White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1930-01-03
DR.. HUGO ECkENER
TO GET GOLD MEDAL
Awarded in Recognition of
His World Flight.

His World Flight.
Washington. - The National Geo.
| graphic society announced the award
to DR.. Hugo Eckener Of Its special
gold medal in recognition of his re-
cent round-the-world flight and Of his
"other noteworthy achievements which
have contributed so much to the ad-
vancement of the science Of aero
| nautics."
Notification of the reward was COM
municated to Doctor Eckener through
the German embassy at Washington.
Doctor Eckener has cabled that he will
come to Washington In March, at
which time the medal will be for.
mally presented to him at meeting
of the Washington members Of the
society.
Byrd and Llndbergh Among Medallsts.
The presentation ceremony will be
similar to those occasions upon which
Commander Richard g. Byrd was Civ
en- medal for being the first to reach
the North pole by airplane, and when
Col. Charles A. Lindbergh received
the society's medal for his flight from
New York to Paris.
On both those occasions presenta-
| ton Of the medals was made on be-
half of the society by President Cool
idge, now a trustee of the society.
Doctor Eckener's association with
the development of dirigibles, para
doxically, dates from the time when
Eckener was the editor of a Frank
furt newspaper and printed bitter
attacks upon the experiments then
launched by Count Zeppelin.
Count Zeppelin sought out his edi-
torial foe, took him up on some of his
| flights, and both narrowly escaped
death later when one of Zeppelin's
early airships exploded just before
| landing.
After this disaster Count Zeppelin
threatened to abandon aviation and 1t
was Eckener, then converted to the
future Of the dirigible, who persuad-
| ed him to resume his work, and fos-
tered the popular subscription which
enabled him to do SO.
: Thenceforth Doctor Eckener was
closely associated with Count Zeppe-
lin. Hitherto he had been passenger
| and observer, now he became a pilot,
and studied all other phases of air.
craft operation, which was to be his
life work. Upon the death of Count
Zeppelin he became acting head of
the Zeppelin construction works, and
last year was made president Of the
Zeppelin company.
Two flights to America won Doctor
Bckener world renown before he made
his epochal flight around the world
last August. In October. 1924, he
brought the Los Angeles from Fried
richshafen, Germany, to Lakehurst,
| N. j. In 1923 he piloted the Graf
Zeppelin from Germany to the United
States and back to Friedrichshafen,
carrying passengers on both trips.
| Doctor Eckener's services to the
science Of aeronautics include not only
his important work in helping de-
velop the semi-dirigible to passen-
ger vehicle of the air, and in demon
strattng it's utility by his famous
| flights, but also in his observations on
| atmospheric conditions OF the upper
| air which have contributed notably
toward making the skies safe for fu-
| ture aviation"
The Man-Lifting Kite.
Since aviation's earliest days the
National Geographic society has aided
the advancement of the science Its
National Geographic Magazine printed
an article in 1908 on the experiments
of DR.. Alexander Graham Bells Man
Lifting kite-an article written by DR..
Gilbert Grosvenor, now president of
the society.
In 1906 the society appointed rep
resentative to aid Walter Wellman in
his preparations for the balloon flight
by which he hoped to reach the North
pole.
Since then 1t has published avia-
tors own accounts of many notable
air voyages, including those of Byrd,
Lindbergh, Macready's nonstop flight
across America, Sir Ross Smiths
flight from London to Australia and
Capt. st. Clair Streets first Alaskan
| air expedition.
Commander Byrd received his first
far northern flying experience on the
society's expedition Of 1925 to the vast
area north of the Beaufort sea and
the society's chief photographer. AL
bert FL. Bumstead devised the sun
compass Of which Commander Byrd
said: without 1t we could not have
reached the pole" Commander Byrd
is using the compass in his Antarctic
flights, toward which the National
Geographic society has contributed
$4,000.