Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-16

First nonstop crossing Of the Pa
cific Ocean by Clyde Pangborn and
Hugh Herndon. jr, gives those two
airmen a conspicuous place in the his
tory of aviation. Their skill as well
as their daring is the subject of much
comment and it is predicted that. as a
result of their success, the Pacific will
take its place as an area OF greater
activity in world affairs.
THE last frontier Of aviation has
fallen and the last grand prize Of the
pilots has been won," says the Pitts
burgh Post-GaZette. calling it "a dar-
ing exploit" and recognizing another
mark of the advance which aviation
is making and one which the world
will note" The Oakland Tribune states
that, while there is real enthusiasm
over this feat and disposition to ac-
cord the plucky flyers highest honors,
the advances which have been made in
aviation since the days when the Lone
Eagle crossed the Atlantic had pre-
pared a public until a Pacific flight
was something confidently expected"
EXPERIENCES apparently attended the
adventure from first to last" according
to the San Francisco Chronicle, which
makes the further comment on the
achievement of the two men: The
plane kept to its course and got TO
Seattle with plenty of reserve fuel. The
choice of Wenatchee as the end of the
flight was deliberate and not the re-
suit of loss of direction or a forced
landing such as has terminated certain
other long-distance air journeys.
Pangborn and Herndon will deserve
whatever they may get out OF their
great adventure. 1t was daringly con-
ceived and skillfully executed. Others
have flown farther. But to these two
now goes the palm for the longest air
journey with only the unstable water as
landing field if fate should have forced
them down."
"It means that the Pacific Northwest
is only two days or such matter from
China and Japan" declares the Port
land Oregon Journal, remarking also
that at heraldS the arrival of new
week end trip" Tho Portland paper
| recalls that 1.-The Wright brothers were
in the air only % seconds in the first
flight in a heavier-than-air machine"
| and, reviewing other landmarks in avia-
ton history, it concludes: 1T IS long
span from those flights to the Al hours
and Is minutes in which Pangborn and
Herndon few from Samushiro Beach,
Japan. to land at Wenatchee, Wash.
1t examples the powers of magical man.
On the Old oregon Trail the emigrarts
bound for Oregon made an average, in
their covered wagons, of about IL L
miles q day. This first plane to cross
the Pacific Ocean flew 1900 miles in
Al hours and Is minutes. 1t examples
the courage of man. The difficulty and
| the perils Of the flight challenged men
to dare it. Whatever in the. scheme
| OF things appears as def to him is a
call to mans daring to achieve it,
This feat doubtless will stimulate
interest in Pacific flying" in the judg-
| ment of the Pasadena StarNews,
pointing out that hitherto the Atlantic
has witnessed most of the adventurous
air feats." The Star-News is convinced
that California and the Southwest
are especially, suited to air develop
ment," and that this region is des-
aviation" That paper also visions the
development, with the statement as to
/ future probabilities: 1.-The next few
years doubtless will see remarkable de-
| velopmentS. in flying over the Pacific
area. In truth, 1t is not unreasonable
to expect that commercial air trans
port across the Pacific may come as
soon as across the Atlantic. In that
! far future, which looms with such won
drous possibilities for this Pacific and
! transpaciflc region, embracing in its
water-touched lands more than half OF
| the entire human race--in that far fu-
| ture, air transport across the PACING
| will unquestionably rise to first magnl-
! tude and surpass any other region on
the face of the earth"
."They haze blazed a North Pacific
trail" AYERS the st. Louis Times, with
the added comment: I'VE don't for q
moment believe that 1t viii soon becomi