Evening star., 1935-10-13

ment of a service across the worlds
greatest ocean, step which is ex-
pected to add tremendously to this
country's supremacy in the field of
air transportation.
The bids will be opened October 81
and will cover airmail service from
California to China by way of Hawaii,
Midway. Wake, Guam and the Philip
pines. Pan-American Anyways has
completed the installation Of island
bases and radio beacons along this
far-flung airway and is prepared to
begin scheduled airmail operations
within 80 days after the contract is
awarded, provided it wins the award.
This may mean Inauguration Of the
line early in December.
Washington this week witnessed the
maiden passenger flight Of the giant
Martin flying boat, China Clipper,
which now is completing its accept
ance tests and which will go to Cali
fornia about November to await the
opening of the China service. Two
sister clippers have been completed
at Baltimore and soon will follow the
China Clipper. The big Sikorsky S-42
which now is engaged in blazing the
air trail to China, a sister-ship now in
South American service, and other
sister Sikorsky clippers, now under
construction at Bridgeport, Conn, also
are to 60 into the China airmail serv-
ice.
The trail-blazing clipper, having
completed one round trip from Cali
fornia to Hawaii, one to Midway Island
and one to Wake Island, now is max
ing the round trip from California
to Guam, completing the air pioneer
ing Of all but the last leg of the long
Pacific route.
With the opening Of airmail service
across the Pacific, the time between
California and China will be reduced
from 20 days, the time now required
by the fastest steamers, to days.
The proposed airmail rate is 81 per
letter from the United States to China.
To the Philippines the proposed mail
rate is IS cents an ounce and the
elapsed time will be four days. The
rate to Hawaii will be so cents and
overnight service will be provided.
At first only airmail service will
be provided. although the great Pan
American clipper planes are equipped
for passenger operations. Passenger
service will come after officials of
the airline are convinced the techni-
cal problems have been solved.
Officials of the Bureau of Air
Commerce, as well as airline Off
cials. are unwilling to authorize the
carrying Of passengers over the $780,
mile Pacific route until there is as
surance that the whole system is
operating properly. The route will
be not only the longest ocean air
transport operation, but also the long
est continuous airmail route in the
world.
At Canton, China, the line will con-
meet with the 3.000-mile Pan-Ameri-
can Airways service in China and
with French, British and Dutch lines
to Europe. There now are both French
and German airlines across the
South Atlantic from Europe to Brazil,
connecting there with Pan-American
Airways lines to the United States.
Pan-American, however, Is under
stood to be negotiating with British
Imperial Always for cooperative
air transport line across the North
Atlantic, giving a direct connection
on the round-the-wo world route.
Tomorrow the China Clipper is ex-
pected to begin the establishment of
q series Of world airplanes records in
five categories which no airplane ever
before has attempted. Among them
will be speed and altitude records
with payload of 10000 Kilograms,
or 22.046 pounds, the greatest load
ever carried by an airplane in an
official record flight.
The China Clipper has a gross
weight of $1,000 pounds, or 25la tons.
and useful load. for ocean service,
Of 22,7S4 pounds, according to OFF,
cials Of Pan Am" The wing has
span of 100 feet and a chord of
more than 20 feet. The overall
length is just under 80 feet and the
overall height "a feet.
With from 36 to 43 passengers, de-
pending upon the route to be flown,
and a crew Of seven, the big clipper
plane, it was said, will have range
of 5000 to 1000 miles, with a maxi
mum speed of 179 miles per hour
and a cruising speed of 157 miles per
hour.
In accordance with a proclamation
by President Roosevelt, this week will
be observed as Air Navigation week.
The Washington program will include
a conference OF directors of civil avia-
ton of many of the Latin-American