Evening star., 1932-12-01
AWARDS CONTRACTS
FOR OCEAN PLANES|
Pan-AmeriCan AirWays Head
Announces System Plan.
Lindbergh Present.

By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK. December 1.-Col
Charles A. Lindbergh has emerged
f-cn months of seclusion to attend
announcement of what one technical
expert calls the dawn of the ultimate
stage in aviation, the linking of the
hen1ispheres by commercial passenger
and freight airlines,
The announcement was made late
ye-terday a. meeting presided over
by Juan t. Tripps president of Pan
American Ai~wayc and attended by
Col. Linobsrgh. Who heads that COM
pany'3 staff of technicians.
"Pan-American Airways has let to-
day two contracts for complete en-
gineering work covering different types
of ocean transport airplanes,' read a
formal announcement.
Both types have complied with
specifications laid down By Pan-Amer-
leans technical committee, OF which
Col. Charles A. Lindbergh Is chairman"
Behind this bald announcement 1t
soon appeared from verbal amplifica-
ton by Trippe seated at broad eff
cient desk. al Col Lindbcrgh. sitting
on the edge of another desk with one
long leg swinging ceasclessly. lay an
achievement of modern science and in
du5try riyaling the romances of history.
Plan Already Under Way.
The Interpretation verbally intcrIned
In the formal announcement disclosed
a plin already well under way to COM
pletion foc great airlines covering the
greatest oceans of the world. linking
America with Europe and with Asia by
giant flying boats capable of taking into
the air - passengers apiece besides a
paying Lad of mail and express
The contracts mentioned in the an
nouncehent have to do only with the
Engineering work" preparatory to ac
tual construction of the planes, but
that may be completed in about three
months and then will come the actual
building, which may take as much IS
two years. The engineering work con-
tracts went to the Sikorsky Co. Of
Bridgeport, Conn, and the Martin Co.
of Baltimore. 1t was generally under
stood that when the engineering work
is completed those companies will start
construction Of the worlds largest and
fastest commercial planes
They will be by far the most efficient
yet built" said Trippe. but neither he
nor Col Lindbergh would give even the
approximate specifications. In connec-
ton with this reticence it was learned
that preparatory work has been under
way lOI SUUut " year ana Iilas IL mas
been guarded with the strictest secrecy
lest some competitive nation discover
what is being done and start doing the
same thing
Ultimate in Aviation Seen.
One expert at the meeting said that
when the new planes are eventually in
operation-they are designed to fy
with passengers and freight in all
weather and in all seasons over any At
lantic or Pacific trade route-thc ulti-
mate in aviation viii have been reached
'The first great stage in aviation was
the transcontinental flight" he said.
''The next was intercontinental flying,
such as Pan-American Is doing on their
lines from, North to Central and South
America. Nav we are on the verge of
linking tie hemispheres by commercial
air lines. After that there is nothing" !"
The announcement said that the
contracts just let would give 200 tech
nicians who are already at work on the
project continued employment through
the Winter and that when the con-
struction contracts are let an additional
1000 workers in all branches IF the
Industry will be employed