separate. The passen-
ger plane leaves Brownsville at I
p. m. each day and after stops at
Corpus Christi and San Antonio,
reaches Dallas at 7:20 p. m.
Travelair cabin monoplanes, pow
cred with Wright JIG S00-horsepower
motors. are used en- the passenger
line.
Night Flying Soon
The mail plane leaves the
Brownsville airport at 1:25 p. m.
daily. after making connection with
the Pan-American plane from
Mexico City and reaches Dallas at
7:45 after making stops at San An
tonic and Waco. Stearman planes.
powered with Wright J5 motors arc
used on the mail run.
The company operates off the
municipal airport here under an
agreement with Pan-American Air
WAYS. Inc, lessee Of the field. In
the local organization. in addition
to Brown are Steve Bernard. me-
chanic. and Salvador Hernandez,
steward
Mail pilots are Joe Glass, L. s..
Andrews, j. Harrell Vaughan,
Charley Pedley and Bryant Rob-
bins. Passenger pilots are Walter
McAIisfer. Jimmie Y~oungblocd II
"A. q. Robertson.
T. A. e., by purchase Of the Gulf
Coast Air Lines. owns the air mail
contract for the night-flying line
between Brownsville and Houston
which is TO be started as soon as
the government has completed the
lighted airway now under construc-
ton. This line will connect with
air routes to New Orleans and up
the Atlantic seaboard 70 points in
the east. II Is estimated this air
way will be fully lighted o after
the first of the year. A beacon
each ten miles and an emergency
landing field every 80 miles will be
provided. The first emergency
landing field will be al San Benito
and a second one at Raymondville.
Leave Here at 4 a. IN
Planes flying the route 70 Hous-
ton will leave the Brownsville port
at 4 a. m. arriving at the other end
Of the u in time TO connect with
a mail plane out Of there at 8:l5
a. IN. for New Orleans.
In Gil the time the line has been
operating. the mail planes, north
and south bound, have gone
through" and there has not been
a single forced landing. There has
been one forced landing on a pas
senger plane. without damage 70
pilot or passengers The passenger
plane has returned TO Brownsville
one time after starting TO Corpus
Christi and meeting a storm.
All the pilots have had more than
1000 hours in the air and all Of
them have been on air mail routes
before they began flying over this
route.
On the southbound plane It Is
necessary to wait in Dallas for the
mail plane from Chicago and fire.
uuently a start Is not made from
the north Texas city until late In
the afternoon. When this happens
the mail pilot is forced TO make the
greater part Of the trip to Browns
vile after dark. Although the air.
way Is not lighted. a pilot never
has failed to bring his mail into
port here In time TO catch the
southbound plane TO Mexico City,
which leaves at Sis a. m.
Much Mexican Mail
To prevent these unlighted night
flights. the United States govern
ment has announced IL will light
the route from Brownsville to San
Antonio and provide emergency
landing fields. AS oon as the
Houston project is completed WORK
in 70 be started on the San An
tonic TO Brownsville route.
OF the IS to IS pounds OF air
mail being handled north each day.
about 20 pounds originates in the
Valley and the balance Of 1t comes
from Mexico and countries south