Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-02
AKRON PAYS FIRST
VISIT TO CAPITAL
Reporters Story of Flight,
Dropped From Craft,
Lands in Pool.
1contlnued From rlrst Pas.

CONTINUED From FIRST Pase1
dols silver giant. her length is best ex-
pressed In terms OF city blocks.
In the cold dawn some 20 newspaper
men filed silently aboard through the
control car 10 convey 10 the American
public now owners Of this tremendous
ship. their impressions OF this FIRST
flight and what IL viii mean 70 the
future OF aviation in America
we all have signed formal declara-
lions relieving the Navy Of RESPONSE
bility ia case Of accident and have
been assigned landing stations in vari-
Gus parts Of the mammoth hulk. Sta
tionH are marked the way you would
number houses In city. and you walk
10 them along slender "catwalks" as you
would 10 a city address two blocks
back and stop At No. i4i 25 frame, port.
Might Re Embarrassing.
one Of the requirements is that We
ali wear rubber -soled shoes with rubber
heels, or tennis sneakers. The reason.
we are informed, Is that the catwalks,
which are the arteries OF travel through
this city Of the skies, are Of thin ply
wood and IL would be rather ambarrass-
ing TO the Navy and ourselves TO punch
a hole through with a hard heel and
20 plunging through the bottom OF the
ship
Sailors are stationed, like straffic po-
noemen. at the turns. TO direct the pas
%enpers TO their stations, at which we
must stay during the take-off and land
ing periods. Mine, ! find, Is in the port
corridor. from which open the crews
quarters heated cabins with comfort
able hunks washstands with not and
cold running water and other conven-
fences for long periods aboard. This ship
is designed TO operate Tor days AZ
time without landing and actually is
self-sustairfing city in the skies.
Towed by our weird-looking portable
mast we have been moved slowly and
smoothly out Of the great hangar, ana
now tractors at the tall are swinging
us slowly around into 5-knot breeze.
So great Is this ship. however, that
though the bottom of the control car Is
in zone where the wind Is blowing
only S knots. the top of the hull Is
swept by breeze OF nearly IL knots.
Patches OF white sand look like hoar
frost on the ground. 90 feet below this
corridor as we swing slowly into take
position. Now there Is the sound OF
pouring water as the ballast bags are
discharged, and an instant later roar
as the motors go into action, one by one.
Outside our station the giant lo-iooI
propeller has been swivelled TO the hori-
zontal and is being used to thrust the
ship directly upward-an innovation IN
large airship handling.
The ground settles away below as we
go straight upward-a unique sensation
after many airplane flights, which de-
pend on great forward take-of speed
Up we 20. several hundred feet, ana
then the propeller is swivelled up into
running position and we begin to swing
along on the maiden naval flight OF this
American pride Of the skies.
Though the sun was below horizon
when we cut loose from the mast, We
have risen into sunlight which streams
through the windows along the corridor.
Below, the pine groves are interspersed
with patches of scrub oak and other
trees, gorgeous in their new Autumn col
oring 1t is a carpet OF reds and yellows,