Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1931-07-09
INABILITY TO
REFUEL ENDS
NONSTOP HOP
Bumpy Weather Made
Contact For Gas
Impossible

SOLOMON. Alaska. July 9-0rl-
The projected Seattle Tokyo flight
of Reg III. Robbins and Harold ..
Jones. Texas avait0rs. ended here
at $50 CA. m. $3.50 a. m- C. - T)
when unfav0rable weather forced
the plane down. unable to- make
a final refueling contact for the
long dash.
Bumpy weather made NJ uWn0S-
sibie for the two ships to establish
contact log enough to transfer
enough gasoline w the tanks Or the
mon0plane Fort worth" the flier8
said. The reiueling ship landed
soon after the Fort Worth came
down.
Prospects Bad
The fliers we're convinced tho
weather prospect ahead on tho
hazardous route over Boring Seat 70
Tokyo was bad and for that reason
gave up the flight.
FLIGHTS END T.
SURPRISE ATT NOME
NOME. Alaska. July 9-lFl-
Word OF the sudden termination at
Solomon. 80 miles east OF here.
early today. " the Seattle Tokyo
flight attempt W Reg W. Robbins
and III. 8. Jones. Texas aviat0rs was
received with surprise here.
Robbins and Jones put their
monoplane Fort Worth" on the
Solomon beach ~ $50 ~ ~. $50
"a. I'M. C. 4. TIN
They landed only 10 minutes aft
er they had refueled over Nome
for the fifth time since the fliers
reached Fairbanks
Was Last Contact
ALI residents at Nome stayed up
all night To witness what was ex-
pected to be- the next 70 the last
refueling contact before Robbins
and Jones started off on the last
lap of their hop tO Tokyo.
weather conditions. which had
been bad between Fairbanks and
Nome. were improving as the two
ships. the trim. white T0kyO-bOund
monoplane. and the large tri-mo-
tored refueiing ship Unanswered
over this city.
After gasoline had been Siphoned
from the tri-m0tCr Cd the mono
plane here the ships headed out
over the Boring sea. the Fort Worth
presumably for the coat OK ST.
IBERIA. and the refueler for Solomon
beach to take on additional gas0-
line.
The r~efueling plane then was ex-
pected 20 follow the Fort Worth to
the Siberian side " Boring strait
for the final transfer or gasoline.
NOME. Alaska. July 9-P-Fly-
ing through the worst weather they
have thus far experienced On their
5.l00-mile nOr-StUp ~refueling flight
attempt from Seattle 40 Tokyo. Reg
+. Robbins and Harold ". Jones
passed over Nome from Fairbanks
early today. took on fuel and
pressed on into a cloud bank over
the Boring sea.
Contacts Successful
The Fort Worth was refueled
cver Solomon before the contact
here was made and Pilot Jimmie
Mattern 0f the trimOt0red mother
ship landed here t0 load FOR an
other contact over the Boring sea
or Siberia
Two ~refueiing contacts we're made
between Solomon and Fairbanks a.
the planes were slowed hy poor
visibility and clouds pressed the
ceiling low.
Although clouds were hanging
almost w the wave tips IVY the Fort
Worth headed westward. tine Wea-
thor was improving.
The tranSpaclfic plane and its re-
fueler appeared over Nome at 30
" w. tT.iO a. m. C- =. tn and got
away mn hour and twenty minutes
later. They had averaged only about
70 miles an hour on the $40 mile
stretch from Fairbanks Ky Nome.
When the planes headed across
the BerlrV Sea the Fort Worth was
26 hours 33 minutes ont of Seattle
and had covered approximately
200 miles ny her route. Tokyo Still
was some 5000 miles away.