Evening star., 1937-07-20
En- gineers Wanted to Load
Polar Plane With Instructions
Resisting Impulse to 1T AXE Everything
Is Hard Job, Pilot Says, in Describ-
inc Pre.Tuke-On WMrI.

One OF the pilots OF the first
Sopiet plane to fly oDer the North
Pole from MoSco,0 to America has
,r,tten piDtd Narrative OF the en-
periences OF himself and his tho
com pdntons-blasinq an air trail
tor three other SoUiet flyers. MhO
landed a te,p days ago at San ia
ctnto. Cdht, after similar erperi-
ences. This is the second in
series.
BY GEORGE BAIDUKOV.
We have just landed after test
flight, preparatory to our hop over
the North Pole from Moscow to Amer
lea. This was our final test flight.
Everything is in order everything is
working we'll Nineteen days have
passed in preparation since the mo-
ment the decision was made
1t might be supposed from this that
We three are simply adventures. But
that Is not so. From the records of
past expeditions we know that they
have frequently taken decades Of
preparation. at the very lease several
years. And we. too, had been thinking
Of this expedition for two years. What
was our last fight over the Stain
route if not test of all the theories
Of meteorology about the Arctic? And
what was our last flight along the
Route MoscoW-Victorin Island, Franz
Joseph Land Yakutia. Petropavlovsk-
on kamchatka, Chkalov ISland.-if
not test of our crew and our plane? ?
Our rooms, where all the ground
preparations for the fight are going
on, are full Of rolls of paper, innumer-
able maps, piles of all kinds of equip
ment, Today, June Is, we have fin
ished all our navigation preparations
and now Sasha and l are putting
everything in order, getting rid of
everything superfuous.
Question of What to Take.
Before the flight you think OF all
sorts of things you-want to take along
But this interferes with the total load
permitted. Better more gasoline than
too much paper-that is the rule we
60 by.
Last evening We made the final sur
vey Of the equipment. The tent. the
electric stove, the small emergency en-
gine for the radio, Canadian skis, rifles
and cartridges. underwear and Sleep
Ing bags, dozens of rubber sacks in
which to store provisions for a month
and half-all these are only a part
OF what is essential in the arrange
ments for great flight.
Late III the evening everything that
had been carefully checked was packed
= Ike airplane. Provisions in the
leading edge of the wing. Equipment
and rifles closer to the cabin.
Today every one is rushing around
Dozens Of engineers from different
factories are giving the equipment
they produced the once over.
We go to bed as the sun rises.
June l7-In the morning the day
seems so long that we make no haste
at all to get up at g. as We had de-
c1ded the evening before.
At 10 We leave for Moscow. The
correspondents grab us at every
corner, We are still trying to hide
from them. They are very excited
Never mind. it will be all the better
when the flight begins.
We arrive al flight headquarters
1t is like military camp. Every
thing Is hummng every one is rush.
ing around. We receive our passports.
our pilots certificates Our money is
already in our pockets. Everything
Is in order.
And now the main thing-to 20 TO