The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1932-12-16

lions to keep it alive. Several of the best pilots
lost their lives flying what pilots of today would
term death traps.
within two years of this period, however, the
air mail emerged from the chrysalis stage and
spread its wings so skillfully and successfully
that in 1922 it was awarded the coveted Collier
trophy for the greatest achievement in American
aviation. That award was made in recognition
of the completion of an entire years operation
of the transcontinental route covering 100000
miles, without a single fatality.
1.-THE following year the air mail was again
credited with the greatest achievement in Amer
lean aviation, and the Collier trophy was re-
tanned, this time for having given night flying
to the world
1.-The geographical layout of the United States
left the plains section as the ideal for night
flying especially during the experimental period.
After much engineering work and considerable
experimentation with different types Of light
ing, a line of gigantic beacons with revolving
intermediate beacons and winking route lights
was installed between Chicago and Cheyenne
An emergency landing field and an intermedi-
ate beacon of 100000 candlepower were To-
Gated every % miles. Between these miles
apart, were the lesser routing lights The larger
beacons of 5Oo,o00,000 candlepower were located
at the regular landing fields: Chicago, Iowa
City, Omaha, North Platte and Cheyenne
In August, 1928, the first continuous flights
from coast to coast were made. AS they blazed
the way for a worlds record in aviation,
the pilots were guided by the newly installed
land lighthouses. For days and 4 nights
gallant group of air pioneers spanned the con-
tinent with air mail times in each direction.
At the end of the days they quit with record
of 100 per cent perfect
"The next important steps in the progress and
growth of the air mail came with the Inaugural
ton of the contract service and the reliquish-
ment by the government to private initiative of
the operation of the transcontinental route.
THE first of the contract routes was placed
in operation February 10, 1926, between Detroit
and Cleveland and Detroit and Chicago. Other
contracts were awarded from time to time and
the service expanded rapidly, many Of the con-
tract routes operating feeders to the trans
continental and the overnight New York Chicago
lines.
1.-The government-operated route between Chi
cago and San Francisco went into private opera
ton July l. 1927 followed two months later by
the double-daily service between New York and
Chicago"
"In the meantime the air commerce act had
resulted in the transfer to the Department of
Commerce the function of lighting Americas
airways, thus giving to that department the
same duty that it had performed for years
through its lighthouse service for ships at sea-"
Since that goyernment-operated route went In
to private operation many more advances in air
mail transportation have been made. No longer
is the danger imminent of pilot landing some
place only to discover that he has been flying
for hours in the opposite direction from his
destination. as happened on that first air mail
fight in 1918
Now. besides the magnetic compass, the earth
inductor compass, and numerous other naviga-
tonal aids, the pilot is aided by the use of the
directional radio BEAM Stations which trans
NIT this beam are located along the flight route
and each station emits radio beam towards
the other so that the two beams converge and
form a direct line for the airplane in flight
to follow. The beam, Of course. Is not visible
to the human eye but receiving apparatus In
the cockpit of the airplane is sensitive to the
beam and indicates by radio dash-dot system
whether the ship is on its course or off it,
course, either to the left or the right
&c by Western Newspaper Union)