Evening star., 1930-12-07
Aviation
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.

, OF Pan-American Anyways, was flying
north over the same route in Sikorsky
amphibion. He left Panama at $50
am. Wednesday, arriving in Miami at
10:45 the next morning
The Kingston-Panama line is 'one
| OF the last great links to be forged in
great 22,000-mile chain of inter-
| national airways linking 29 countries
and colonies of the three Americas. Pan
American Airways now is carrying Uncle
Sans mail In a fleet of 98 transport
planes on lines involving 100000 miles
of flying daily over Central American
Jungles, blue tropical seas, the green
isles of the Spanish Main. the great
| rolling cattle plains of South America
and the 4-mile-high Andes.
This tremendous system, built up in
the face of keen competition from subsi-
died European air lines, ranks today
as by far the greatest international air
transport system in the world, not
excepting the so-called empire routes"
of France, England and Germany.
POundage to Mileage.
The p.ovisions of the Watres bill,
which was intended to stabilize the
aviation industry, were applied during
the past week to the Eastern Air Trans
port airmail line from New York to
Miami. The action of the Post Ofice
Department will result in the carrying
OF the mail on the coastal run in pas
senger as well as mail planes. Increased
mail schedules. with more frequent
service, including daylight trips, will be
flown.
Under the new arrangement Eastern
Air transport now will be paid for carry
ing Girma1l on the basis of weight,
mileage and space instead of on the
former weight baS S.
In the TWO and a half years the
coastal alrmail line has been in oper-
alton a total of 1,155,565 pounds of
mail, or some 100000 individual let
ters and packages, have been flown.
The quantity has increased from an
average OF 800 pounds daily during the
first month to daily average of nearly
ton.
The coastal line on December l.
when the change went into effect, was
flying a total of 5,120 miles per day.
BY next month the daily total will
have increased to 10, 500 miles, or nearly
half the distance around the earth,
flown each "a hours.
Relieving the Pilot.
The number of aircraft instruments
Is getting so large that instruments
now are being produced to aid the
gational equipment. Radio range bea-
con receiving equipment has come into
general use. Two types are used
aural, which enables the pilot to hear
signals telling whether he Is on or off
MS course, and visual, which CONVEYS
the same information to his eyes by
vibrating reeds.
The radio range beacons proved an
immense boon 10 pilots who have to
travel in thick weather. They did,
however, add to the burdens of the
pilot, and that at just the wrong time.
When the pilot was approaching his
destination and was beginning to
worry about getting down safely, the
radio beacon signals began to in
crease rapidly in volume as he neared
the broadcasting station. He had to
tune down the volume constantly to
keep the volume from hurting his ears
or to keep the reeds from vibrating
beyond the points where they could be
used for guidance.
So, as the pilots normal burdens in
creased, his worries were augmented
by having to fiddle continuously with a
tuning knob on the range beacon set.
This burden now has been lifted
from him by an automatic volume con-
troll perfected by the aeronautic branch
OF the Department of Commerce. The
control does all the tuning without any
attention from the pilot, leaving him
free to go about his duties and still to
receive the benefit of radio guidance
when he needs it most
Not only does the new device tune
the beacon set. 1t also can be made to
indicate the distance of the plane from
the beacon station and proves a great
aid in connection with the use of the
runway localiZing beacon, which forms
part of the system of blind-landing
aids now being developed by the aero
nautics branch and the Bureau of
Standards at College Park, Md.
Los Angeles Laid Up.
The u. S. S. Los Angeles, training
ship for the crews of the two giant
Navy dtrigibleS now under construction
at Akron. Ohio, has been laid up for a
two-month overhaul at the Naval Air
Station, Lakehurst, N. j.
The overhaul period is twice the time
ordinarily required to purify helium
and for material upkeep and repairs.
The extended period is due to the con-
Quoting the tests prescribed by the Navy
Board Of Inspection and Survey re-
Gently to determine the strength of the
now old ship with one or more gas cells
debated.
During the overhaul period some Sec
tions OF the old German outer cover
will be replaced. At present, according
to the Navy Department, about 70 per
cent of the ships outer cover is the
original German cover, now six or seven
years old.
Prior to the lay-up the Los Angeles