Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-31

him and the planes nearest wing was
less than IS feet.
After watching her crash in a grain
field he turned his attention TO land
ing. A strong wind drifted him toward
row Of high-tension telegraph poles.
1t was necessary partially to collapse
the chute to hasten the descent and
land before striking the wires.
He landed rather solidly in a potato
patch and was dragged several feet and
over a road before several men arrived
and collapsed the chute.
Cutting" the chute so close to the
ground had caused very rapid descent,
and his shoulder was dislocated in
landing.
Led Over Uncharted Skyways.
When the Robertson Aircraft Corpo-
ration won the st. Louis Chicago air
mail contract Chief Pilot Lindbergh
shouldered the responsibility of main
tanning uninterrupted schedules. How
he did ii and how he led a band of
pilots over uncharted skyways is a
chapter of the Lindbergh saga.
On April is. 1925. two ships carried
the Inauguration mail to haywood
Field, Chicago Over the Summer
months most of the route was covered
during daylight, but as Winter APP
preached night fell Just few minutes
after departure from St. Louis. Night
flying brought on trouble. Fog and rail
multiplied dangers and delays. Inter
mediate ports were small and unlighted.
But the air mail flew regularly and
safely in bleak fog and sleet.
One ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 16-Lind-
bergh rose off Lambert Field and
crossed the Mississippi River as day
Waned 10 the West. He picked up mail
at Springfield and Peoria.
81 left Peoria about pm" he re-
ported to the Caterpillar Order. There
was a light ground haze; the sky was
practically clear but scattered with
cumulus clouds
Darkness fell 25 miles northeast of
Peoria, and / took up a compass course,
checking on town lights below, until
a fog rolled in under me few miles
northeast of Marseilles and the ILL
nois River.
q. turned back and attempted
to drop a flare and land. The fare
did not function. I again headed for
haywood, hoping to find q break in the
fog over the field. Examination dis
closed that the cause Of flare failure
was the short length of the release
lever; it might still be used by pulling
out the release cable"
Fog Mist of COaguIum.
At haywood the ground crew be-
came apprehensive. Flyers can rely ON
their homing sense, but this fog was
mist of coagulum 500 feat thick, almost
solid blanket over the terrain. A
compass would guide airmen toward
their port But how could they know
when they had arrived?
At early evening, the high-powered
beacon flashed across the heavenly
orbit. Plainly, the murky ceiling
sponged up the beams and allowed no
ray to filter through. The beacon
might have been focused against a
concrete wall Ordinarily visible 30
miles, the unwayering finger of light
was useless at 80 yards tonight.
Hearing the gruff cadence of mo-
tor the crew shouted with JOY. The
ship from ST. Louis had found port.
Lindbergh was coming.
Compass and dead reckoning had
guided MIN directly over haywood
Field Just before Z o'clock they heard
his Liberty whining, throwing echoes
to the wind.
Flying so near. they felt sure the pilot
had seen the beacon or other ground
lights. But TO assure themselves they
rolled out several drums of high-test
gasoline and iguited their contents in
fiance. They licked dampness out of
the fog. A rousing reception was PLAN
ned for the pilot who had steered into
port. Above the hiss of flames they
heard his propeller swishing softly The
airman throttled his motor and CROPPED,
blindfolded by fog.
Strident metallic music filled the air
as Lindbergh gunned the engine. He
was circling the field, heading back
south. Nowhere had he seen a guiding
sunbeam or heard a reckoning shout,
although he probably sensed the ports
nearness.
Alarmed and anxious, the crew rush
ed to the fuel shack and rolled out
more gasoline drums. They spun the
beacon through her arcs.
Ship Lost Port.
Hearing the chorus of Liberty re-
cede into the fog, they knew the ship
had lost her port He was the only
plot who gained haywood Field that
night. Within radius of 100 miles
three other fog-bound planes made
forced landinas. Rot \ ship left port.