Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-17
SPEED AVERAGES IS MILES.
Graf May Arrive in Toxic % Hours
Ahead of Schedule.

Graf May Arrive in Toxic % Hours
Ahead of Schedule.
| MOSCOW, August II CP).-Facing
| the most difficult half of its 6,600-mile
| journey, the Graf Zeppelin, with 20
| passengers and 40 crew aboard, today
cruised just south of the Arctic Circle
above a vast Siberian wasteland.
| Its position reported at pm. EAST
ern standard tirne) Friday, was latitude
81 north, longitude 80 east, spot about
| 100 miles north of Laryansk, on the
| Vakh River. Previous messages from
the Zeppelin had said laconically, "All
we'll aboard"
The position given was 2,e41 miles
east and north of Friedrichshafen,
which the dirigible left at 1924 pm
| eastern standard tine) Wednesday, On
what was to be its most perilous and
| longest Journey.
The elapsed time of 43 hours and IS
minutes represented an average speed
of about 60 miles an hour, about l8
miles per hour in excess of the cruising
average DR.. Hugo Eckener, the ships
master had hoped to obtain. Speed in
excess of 100 miles an hour was at
| tanned at one stage of the flight yesser-
day.
course from the pm. eastern stand
ard time) position at 3,760 miles and
presuming the average speed of SO miles
an hour would be maintained, around
SIS hours would be needed to bring the
ship to Toxic and end the second lap
of the round-the-world flight.
| Thus. under continued favorable cir
cumstances the Graf might reach Toxic
at about pm Monday, Japanese time
with an elapsed flying time OF about 81
| hours. a full % hours less than the
time DR.. Eckener estimated he would
need to complete the journey.
These calculations. however, were
based on most favorable weather condi-
| lions and cid not take into account the
weather reports. and in general prob
ably extremely difficult flying circum-
stances.
Heads into Mountainous Area.
Presenting the Zeppelin crossed the
Yenisei River within a few hours OF
the pm eastern standard time)
position-which might be considered
the halfway mark of the Journey
headed almost at once into a noun
famous area with peaks ranging up to
5000 and 1000 feet.
An uncertain escape from passage
entirely over mountains was available
River Basin and the Vilui or Lena River
Basins to Yakutsk (Jakutsk), where the
turn southeastward to Toxic probably
will be made.
1t was a region from which might
be expected almost no reports of sight
jngs at all. It is peopled by wild, no
madic tribes most of whom have never
seen anything remotely resembling an
airplane or an airship. A forced de-
scent might bring the Zeppelin down
many miles and many days from habi-
tations and succor.
Constant Reports Received.
The Crafts progress yesterday was
more or less consistently reported, both
by sightings and radio messages from
the ship itself. Veering northward
from Wischni Wolotschok, United
States Soviet Republics, it passed to
the north Of Moscow and crossed the
Urals in the neighborhood of NadeZh-
dinsky, about the sixtieth parallel.
At 1890 am. eastern standard
time) the Graf passed over Kitzel.
largest pit-coal region of the Urals, and
dropped a package Of six postcards, adj
dressed by DR.. Johann C. Karlin, Rus
sian meterologist, to Russian aviation
leaders, relatives and friends.
The message on each said: lowing
to the wind DR.. Hugo Eckener refused
to pass over Moscow which would have
resulted in loss of to 10 hours
Once past the Urals the Graf fol-
lowed with slight variations the sixtieth
parallel, veering northward slightly as
it approached YeniSei River and its
halfway mark.