Evening star., 1934-11-11
Airmail Contract Inquiry
Involves Race of Nations
U. S. Advantage Likely to Be Affected With
Germany and France Bidding for
South American Control.
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.

BY JOSEPH
I N SUMMONING Representative
system to show cause why
be Cancelled, the Post Offc
step which may have the gre
ing race between air powers OF
transport supremacy.
Germany and France eSpec
to seize control in South Americ;
lines are most firmly intrench
on regular services across the
with their present South Am
both airplane and airship servic
South Atlantic, has taken a leac
The United States, however,
advantage by reason OF its mas
system which connects 20 natio
operated by two contract-hold
Pan-American-Grace AirWays, c
ternational airline. The tate OF
American, in addition to It's
great system in South and Central
America and the West Indies, operates
! lines in Alaska and China. 1t now Is
in the midst of great effort to bridge
the Pacific by air next year. One ol
the great flying boats designed foi
this service has been delivered and is
in operation along the coast Of South
America. Two others are to be dellv-
cred within the next two months and
three others early next year. Otnei
| necessary preparations are being maze
here and abroad for what is expected
to be the worlds greatest air trans
| port undertaking.
The six months allowed by the Post
Office Department for its investlga-
| ton of ocean and foreign airmail con-
/ tracts is rapidly drawing to a close
| Only seven of the thirty-tWo holders
| of ocean mail contracts have peer
| heard and the department has just
! undertaken the airmail probe.
! The Executive order in which Pres
| ident Roosevelt directed that these IN
vestigations be undertaken, requires
! that they be completed and report
! be submitted within six months from
| the date of the order. July IL, 1884.
1t is the hope of air transport lead
ers that in spite of the shortness Of
! time remaining before the report Is
due. postal officials will not omit tc
/ go thoroughly into the important in
| ternational phases of the problem be-
! fore reaching a decisien. They fee
, that not only air transportation as an
| industry. but the Nation as well, have
much at stake and that infinite harm
can be done by any ill-considereo
action.
Four-Ton Glider.
/ Soviet Russia. home of some of the
worlds most intensive glider activity
/ has come to the fore with the design
J ing of a l3-passenger tailless glider
/ which. fully loaded. will weigh foul
! tons according to a report received
! by the Soaring Society of America.
The great glider is being developed
I by students Of the Kharkov Aviation
! Institute. The ship itself will weigh
! 5000 pounds and will be capable o.
! carrying a useful load of 5000 pounds
J During the recent ALI Union glider
meet held at Koktebel. Crimea. sew
eral world records we're established BY
! Soviet pilots in multi-place gliders
Pilot Pleskoff esta blished an altitude
record of .460 feet for three place
| gliders and also made duration
record for ree-place gliders of II
/ hours and % minutes. A dura atior
record for two-place gliders. of /
hours and minutes. was made a
! the same meet. In addition to these
real records of progress. there were
several gingerbread" records o.
( more or less doubtful value. outstand.
ing being a new consecutive glider
! loop record of 227 loops, made by Pilo'
J Baruzdin.
! The lengths to which soaring pilot'
( must go TO find rising currents of all
! sufficient TO sustain their frail craft
! is illustrated in a story received by
| the Soaring Society from Austria.
Robert Kronfeld. Austria's foremost
glider pilot, was trying for large
! cash prize for flight between two
/ fixed points after many other pilots
had failed His rising currents fail.
ing him while still far short of tht
! goal he found himself. after an houl
! of struggling. not more than 40 or 81
/ feet above the trees.
! While looking for place in which
TO make the landing which seemed
imminent Kronfeld's attention wa!
! attracted to some small white butter
! flies which were gliding and at the
same time slowly rising. which wa!
what Kronfeld so ardently desired t.
do. He followed the butterflies int
the thermal current they we're using
began to pick up altitude. and finally
was able to finish the prescribed flight
! landing at an elevation of some 4,50(
/ feet above his starting point.
Local Man to Race.
Revival of the famous Mitchell Tro
ply race at Selfridge Field. Mich.
after lapse of four years. will brins
TO the starting line former Wash
ington Air Corps officer. First Lieut.
Harlan T. Mccormick. Air Corps.
The Mitchell race, restricted to pur.
suit airplanes and pilots of the Army
Air Corps, will be flown at the Michi
..1 gan nelQ, base o