Evening star., 1935-04-23
CLIPPER PICKS UP
SPEEDAFTERLONC
BATTLE WITH WIND
Travels 1A Miles an Hour
Approaching Goal at
Alameda, Calf.
SHIP FLIES $500 FEET
ABOVE PACIFIC OCEAN
Radio Stations in Hawaii and
U. S. Provide Beams for
Guiding Plane.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
ALAMEDA, Calf, April 23.-Pick.
ing up speed after night-long battle
with adverse winds. the Pan American
clipper reported it was travelling IA
miles an hour at am. today I'll
am. Eastern standard time) on Its
flight from Honolulu to Alameda
At that hour the plane was Ills
miles out of Honolulu.
Headwinds had slowed the Pan
American Clipper down to IS miles an
hour its crew reported an hour earlier
Flying $500 feet above the Pacific
Ocean and thousand feet above the
clouds, the crew Of six had not seen
surface craft since 8 o'clock last
night.
$4,000 Letters Aboard.
Aboard the plane when it took of
from Pearl Harbor at 3:29 pm, Hon.
olulu time, yesterday (8:59, Eastern
standard time) were more than 10000
letters. The take-off was Just one
minute ahead of the time announced
by officials of Pan-American Airways
owners Of the huge craft.
Head and cross winds at the start
of the fight cut the Clippers speed,
but there was no reported effort by
the six-man crew to push the ship to
its cruising speed Of $50 to 100 miles
per hour. In the early stages of the
flight the speed averaged about 1877
miles per hour.
Outbound last week, the Clipper
shaved seven hours of previous west
bound flight records by reaching Pearl
Harbor, Honolulu, in II hours and Is
minutes.
As the huge seaplane completed the
first third of its return journey the
crew was just sitting down to q mid
night dinner prepared by Engineering
Officer v. A. Wright.
Clipper Course Shifted.
A chart projection of the Clippers
path showed it was shifting from the
Mercator course to the Great Circle
route to follow out plans for research
studies IN fight.
In command Of both fights was
Capt. Edwin C. Musick, but the des-
TIMES Of the craft was due for other
hands when 1t reaches here.
Pan-American officials announced
Musick and Fred J. Noonan, naviga-
tion officer, would be returned to duty
with the company in Miami, Fla,
when the present flight ends. Musick
is veteran Of more than % years
aviation experience.
Other crew members, r. o. D.
Sullivan, second in command; Harry
r. Canaday, junior flight officers, and
w. Turner Jarboe, radio officer, will
be permanently assigned to the Pan
American base here, it was announced
Radio stations here and in Homo
lulu provided beams to guide the craft
as it roared through the night, far
above clouds which at times obscured
waters below. An improved radio
compass, the challenge of science to
hazards of ocean flying, kept the
plane on its course.
Visibility Unlimited.
At attitudes of 1900 to 1900 feet,
the Clipper was more than 1000 feet
above the cloud banks in good fly
ing weather, with an unlimited CELL
ing and unlimited visibility.
Sullivan was at the controls when
the Clipper took of from Honolulu
after a short run across the smooth
waters of Pearl Harbor. The ship
carried 5000 gallons Of gasoline, more
than sufficient for the return flight.
The plane may remain here about
a week before making another Ha-
waii flight in preparation for inaugu-
ration this Summer of commercial
air service to the Orient via other
Pacific islands and Manila. Can
ton, China, is the Far Eastern ter
minus Of the proposed route.
All data gathered on this round
trip flight will be carefully studied for
use in the 8,500-mile Oriental route,
no link of which is longer than the
2.400-mile leg from the mainland to
Hawaii.