Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-14
PITCAIRN SELLS
AIR MAIL LINES
Group Takes Over New York
Neutrality-suspicious. and At
Ianta-Miami Projects.

Sale Of Pitcairn Aviation. Inc, opera
tor of the New York Washington AT
lanta and the Atlanta Miami air mail
lines, was announced today by Harold
F. Pitcairn, president of the company.
Mr.. Pitcairn would identify the pur-
chasers only as a New York group,
explaining this was their wish for the
present. but later in the day the Asso-
ciated Press carried an announcement
of the Curtiss-Keys group of aviation
interests, that his concern was the
buyer.
The New York group, Mr. Pitcairn
said has acquired the entire capital
stock of Pitcairn Aviation and also has
taken over the associated companies
conducting local flying services at Rich
nnond, Greensboro N. c.: Spartanburg,
S. C., and Atlanta. The Pitcairn manu-
featuring interests. Pitcairn Aircraft,
Inc, and the Pitcairn Cierva Autogiro
Co. OF America, however, are. not af-
fected.
The offer we have accepted" said Mr..
Pitcairn, is the most recent of sew
eral which have come to US as the re-
suit of the success of our air mail
routes and their growing Importance as
links in the national and international
air mail systems.
1T has been increasingly evident that
this expansion will continue and that
1t should also be supplemented by pas
senger line development on large
scale.
Concentrate on Manufacture.
"Our decision to permit the acquiring
of our line by other interests has been
Influenced primarily by the rapid
growth Of our manufacturing activities
MafT 70 -
tention upon the production of mail
planes and the development of the Pit
cairn-Cierva autogiro.. The plans for
our new manufacturing. plant at Pit
cairn Field. near Philadelphia, have al
ready been announced and the con-
struction is being pushed rapidly.
Mr.. Keys made the following state
ment in connection with the purchase:
i have bought the entire capital
stock of Pitcairn Aviation. Incorporated,
together with its flying services at
including any OF the manufacturing
interests of Harold F. Pitcairn.
VIII Keep STAFF.
"Mr Pitcairn desires he tells me. to
concentrate his efforts on manufacture
ing. Personally, I regret his retire
ment from the air transport field and
hope some time he will come back
to 1t.
we are going to carry on with the
old staff the work Pitcairn has begun
His studies indicate good possibility
for the development OF rail and air
passenger connections, perhaps sea-
sonable In character, between the North
and the South, and we intend to de-
velop these possibilities so far as seems
reasonable"
Under the terms of the existing con-
tract between the company and the
Post Office Department, the mail sched-
ules will continue as at present, with
four planes a day operating between
washington and New York and two
between this city and Atlanta. where
connection is made with the Atlanta
Miami line.
Brought South Closer.
The New York-to- Atlanta air mail
service was inaugurated by Pitcairn
Aviation May /, 1928, bringing the
South full day closer to Northern
cities. The pilots who few the first
mail trips were Amberse M Banks and
Verne E. Treat. southbound, and John
S. Kyle and Eugene r. Brown. north
from Atlanta. and Sydney Molloy. north
from Greensboro.
Banks has just left Pitcairn to join
the SLaU OF TranScOntlnental Air Trans
port as passenger plane pilot on the
Eastern division. Treat is training as
a tri-motored passenger plane pilot on
the passenger line Mr.. Pitcairn had
planned to put In operation over his
air mali route. The other three original
pilots still are flying the mail on the
local line.
The first month Of operation was
marred by misfortunes. Heavy fogs and
bad weather made flying conditions al
most impossible during a large part of
the month and two pilots. Edward j.
Morrissey and James r. r. Reid, were
killed in one week.
Since that time. however, the Pitcairn
line has developed steadily and today
is regarded as one of the Nations sue
cessful mail concerns.
Operations on the Atlanta-Jackson-
vile -Miami line began December 1,
1928, completing the last link of the
Atlantic Seaboard air mail route ex-
tending from Montreal, Canada, to
Cuba and Nassau. This line was
further extended March last by the
opening Of air mail service from Jack
sonville, Fla, to Daytona Beach,
Orlando and