Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1937-05-16

BY c. B. ALLEN.
w YITH bags of stamp collectors
IA souvenir covers" and other
v " mail piled high in her
cargo compartments, the
China Clipper took off from San
Francisco Bay on April 81 for the first
scheduled flight all the way across the
Pacific The trip bridged the last
gap in Pan-American Always 5000
mile route to the Orient, which has
been in regular operation since last
Fall except for a 75O-mile run be-
tween Manila and Hongkong.
Passenger service over this leg was
inaugurated on April % and, except for
the Hindenburgs tragic crash on re-
sumption Of North Atlantic flying
would have forged the final link in
round-the- world air service by which
any one with globe-trotting ambitions
might fly from New York to New York
in is days-thanks to United Air Lines
overnight schedules across the con-
tinent and foreign lines spanning
Europe and Asia.
development Of commercial aviation
but they are also memorable for other
reasons. The day before the China
Clipper took off with her philatelic
cargo, the Hawaii Clipper landed in
California at the end Americans
one hundredth flight over the Pacific
Her trip completed 100000 miles Of
survey and scheduled flying on the
worlds largest ocean in two years OF
operation which have not been marred
by single accident such as beset
the domestic air lines last Winter
1t marked the second anniversary OF
the first historic round-trip from
California to Hawaii by the trail
blazing Sikorsky, Pan-American Clip
per; $4,000 miles Of preparatory fly
ing: another $4,000 miles of explora-
tory and survey trips, and 100000
miles of scheduled mail flights, in
Guiding 22l 900 miles OF passenger
flying.
How It's Done.
Here is an intimate picture Of the
operating technique and flight routine
which have made this record possible:
A blanket OF fog-fleecy white in
the hot afternoon sun beating down
above it, depressingly gray and clammy
to the earthbound creatures over
whom it swirls-pours in through the
Golden Gate as the China Clipper
drones out to sea, climbing steadily
toward her cruising altitude of 5000
feet. 1t obliterates completely the
roadway of the great bridge with
which mans ingenuity has spanned
the towers and suspension spans
rising like ghostly shadows through
the top of the mist.
Passengers exclaim over the beauties
of the scene below, pressing eager
faces against the windows and NOV
ing from one side Of the plane to the
other to get a better view. But the
seven members of the 26-ton flying
boats crew, save for the steward,
who is busy answering questions and
pointing out landmarks. have scant
time for artistic appreciation Of the
creeping panorama. They are too
busy availing themselves of its prac-
tical aspects in getting their craft
off to a proper start on its 2,41o-mile
flight to Honolulu.
In the control cabin, the Clippers
captain guides the big craft higher
and higher above the unbroken ex-
panse Of fog ahead. He already has
donned amber glasses to protect his
eyes from the suns dazzling glare on
the endless white waste. Relaxed yet
alertly attuned to every reaction OF
the complicated machine. he glances
now and then at the air-Speed and
rate-of climb indicators to make sure
the ship is taking altitude with maxi
mum efficiency. He needs pay no
attention to his blind flying" in
struments, for the blue vault OF the
sky and the floor like top OF the fog
give him a sharp natural horizon
on which to hold the Clippers stream
lined prov at the proper angle, thus
maintaining a constant rate OF climb
The captain knows by heart the
Clippers compass course across the
trackless Pacific and sets her on It,,
after making necessary compensations
for the wind prevailing on this par
ticular flight. Back in the chart room
aft of the control cabin, the navigator
is busy taking a final landfall on the
receding coast line. If he has difficulty
getting a bearing out the window on
the headland he wants, he goes back
through the passenger cabin, partially
opens hatch and sights back over
the tail surfaces of the ship Then
he returns to his charts, makes few
computations and hands up a slip OF
paper to the captain. This contains
the point and time of departure from
the coast and the corrected compass
course to be flown.
Meanwhile the radio operator, In
his tiny cubbyhole on the starboard
side Of the ship just behind the
pilots compartment and on the same
raised deck, is tapping out messages
to the airline's Alameda base or
scribbling down what Alameda has
to say to the Clipper. Now 1t Is time
for the uncanny ground-station d.
rection finders developed by Pan
American Always to take their hrst
bearing on the unseen flying boat
speeding westward high above the
fog.
The Clippers radioman abandons