Evening star., 1935-03-02
Av|ATR|X VISIONS
SHIFT TO PLANES
Amelia Earhart Urges New
Transport Department.
Tells of Flight.

So rapid has been the development
of aviation, thinks Amelia Earhart
the time is not far distant when most
"individual' passengers and most mail
will be using airplanes. Land trans
portation, she said, would accommo-
date mass movements" OF people,
freight and shorter hauls.
She made this prediction last night
to members of the National Geogra-
phic Society at Constitution Hall
while relating experiences on her re-
cent solo flight from Hawaii to Cali
fornia.
A department of transportation. set
up by the Federal Government, was
advocated by Miss Earhart, when she
declared that only through such an
agency can the existing transporta-
ton chaos be brought to order.
Miss Earhart appealed to her au-
dience to experience travel by plane.
Based on the average flying hours
of passengers and the average casual
ties. she said. lit is estimated that
you would be 1913 years old before you
had an accident from flying. Don't
wait. If you are not flying you are
missing the most beautiful method OF
travel man has devised"
Planes Condition Praised.
Miss Earhart described in detail
preparations for her Pacific fight and
her 18 hours in the air. She deplored
criticism of her plane and maintained
it was in ideal condition for the hop.
ThoughtlesS criticism, she said put
her almost in the position Of IAN in
experienced pilot with a rattletrap
her crazy ideas" The performance
of the plane, she pointed out, spoke
for itself
Miss Earhart described humorously
the precautions taken to insure her
safety. She wore an inflatable rubber
vest that puffed itself up if she pulled
a gadget at her belt. In the tail of
the plane-to be chopped out with an
axe-was a rubber boat shaped like
bathtub. This too was to be inflated
at the touch of valve. A small bal
loon to lift red flag above the waves
was another piece of equipment.
Saw Ships Twice.
Most of the flight from Hawaii was
over thickly matted clouds, but twice,
through holes in the cloud formation,
Miss Earhart saw ships. The only food
consumed during the flight consisted
of can of tomato juice, cup of hot
chocolate and a hard-boiled egg. The
voice radio worked perfectly and was
a great consolation. Miss Earhart de-
clared. Only once did it play her false.
She remarked that she was getting
were lost and the news was flashed
out that the lone woman flier was
getting tired" She felt no fatigue
during the entire fight, she told her
audience.
The chances for a successful flight
across the North Atlantic are about
to 10, Miss Earhart estimated, be-
cause of the formation of ice on the
wings of planes even in Summer. The
odds are much more favorable in the
Pacific between Hawaii and California,
she said, because this course is far
enough south to insure reasonably
high temperatures. During the recent
flight the mercury did not fall below
40 degrees Farenheit.
Other factors that made her Pacific
flight safer than her Atlantic flight,
Miss Earhart said. were the improve
ments that have been made in recent
years in flying equipment. Her pres
ent plane is of the same type as that
in which she flew the Atlantic, but
it had a variable pitch propeller, bet
ter plumbing" and carried duplicate
instruments. The weather informa-
ton received on the recent trip was
greatly superior to that available dur
ing the crossing of the Atlantic.
DR.. Gilbert Grosvenor, president of
the National Geographic Society, in
troduced Miss Earhart and told of her
many aviation accomplishments.