The Daily Alaska empire., 1932-06-11
FLYING BOATS MAKE EP0CHAL
 FLIGHT HERE
Five NewProspecting Graft Make Cross Country
 Trip-No Mishap

Completing an epochal trans. continental flight that started il Walkerville, Ont, May 25, fivt small Eastman flying boats land ed here at 2:50 D. m. Friday, aftel having flown approximately 3,00t miles. It is believed they are th& first boats of their type ever tC have made the cross country flight and it was the first time a squad. ron of five ever made the at. tempt.
 The entire journey was made without serious mishap, and only a few minor troubles were encoun- tered. Balky starters, a broker oil line, fouled spark plugs were the only hindrances aside from a few instances of unfavorable wea- ther.
 Use For Prospecting
 The boats, leased to the Mitchell Exploration Company, Ltd, of Can- ada, are to be used in prospect ing. They are staunchly- built crafts of the biplane type with a wingspread of only 36 feet. They are powered with 180 horsepower Curtis Challenger engines and have a cruising speed of 90 miles per hour and maximum of 125 miles. They have a cruising radius of 360 miles, carrying 48 gallons of gaso- line, and will carry a useful load of 914 pounds. Each ship weighs TOO pounds.
 The inventor and designer of the boat is J. H. (Jim) Eastman, Detroit manufacturer and flier who was in charge of the flight. He is also Vice-President of the company that has the squadron under lease.
 Flyers are Veterans
 All of the pilots are veterans of the air and most if not all of them saw service during the World War. J. J. Red) Harrigan was in the U. $. Navy for about 20 years and more recently was chief test pilot for the Lockhead at Los Angeles. He has a record of having crossed the Rocky Mountains 54 times in planes. This instance, he declares, was the first occasion on which he had crossed 1t with an anchor, life preserver and an oar in his craft.
 Frank Byerley is a former Unit ed States Army pilot. For the past two or three years he has been flying Lockhead plane for the Detroit News.
 D. M Emery is former cap- tain in the British Royal Air Force and was a wing commander in that organization.
 A short time ago, Emery headed an aerial survey in the Hudson Bay country for the Canadian gov ernment.
 E. c. Burton, the tfifth pilot, is a flying veteran. He has been flying night mail plane be- 5ween Ottawa and Detroit for sev- sra1 years.
 Test For Navigator
 The last 150 miles on the flight was a supreme test for the skill of the flight leader, Byerley, whose plane headed the formation across ,he continent. It was made un- Ter ceiling that at times was not more than 100 feet and once )r twice the entire fleet had to and on the water and taxi for ;ome distance.
 Fog was encountered off Stik- ne River and thickened and low sred to the surface as the planes north. Byerley making 1is first flight along this coast inc, checked the landmarks against ! chart he had and, though at ,imes the shoreline was invisible, le was never at fault. Tt was ] splendid piece of navigation md but for it we wouldn't have made it through today" Eastman declared on their arrival.
 The planes hopped off yester- lay morning from Prince Rupert It 10:55 o'clock. They landed once n a protected channel to refuel rom gas each carried in cans, put made no other stops enroute. They made the trip in four hours md 55 minutes, as the Prince Ru- ,ert time is one hour ahead of ocal time.
 Route of Flight
 The planes were taken from Detroit to Walkerville, Ont, for he start. The first leg was from