Evening star., 1930-11-30
Aviation
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.

them will do the major flying for the
expedition.
Roll of the Explorers.
The chief pilot is Irving G. Hay. "a
wears old. son of the noted Irish soldier
of fortune, Capt. Patrick l. O'Hay.
Young Hay has had q varied career.
He is a skilled and able pilot. accorolne
to his friends, and was tugboat cap
tain in Manhattan waters before taking
to the air.
The second pilot, who also is second
in command of the expedition, is Rob-
ert Shippee, 20 years old, son OF a
| wealthy broker Shippee will serve as
geologist and historian of the party, in
addition to his duties as assistant to
the leader and second pilot.
The leader of the expedition is
George r. Johnson. 80 years old, for
mer New York cameraman, fellow Of the
American Geographical Society and for
two years chief photographer Of the
Peruvian Naval Air Service. His experi-
ences while in Peru and the infcrma-
ton he received concerning the lost
cities of the early Indian civilization
were in large part responsible for the
undertaking OF this Winters trip.
The fourth member of the party IS
Valentine Van Keuren 80 years old,
vice president of the airport at Red
Bank, NJ j. United States headquar-
civil engineer and will act in this ca
paCity when the scientific work of the
party begins
The final member is Max Distel, "a
airplane pilot and mechanic, who will
be in charge of the maintenance of the
expeditions planes.
Following the christening ceremonies
hcie, the planes were hoHn back to
R24 B-nk for installation OF flna, fit
tlngs ana equipment: Ihcy vii be
lIcvn to Roosevelt Filld, II. Y, fer dis
mantling and Grating and will be loaded
aboard the S. S. Santa Maria, which
leaves for Peru December S. The nlanes
will be assembled on the Peruvian sea-
coast and will be flown back into the
wild country for the few months of the
Andean Summer, which begins as Win
ter is settling down in this country.
The young explorers will face many
hardships and dangers during the trip
and there will be many hours of flying
during which their lives and the fate Of
the studies they are planning to make
will depend upon the two American air
plane engines they are taking with them.
The rewards they are expected to reap
will be secrets of archaeological, geo.
graphic and geological Importance,
which have been hidden for centuries
among the inaccessible and jagged
South American mountains.
Flood Mapping Completed.
With the assistance of almost ideal
weather conditions, civilian aerial pho
tographers and mappers virtually have
completed, within a month, the work
of photographing $500 square miles of
Mississippi Valley area for the United
States Government in connection with
the food control program. The con-
tract allowed six months for the opera
ton and it has been estimated that at
least five months would be required
since some $4,000 individual mega tives
had to be taken, involving $4,000 miles
OF flying.
At the close Of one month of work,
however, the field force reported that
8,470 of the $500 square miles had been
Photographed, an average daily activity
OF 232 square miles. During the month
$4,000 negatives were exposed in more
than 400 hours of flying time
The speed of the operation, it was
pointed out, testifies to the aid which
properly organized aerial survey can
render civil engineers in DEVELOPMENT
programs of all kinds.
The savings effected in backbreakine
labor and years of time to make ground
surveys over the difficult and often
swampy terrain would justify the use OF
an aerial survey even II its use did not
also represent a material saving in cost
to the Government over ground meth
ods." said Maj. E. H. Brainard, head of
the Curtiss Wright Flying Service,
Whlch carried cut the Government con-
tract
Four aerial survey crews were used
In the work They used four sinele-
engined cabin monoplanes for high alti-
tude operations and carrying fuel for
eight hours of continuous operation
Photographic laboratories were built
and IL men were assigned to the task of
developing and printing. indexing, plot
ting and calculating control points Of
the photogra phs.
On several good days as many as IS
rolls OF film were exposed, each roll
oeinng composed of 100 separate films.
ana areas Of approximately 500 square
miles being covered.