Evening star., 1937-07-15
CLIPPER IS READY
TO LEAVE FOYNES
Gas Pumped Into Giant Fly.
ina Boat for Return
Hop to U. S.
BY HAROLD E. GRAY,

nANoAD oEAHA
Captain, Pan-American Clipper III.
FOYNES, Ireland. -1lly Is (NA.
NA).-The Pan -4nerican Clipper.
after our short flight across the Irish
sea from Southampton yesterday. lies
safely moored on the calm waters OF
the River Shannon here. fueled and
ready for her departure this afternoon
on the long uphill trek homeward
and the completion of the first Ameri-
can survey flight across the Atlantic
and back again.
Our short stay on this side has
been most interesting-and very busy
For the last five days the Clipper has
been ashore at the great British marine
air base at Hythe Southampton.
While First Officer William De Lima
and I devoted the daylight hours to
. thorough ground study Of the
coastal areas along the southern and
western sides of the Island of Eng
land, our service engineers, under the
watchful eye of Engineering Ohicer
c. D. Wright. went over every inch
of the Sikorsky's big Pratt IL Whitney
engines. over every instrument, valve,
lever, control and fuel line--practi-
eally ever rivet-on our survey ship.
Her condition on our arrival here,
after her long 3,500-mile flight from
Port Washington, was the occasion
for considerable favorable comment
on the art of British and contln-
entail airmen who journeyed to South
ampton during our stay there to have
q look at this first of the Pan-Ameri-
can Clippers to appear on this side OF
the ocean. Wright found little. actu-
ally, to correct or replace. but the
engineers lavished on her. none the
less, as much care as though she had
Just down around the world.
Cooperation Is Hailed.
Every one was extremely pleasant
and the cooperation we received from
both officers and line men of Great
Britains great national air service.
Imperial Always, gave material sub
stance to the agreement of co-opera-
ton existing between the American
and British companies for the period
of our mutual trial fight operations
On our arrival back in Ireland this
morning the same pleasant welcome
was extended us. and the ground crew
at this transatlantic air base i'm
mediately turned to to aid us with
preparations for departure today,
since 1t was our original intention to
make our westward crossing during
the daylight hours in order to be
able to study conditions of water and
weather in full light and make our
landfall on the Newfoundland coast
line after darkness.
However, with the preliminary sur
vey flights only just beginning. the
ocean-wide system Of co-ordinated
steamship and radio aids is not yet
completely organized on = full a.
hour-a-day basis. Weather reports
from ships at sea are now assembled
from this side only in the afternoon.
Radio activities, operating on the
same frequencies as the Clipper and
the Imperial Airways' Caledonia also
might interfere with the transmission
and reception of our flight-control
messages between our guiding ground
stations and the airlines in flight.
Constant Map to be Available.
Shortly all this will be changed, Of
course. 30 that q constant weather map
will be. available for our flights and
radio equipped to stand . 24-hour
guard. This transition from the pres
ent stage will be a simple one. But
until 1t is made We will schedule our
flight departures after s pm. C. M.
ID when an up-to-the minute flying
weather map Is completed and the
radio channels cleared especially for
the airliners.
This night flight westward, however,
has its distinct advantages. 1t will
enable us again to practice celestial
navigation in the semi-Arctic twilight
over the Atlantic and will bring us into
Newfoundland while the early morning
log Is most likely to put to q good test
our ability to drive in to our landing
under what are considered to be typi-
cally bad" flying conditions. Last
nights weather map indicated our
weather should be fair. We will have
headwinds all the way and at all alti-
tudes. Therefore We will graduate our
Hight plan In descending steps, start
Ing at 10000 feet altitude from here.
sliding down to 5000 about hallway.
then down to 1000 for the ANAL sector.
Gas Pumped Into Tanks.
Twenty five hundred gallons of
gasoline have been pumped into the
clippers tanks. Our larder has been
restocked under the personal SUPER
vision Of our ships clerk, William
Thaler. Everything is in readiness for
an interesting l7-hour flight across the
Atlantic to America. Everywhere We
have met enthusiastic interest on the
part Of every one.
Ever since our arrival we have been
besieged by individuals, as we'll as I'M
portant business firms, urging us to
take back to the United States letters
and bundles Of correspondence, pack
ages Of style sketches and materials,
merchandise of all kinds, gifts-and
at least so persons would go as pas
sengers-at any price. OF course, all
had to be refused But it would seem
that the public here is ready to accept
trans Atlantic air transport even be-
fore our first test flight Is completed.
In . way our flying has just begun.
For several years now the technical
means have all been set up, checked
and rechecked through every conceiv-
able test. We are making this survey
flight in clipper design that is actu-
ally dve years old and which was a
capable Of flying the Atlantic in 1894
as she Is today. Our weather fore
casting and observations service, our
radio communications and direction
finding equipment and methods, our
scientific flight control, the engineering
formulas upon which these flights are
based, the corps Of highly trained
transport personnel, for posts both
aloft and aground-all these have long
since been ready.