Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-23

w ~
y leading the world, To-
the first time, in the amount o.
air transport mileage flown daily
Preliminary estimates of Depart.
ment of Commerce experts in.
dictate that by the end of thi.
month American commercial
planes operating on fixed SEIZED.
ules over regular routes will bt
flying farther each "A hours thar
all the planes Of the five leading
European nations together.
BY July /, it is estimated con-
Servatively by the Department oil
Commerce, more than 10000 miles
Of commercial airwayS will be In
operation and over them United
States mail, passenger and ex-
press planes will be flying between
$4,000 and $4,000 miles every "a
hours, the total probably being
nearer the higher figure than the
lower.
All the commercial planes OF
Germany, Breat Britain, France
Italy and the Netherlands COM
bined today are flying maximum
estimated daily mileage of $500
miles, according to information in
the possession Of the Bureau OF
Foreign and Domestic Commerce
Europe Leads Passenger Traffic.
In Europe, largely because OF
lower rates made possible by gov
eminent subsidies, the number OF
passengers flown probably will ex-
coed those flown in this country
during tho nrnCny1f xyoar I
the difference rapidly is being re-
duced.
Not only has the United States
forged ahead of Europe in the
amount OF air transport mileage
flown, but when the Transcon-
tinental Air Transport air rail
service from New York to Los
Angeles, on which Col. Charles A.
Lindbergh has been working for
more than year, begins its pre-
liminary operations tomorrow,
this country will have the best
equipped air transport route in
the world.
The route will be flown by vet
eran pilots who have Just COM
pleted special training courses in
radio communications and navi-
CATION, blind flying and kindred
subjects. The line operates SO
weather observation stations, con-
nected by an elaborate teletype
system which will make possible
the gathering OF weather informa-
ton and compilation of forecasts
every hour and their transmission
by radio to pilots in the air as
well as to all ground control sta
tionS.
Thus the pilot will know at all
times the exact condition Of the
weather ahead of him and will
have ample warning of any storm
Of dangerous proportions. Radio
beacon apparatus will make it
possible for him to hold to his
course through the thickest fog.
Other Lines Operating.
Transcontinental Air Transport,
though the most ambitious air
rail- line yet organized, is not the
first of its kind In this country.
Four other combination lines Of
this character are. operating on
tranScontinental routes.
Southwest Air Fast Express, so
named that it's initial letters may
spell SAFE" and Standard Air.
lines are operating a 48-hour
coast-to-coaSt service by air and
rail. Its planes fly from Los
Angeles to Ell PaSo, Tex, by way of
Phoenix, Tucson and Douglas,
Ariz., and from Sweetwater,. Tex,
to Indianapolis by way Of wichita
Falls, Oklahoma City, Tulsa and
st. Louis. The remainder of the
trip Is made by rail, including the
gap between FL Paso and Sweet
water, which relatively is very
short.
Western Air Express operates by
air from Los Angeles to Kansas
City by way Of Kingman and Hol-
brook, Ariz., Amarillo, Tex, and
Wichita, KanS. Connection is
made with Eastern railroads at
Kansas City.
The new Universal line, which
began operations about week
ago, operates plane service only
from Garden City, Kans., to Cleve-
land, via Kansas City and
Chicago, passengers completing
the trip in either direction by rail.
Lindbergh Plan Outlined.
Col. Lindbergh has laid out the
T. A. T. line so as to include rail
service during the night from New
York to Columbus, Ohio, and from