The Washington times., 1929-08-24
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Continued from First PaeeJ
favorable are to be encountered in
that vicinity at present.
However, in spite Of the obstacles
the Graf faces IN reducing to mere
1in1ilI pond" the niehtiest OF oceans,
the giant dirigible 10 annihilating
space with the same type Of dist.
ance-devastAting progress which
has characterized the flight ever
since it started August 9.2
100 Miles an Hour s;
At. times reaching 100 miles an
hour, the Zeppelin thus far has aver.
eyed a spanking pace OF almost 20
miles an hour, and If no Unforeseen
complication develops to hamper
oroaress, DR.. Eclener should easily
realize his desire to be in Los Ange.
ges by Tuesday.
An indication OF the Graf's re-
tnarlable speed was seen In the po-
sition broadcast at 10 a. m. today
tS p. m. Washington time Friday,
and picked up by the Japanese gov.
erriff1ent wireless station at ochlishii
,pn the island OF Hokkaido.
At this time the Graf gave her
position as 1925 east longitude,
1920: north latitude, which is ap-
proximate1y 1,190 miles east OF the
Kasumigaura airport. where the
Graf took off at 3;12 p. M, yester-
day ted2 4. m. New York daylight
saving tin1e).s
1900 Miles In 10 Hours
She had thus accomplished almost
1900 miles in less than 10 hours
of flying, in spite of crashing into
a violent electrical storm Of such
proportions that for a while, the
huge ship was tossed as .hslplessly
hs a leaf in an october wind.
Aeronautical experts here, who
are watching the, progress Of the
dirigible with an "air-minded" in
terest unprecedented in japanese
history, said. that the Graf's con-
quest Of that storm proves beyond
the shadow Of a. doubt the prac-
ticability Of airships Of this type to
Withstand successfully the worst
that elemental disturbances have
to offer.
II wag the Graf's s'baptism of
fire.. for it was the first time the
dirieible had experienced lightning,
but messages sent out from aboard
fold how she had come through
the ordeal unscathed, never once
6altering although the violence OF
4he storm descended upon her in
all its tempestual fury.
~ Storm Graf's Worst
The storm was undoubtedly the
worst in the long flying career Q!
the dirisibie. Although only Ia nsiL
an hour in duration. twas violene
an the extreme. Tossing the Heppe-
lin As fttful gusts Of winds toss
:, ktfe on a string, the gale threw
The ship 1lp and down through inky
black clouds and 1hurtIed it through
she air Al: breath.talxing speed.
Sinister flashes of lightning spht
: Hha heavens.. illuminating for sec.
pn6ga +astirne the swirling masses OF
hlar1 c:ouds that raced by the air.
SKINS NJ ndows, while rushing W1nd
currents swept the ship from side TO
i99, T9r Ee,<enea1 calm. and serene in
asAehe face # the 9pproacnlng tempesL:
s19 ,1,te T,assenSers to prepare for
E a..i,,s IN as he saw the omtnous
s,lsnis lids pi1ing ahead while the
barnrusfel, in the ships control caoIn
1ir0pped 1varningly. assured py then l
Eomrnarder that the storm, no mat
8sr how violert Its proportions, held
N DANCE. for the rigidly-construcled
kiirigibla, the passengers clustereu
close TO the vindoWs TO lose no por-
zion OF the tErills lnvoIVed IN raclns ~!
ghrough the ar, nlgn ABOVE t an N
s,ia,Ije sea. il the grip Of an incipient
hsp Intense Storm
m. s.Jrm far exceeded in inten-
s,.1, sse disturbance met by the Graf
- N first trans
ihflantfc flight from Friedrichs-
f1afen 10 Lakehurst but was over in
Il much shorter space of time.
It was during dinner that the
storm broke. Messages from the
Graf said that as usual Lady Grace
Drummond Hay, the only woman
aboard the ship and undoubtedly the
airs most seasoned traveller. was the
halnnest of any of the passengers.
Almost two-fifths of the 5000
&niie distance separating Tokyo
from Los Angeles have now rolled
AWAY beneath the Graf, and before
khe night has passed on this side
of the world and day in the West
hrn Hemisphere, reports are ex.
pected from the Graf to tell Of her
successful passing of the halfway
mark between the FloWery King
dom ana the sun-kissed Californian
coast.
Wind and weather conditions
peculiar to the Pacific will in all
probability influence DR.. Eekener
to vary his course daily, even
though this means a longer trip.
At present, the ship is in an area
of beam Winds" cutting across
the dirigible's path and neither
aiding nor retarding progress.
May Land Monday
In the most recent message re-
ceived here shortly before p. m.
this afternoon az m. Washington
timel. DIR. Eckener expressed the
hope that favorable conditions
might enable him to reach Cali
fornia by Monday evening.
In addition. the wireless. con.
firmed that the Graf was proceeds
ing along a course east by north.
east toward the Aleutian Islands.
The sea was calm. but there: was
considerable fog.