The Daily Alaska empire., 1931-07-02
Watkin Davies Leave $ Oakland One Day and
 Gets Here the Next

Eighty-one years young That's the age of Watkin Davies, optician and optometrist of Stockton, Cal His hobby is flying. Since the be- ginning of 1927, he has travelled 26,000 miles in airplanes. He is enjoying his second aerial visit to Alaska, having been in Juneau last summer and having arrived here last evening on the seaplane Wran- gell. He will remain until after the Fourth fo July, and then fly back home.
 MT. Watkins boarded a mai plane at Oakland, which Is 40 or l50 miles from his home city, at 1 o'clock Tuesday morning. He land led at Seattle seven hour later. He called on friends there Tuesday aft ernoon and evening, went to bed and had long nights sleep At 8:30 yesterday morning, he started north from Seattle in the Wran- gell. After stops at Alert Bay, Ket- chikan and Funter Bay he reach ed Juneau about 5 o'clock last eve ming, having been exactly eight hours in the air between Puget Sound and Gastireau Channel.
 To Make Short Flights
 Tn the interim between now and July 5, when the Wrangell will leave here on her return to Seattle he plans flights over Mendenhall and Taku Glaciers, to Sitka and to other places in the neighborhood of this city.
 When MT. Davies visited Juneau last summer, he flew here from Se- attle and back there in plane pi- loted by Anscel c. Eckmann.
 The Wrangell on its flight yester day was piloted by MT. Eckmann The mechanic was John Selby Other passengers besides MT. Day. ies were H. N. Eckmann, merchant of Seattle, brother of the pilot who came to Juneau; MT. and Mrs w. s. Pecovich, who got off at Funter Bay
 Two Trips Annually
 q never think of travelling any other way than by airplane," said MT. Davies at the Gastineau Hotel last evening. T make at least two pleasure trips annually, one around the Fourth of July and the other around Christmas. Usually I fly north in summer and south in winter. Last Christmas Day, for instance, I landed in Mexico City. The weather was warm, myriads of flowers were in bloom. The previous Christmas, however, on a flight east, when I reached Chicago the airport was covered with snow.
 Tn my 26,00O miles of aerial travel I have never experienced an accident. On a flight from California that was scheduled to terminate at Seattle, the engine sputtered at Tacoma. The plane landed and I was sent from there to my destination in an automo- bile.
 Dropped 5000 Feet
 "On one of my eastward flights, the plane, when at an altitude of 7,500 feet in a wind storm, struck an air pocket and dropped precipi- tously 5000 feet. but knew noth- ing about the incident until I was told about it afterwards.
 T have flown over the Sierra Nevada mountains 13 times and over the Rockies several times.
 "On my return to Seattle after having visited Juneau last summer, I flew 5000 miles over the South west before getting back to Stock ton. Soon after reaching home, I addressed the Rotary Club, telling the members of my flight to Alas ka and what I had seen in this Territory. No audience ever lis tened more intently to anybody. For days afterwards, many of my fellow townsmen came into my place of business to talk about this Northern country.
 Benefited in Many Ways
 Flying helps me physically, men, tally and spiritually. Change of scene and environment is conducive to good health, I believe. These changes can be effected by air plane best. Fast travel, new plac- es and new people keep the mind alert. The sublime in nature can be more fully appreciated from the attitudes of the airplanes. Early Tuesday morning soon after the plane had taken off from Oak land, the full moon was just about to disappear below the western horizon, while the sun had just come completely into view in the eastern sky. The plane seemed to be balanced between the two celes- tial bodies"
 Does Not Look Age
 MT. Davies does not look his age He might pass for 60. He is about 5 feet inches in height. His