Evening star., 1937-05-30

FLIGHT OUTLINED
| BY MISS EARHART
Will Take Navigator Along
to Help Dodge Bad
Weather..
BY AMELIA EAhNART.
9peciaY nfana frh - 1-hn At.r

DA hNLAA1A E06HnAAIs
Special Dispatch to The star.
MIAMI, May 7s.-For al practical
purposes. and disregardine Mr.. Elm
stein, the world measures the same
distance from west to east as from
east to west on any given route.
In the middle Of March last, I
started westward from Oakland, Calf,
on what was to be round-the- world
flight as near the Equator rs possible.
That attempt ended after . 2,40o-
mile trip across the Pacific with an
accident at Honolulu. Now 10 days
later my Electra Is fit once more to
ny and she and I hope to cover $4,000
mikes as originally planned, but head
ing into dawns instead OF sunsets.
There are several reasons for the
change in direction, or, perhaps, one
basic one on which all others hang,
that Is weather.
Two months delay has seen sea-
sons relentlessly progress. In some
places progress has been with benefit
to pilots, in others the reverse. Here
rains begin, there they abate In
March. after much study, 1t seemed
the advantage lay In passage to the
West. At present there seems reason
to 60 the other way round. For in
stance, the Caribbean and African
areas will be much less favorable
later than In early June, 80 We wish
to reach them as promptly as possible.
week ago Thursday left Oakland,
returning to Burbank. This was my
first flying in the ship since Honolulu.
Friday afternoon we started East,
extras" in the crew being my
husband and my mechanic "Bo"
McKneeley. The leisurely shakedown
flight included stops At Tucson and
New Orleans, thence We cut across
400 miles OF gulf. flying over Tampa
and on to Miami. Here, for the last
few days, thanks to generous cooper
alton on the part Of Pan-American
Anyways, expert technicians have been
putting the plane in final shape.
First "Triar Flight.
Before leaving Oakland I said this
transcontinental trip would be trial
fight. It was Just that. Ny recon-
ditioned plane came out OF the Lock-
heed factory only two days before.
With the weather hazards hanging
over me, wanted to consume As little
time as possible in detailed testing
In California. The first flight indi-
Gated all was we'll The ship behaved
beautifully. However. often dificul-
ties develop only after . number of
hours in the air. After the 5000 miles
OF flying from the coast had anything
serious developed I should simply have
gone back to the Lockheed factory for
whatever further work was necessary.
So much was written before and
after the March IT take-on at Oak
land and following the Honolulu acci-
dent, that I thought 1t would be q
pleasant change just to slip away with
out comment. The extent OF the pub
licity accompanying the first start was
unsolicited. and doubtless more than
the flight deserved, even II it had been
succeSsfL
incidentally, the career OF one who
indulges in any kind OF flying of the
beaten path is often complicated For
instance, II one gives out plans before
hand one is likely to be charged with
publicity seeking by those who do not
know how difiicult 1t is to escape the
competent gentlemen Of the press. On
the other hand, II one slips away, As
have generally tried to do, the slipper
away invites cat calls from those who
earn their living writing and taking
photographs. 50 am hoping the pros
and cons Of the whole undertaking can
wait until 1t Is finally over. II am
successful the merits and demerits can
be threshed out. II not. someone else
will do what have attempted and
I'll pass the problem on to him-or
her.
To Take Along Navigator.
To return to weather changes and
effects. Not only has weather altered
the direction of the flight, but 1t has
brought An increase in personnel.
Originally I planned to be alone ex-
cept Tor q navigator on the Pacific,
where objectives were small Islands
on vast ocean. Now am taking
Capt. Noonan the whole distance to
save time on occasion.
There are many short cuts I can
make with Z navigator I should not
attempt were flying by landmarks
and dead reckoning. Perhaps by cut
ting corners I can beat some imminent
unfavorable weather. Fred Noonan
Is veteran Pan-American ofiicer with
dozen Pacific air crossings behind
him as well rs ship and plane ex-
perience In many parts Of the world.
In addition to = navigator I carry
no other cargo than usual equipment,
some spare parts and few covers"
for philatelists. Following the acci-
dent, these latter were held at Honolu-
lu, now, with cachet recording their
Hawaiian delay, they were brought
back to California and are again
starting on their way around the
world, this time "clockwise." A small.
er package Of second take-of1" covers
has been added.
want to record my great gratitude
to those who have made the project
possible and who steadfastly stood by
with announcement and financial aid
when the flight missed by inches end
ing entirely in the Honolulu mishap.
In the forefront Of those helpers are
friends OF Purdue University like ].
K. Lilly, and others who ask to be
nameless.
I want them, and all others who
approved the quaint desire of q pilot
to pick up the pieces and try again,
to feel no sense of responsibility Is
to the outcome. No one has urged
me to try this flight Those dearest