Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-07
ZEPPELIN TO START
ROUND-THE-WORLD
TRIP At MIDNIGHT
Eckener Is Advised Weather
Is Favorable for First
Leg of Cruise. 4
PASSENGERS ORDERED
TOBE ON HAND AT 10 Pm.
Rumors in Lakehurt Hint Globe
Cruise to Be Dirigible Cap
tain's Last Flight.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
NAVAL AIR STATION. LAKE
HURST, N j.. August 7.-Dr. Hugo
Eckner. on his return here from New
York shortly after noon today, an
nounced that the Graf Zeppelin. the
weather appearing favorable, will set
off on the first leg OF her round-the-
world cruise at midnight tonight on
schedule.
At the same time Wilhelm Won
Meister. American Representative oi
the Zeppelin company, said zero hour
for the Is passengers, some OF whom
will 60 only as far as FriedrichShafen
had been set for 10 pm.
RefueIing Is Completed.
All passengers and the ton of mail
and nearly two tons of freight-includ-
ing one Boston bull pup named Happy
will be aboard at that hour, and the
Graf may take the air at any moment
thereafter.
The job of refueling the Graf was
completed at noon. Workmen were still
pumping hydrogen gas into her, how
ever. in the early afternoon.
Although the Graf Zeppelin probably
will ascend into cloudbanks tonight,
Washington weather forecasts handed
to DR.. Eckener as he arrived at the
station indicated that conditions gen.
orally were favorable for the Atlantic
crossing.
An area of calm weather, the fore
cast stated, would extend from Ber-
muda to the Azores. At LakehurSt and
for some distance out beyond the coast
the sky was expected to be overcast,
and fresh west and southwest winds
were predicted. Some rough weather
over the Atlantic was forecast, but it
Of iY0sc
May Be Eckener's Last Trip.
As DR.. Eckener was completing his
plans for departure in the hangar here,
reports drifted over of rumors said to
be fairly insistent at Friedrichshafen,
that this trip around the world is to be
his last The doctor was too busy to
talk to reporters, however
Names of all the passengers who will
be aboard tonight have been made
public save one. He-or she-did not
want any information given out before
sailing time. All day reporters and
cameramen eagerly scanned groups of
arrivals, trying to guess which one
might be the unknown eighteenth pas
senger.
Among those who expect to remain
aboard the airship until she arrives here
again month hence, flying out of the
West, are: Comdr. Charles E. Rosen-
dahl, U. S. N: Lieut.. J. c. Richardson,
u. S. N; William B Leeds, son of the
late tinplate king; Sir George Hubert
wilkins. explorer; Lady Grace Drum
mond Hay, Karl Won Weigand, news
paper correspondent. and Joachim D.
Rickard. writer. Comdr. Rosendahl,
survivor of the ill-fated Shenandoah
and former commander of the Navy
dirigible Los Angeles, and Lieut.. Rich
q q ntNenrtrorc for 11a
Navy.
c. P. Burgess, civilian engineer at
tached to the Navy, will be passen-
ger as far as Friedrichshafen.
Other Americans who will leave the
airship at Friedrichshafen are Nathan
WeXler and William Weber of New
York, John E. Larney of Brooklyn and
Morris Shumofsky of New Rochelle,
N. Y.
Wicks Resigns From Navy.
The passenger LIST of 10 includes
several Germans who arrived on the
Graf on her fight from Germany.
Lieut. Comdr. zeno w. Wicks,
U. S. N. who had charge of pumping
fuel and lifting gas into the airship's
storage bags, said the task would be
completed IL hours before the take-off:
Refueling the Zeppelin was one of
IDe ldSU uuIlSS VI LiCuC. OOlAlNA. WASho
as a naval officer. He has resigned to
become hangar and construction SUI
perintendent for the Goodyear Zeppelin
Corporation at Akron, Ohio, where two
dirigbles larger than the Graf zeppe-
lin are to be built for the Navy.
Forecasts indicated that weather
conditions would permit the start as
scheduled. Cloudy weather. with pos
sible showers, was in prospect, ouC
Lieut.. S. F. Reicheldorfer, Lakehurst
forecaster, said there would be no nigh
wind to prevent the take-off.
Weather To Be Radioed.
Hans Won Schiller, one of the pilots
os the Graf. said he expected the air
ship would reach Friedrichshafen early
Sunday The ship will be grounded
there for four or five days, then set
out for Toxic and 70 Los Angeles.
Each trip is expected to take four to flVe
days, with layovers of the same dur.
alton at each stop. The trip eastward
across the United States is estimated
to consume two or three days. which
will bring the airship to her starting
place here about September 8.
Weather reports will be supplied
to the airship by radio as frequently
as they are available. The jump from
Friedrichshafen to Toxic is regarded as
the most hazardous, because mountains,
clouds and rain may make navigation
difficult. and weather reports in that