Evening star., 1935-02-08

Airplane service connecting this
country with China and the Pacific
islands is looked upon by the press
as one of the marvels of aviation
likely to be realized in the near future.
mo epochal project of such mag
nitude,' says the Los Angeles Times,
has leaped more suddenly from the
sphere of gueSswork and conjecture
to the solid base of actual prepara-
ton" That paper quotes the an
nouncement of Stanley c. Kennedy.
manager of the Inter-Island Naviga-
ton Co. Of Hawaii, indicating five
way-stops between California and
China-Hawaii, Midway Island, Wake
Island, Guam and Manila" The
Times concludes as to the manage
ment of the service: Pan American
Airways has demonstrated its ability
to handle air transportation on the
most extensive scale and its name is
linked with the worlds greatest flying
featS. It has, in fact, taken the word
feat out of the steady progress made
in aviation. 1t is now operating $4,000
miles of airWayS over ocean and
mountain to serve 33 American coun-
tries, its score for safety and regularity
of schedule being one that any rail-
road might envy. To establish such
service across the Pacific will not be
for Pan-American Airways another
feat but just another business enter
prise depending on proper finance apd
management"
American-owned islands in the
Pacific, according to the Providence
Journal, "offer convenient stopping
places for commercial air service,
though, of course. that was not
thought of when they became part of
our national domain" The Journal
adds that "in the present state of
aviation, we could not hope for the
early setting up of such a connection
as Is now contemplated. were it not
possible to break the voyage"
This has been a dream and an
aspiration-but of the future: now
the future is here-suddenly and
startlingly," declares the San Fran
cisco Chronicle, and the Chronicle
gives its estimate of the value Of the
announced project: 'Pan-American
Airways, which has taken leadership
in international flights, has been
quietly getting ready for the Pacific
service and is now in a position to
make definite commitments. The
date has been tentatively set for April
Pilots for the service have been In
training in the Caribbean for some
time. Three Martin flying boats are
under construction to bring the East
and West together over the broad
Pacific. It Is pioneering, but the cal
culated pioneering Of business, with
development of the right type Of
plane, with considerations of safety
and with the essential element of
financial return. As on land, so over
the sea, business follows and takes
advantage of the trail blazing Of the
daring adventures.
"The bold flights Of the worlds FORE
most aviators," the Kalamazoo Gazette
observes. have contributed a good
deal to the advancement of aeronauticS
BY developing new improvements in
the technic of flight. The news about
the proposed Pacific flying service is
especially interesting in connection
with the report that the United States
Government may finance the construc-
ton of a large dirigible for use in At
lantic service between Europe and
America. Apparently the old question
of which is the logical vehicle for ocean
flights, the airplane or the dirigible.
remains unsettled. 1t will probably
take good deal Of actual comparative
experience to supply the answer"
"Our airplane manufacturing busi-