Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-12-25

watched from the darkened contr(
catWalks above the gaping opening
the planes are taken aboard and
The Akron took of on the night
mission under the rather unusual and
difficult conditions Of a decided and
sharp Temperature inversion" The
temperature on the ground was about
Is degrees, while 1t was just little
below freezing few hundred feet up.
The result Of the rise In temperature
was to decrease the airships bouyancy
just at the time when the utmost lift
was needed to clear the trees beyond
the airport boundary. The airship was
driven up by skillfull use of the swivel
ing propellers-a unique feature of the
great Navy airShip-and by perfectly
timed discharging of water ballast.
At only few hundred feet, after the
Akron had leveled off, the little fighters
which had taken of from LakehurSt's
paved runways, from which heavy snow
their hook-onS. Admiral Moffett wit
messed the proceedings from the cat
walk crossing the top Of the airplane
hangar, directly above the opening in
the hull. The only lights to guide the
pilots were those in the hanger, shining
dimly down through the opening, below
which the trapeze Is suspended. The
ground below was vague, uncertain and
seemingly very far away in the dark
ness. One by one the tiny planes
slid in out of the dark night and hooked
to the trapeze with perfect precision.
One pilot, handicapped by frozen
catch on the attachment gear Of his
plane, skillfully "jockeyed" the plane
on the trapeze bar of the airship by
use Of rudder, ailerons and motor, until
-. 49,. he
was raised aboard.
The handling of the planes by the
hanger crew was striking illustration
of the adaptability of mankind to new
conditions, the veteran admiral said
Moffett has served in the Navy from
the days of combined sail and steam
and has watched sailors through the
processes of evolution from sail to steam
and electricity through the new era of
the airplane and has found them the
same old sailors under utterly strange
surroundings.
Same Old Sailors
The old sailor who scorned the use
of bowline while painting or scraping
,, the side of a ship at sea has his coun-
terpart in the hangar crew of the
Akron, the men spurning the safety OF
boWline while working around the
hangar opening, with nothing but
empty space below. One sailor, teeter-
ing on the brink of the void, with (of
all things boathook in his hand. was
forced to drop the hook in order to re-
| gain his balance and keep from plung-
ing to earth far below. He apologized
profusely for dropping the hook
So efficient has become the use Of
airplanes from the Akron. Admiral
Moffett believes, that their use in COM
mercial practice IS almost certain to
come. There now is no difficulty in
launching or taking aboard planes,
while the landing and mooring of a
| great airship is delicate and difficult
operation, as is the docking Of a great
ocean liner
Admiral Moffett believes the day Is
coming when airship passengers, near
| ing the end of a transoceanic flight,
| will board an airplane in the comfort
Of the airship's hangar and be landed
at their destination with no confusion
| or bother. An airship SO equipped can
pick up and discharge passengers and
supplies anywhere along its route with
| out breaking its journey, he pointed
| out.
In Admiral Moffett the airship in
| dustry finds its stanchest supporter
At time when the future of the air.
| ship looked dark, indeed, Moffett and
DR.. Hugo Eckener. in the United States
and Germany were fighting a success
, full battle which is likely to have a pro-
| found influence on the future Of light
| er-than-air science. He undoubtedly
! will be regarded in the future as the
| father of the American airship service,
because Of his activities, which not only
Kept alive faith in the dirigible, but
| also tided the industry over the most
| difficult period it has had to face.
/ Airport Matter Up Again.
Efforts are to be made Immediately
after the holidays, it is understood. to
| bring about the enactment of the Nc
MILAN bill, providing for leasing and
operation by the Department of Com
| merce Of Neutrality-suspicious. Airport.
| In preparation for the forcing of &C
taken by airport and air transport Of
f1cials to bring about a divorcing of the
project from the Gravelly Point airport
plan. To this end, the airport and air
line officials have joined in condemning
the Gravelly Point area as unsuited to
airport use because of its proximity to
the Anacostia Naval Air Station and
| Boiling Field, across the Potomac River
| The campaign of opposition to
Gravelly Point is being directed at
present against the National Capital
Park and Planning Commission, which
has the matter in hand and which has
recommended treatment of Washing
ton-Hoover Airport as a temporary
proposition. pending establishment Of
the National Capitals permanent civil
air terminal at Gravelly Point.
officials of the airport and Of the
various lines using the airport have
sent letters to the commission Directing
! to Grave1ly Point on the ground of con-
| f1ict between operations there and at
The military fields across the river They
have pointed out that Washington
Hoover Airport. if enlarged by the clos
ing of Military road, the filling of the
lagoon between the airport and Co.
lumbia Island and the transfer of a
portion of the Arlington Experimental
Farm. will be large enough for all the
needs Of the Capital especially II there
be enacted regulations against erection
in the immediate vicinity of the airport
Of structures which might constitute
hazards to air navigation.
Viewpoint Is Explained.
A brief quotation from one Of the
| letters is sufficient to indicate the tenor
| Of all. It is from the letter of Nicholas