Evening star., 1934-09-09

| fly to New Jersey. There was no
time for overhauling Of planes, rest
ing of personnel or arrangements for
supplies en- route. 1t was as true
an emergency as any likely to arise
In war time, In so far as the Alaskan
squadron was concerned. Nothing
could have been more unexpected or
caught them at greater disadvantage
Lieut.. Col. Henry H. Arnold, in
command of the detachment led his
10 planes out of March Field at
1890 O'Clock last Sunday night. They
few all night, landing at Amarillo,
Tex, for fuel. The gasoline they
got there was bad-full of water or
Of inferior quality-and they had
trouble. The bombers put in at
Barksdale Field, Shreveport, La.
where the tanks were drained and
fresh fuel pumped in. Taking Of,
the flight reached Atlanta, Ga, that
night.
At Atlanta the flight was held by
bad weather, on orders from the
general headquarters In New Jersey.
The main purpose of the flight had
been achieved. A wholly unprepared
and unwarned outfit, under emergency
conditions, had demonstrated that the
Atlantic and Pacific Coasts are only
a day apart Had there been an
actual war emergency, the fight
would have continued from Atlanta
through the bad weather. Under the
circumstances, however. there was no
necessity for unduly risking the lives
OF the personnel, and the detachment
was ordered to wait until conditions
improved. When the weather lifted,
the flight continued and Col. Arnold's
outfit reached Mitchell Field, N. Y,
on Tuesday.
The flight probably will form the
basis for march tables" for Air Corps
units-the tables upon which the
Army bases its estimates of the
ground q military outfit can cover in
q given period of time. These tables
have been prepared, as a result of
long experience, for other Army units.
They were lacking for modern Air
Corps units until Col. Arnold and his
Alaskan flyers supplied the answer.
Fastest Tri-Motor Shown.
What is claimed to be the fastest
tri-motored transport airplane in the
world has just been demonstrated in
Washington. The new ship, a Stin-
son, has a top speed Of more than
$50 miles per hour and Is said to be
thes first tri-motor with an actual
cruising speed of more than 100 miles
per hour.
The new Stinson is q low-wing
monoplane, with outboard engines
mounted In the wings and double
braced to the fuselage. It carries
eight passengers, two pilots and 500
pounds Of baggage, mail and express,
in addition to radio and other airline
equipment. The wing Is Of o new
type, double tapered and Of sesqui-
spar construction. Retractable land
ing gear is used and the fuselage is
broader and rounder than in any pre-
vious Stinson. Flaps are employed
to reduce landing speed.
Unlike most low-wing monoplanes,
passenger visibility in the new air
plane is said to be unusually good
because of the use of the double
tapered wing, narrower where it Joins
the fuselage. Mail Is carried in the
wings.
Ranger Is Well Liked.
Reports coming to shore from OIL
cer-pilots Of the squadrons assigned
to the Navy's first real airplane car
rier, the U. s. S. Ranger indicate
considerable satisfaction with the new
ship and its equipment.
The Ranger, it is said, provides ex-
ceptionally comfortable quarters, both
for living and for working.
The offices and spaces provided
for squadron use," 1t was said in an
informal report to officials of the
Navy Bureau Of Aeronautics. were
easily accessible, so that to arrive at
the office, storeroom, ready room, or
living quarters did not require the
tedious follow the green line sys-
tenn. Every effort has been made to
make as comfortable and easy as
possible the obtaining of the vital
information as to where the carrier
is when one takes off and, what is
more important, where she will be
when one gets back.
Separate ready rooms for each
squadron are immeasurably more
successful in trying to plot ones navi-
cation than trying to stand on one
foot and look through the backs of
several other people. all seeking to
get the same information from one
board
1T was very easy to see that much
effort and foresight had been ex-
pended by the Ranger officers in the
organization Of the ship. Where a
few minor items did not quite jibe,
or were not clear. spirit of hearty
cooperation prevailed in trying to
straighten everything out to the COM
plete satisfaction of every one.
"One Of the items aboard, which
aroused considerable interest. was the
attention howler, which made quite
a few Of the boys homesick by Its
remarkable resemblance to hog call
ing down on the farm"