Evening star., 1939-02-21
World sLargest Plane
Winging Across U. 5.
May Visit D. {.
82,000-Pound Clipper,
For Atlantic Service,
Can Garry 80 Persons

The worlds largest airplane, an
82,ooo-pound Boeing super clip
per-" probably will visit Washing
ton Friday or Saturday, according
to information received at the Ma
tional Aviation Forum headquarters
today. The Boeing is to be put into
transatlantic service by Pan
American Airways this spring.
The visit to Washington will be
made following an inspection of
the big flying boat at Baltimore late
tomorrow by delegates to the forum,
officials of the C. A. A. and the
Navy Bureau of eAeronautics. A
Landing probably will be made at
the AnacoStia Naval Air Station
during the course of a demonstra-
tion flight from the Pan American
ocean base at Baltimore.
The clipper, one OF fleet of six
sister ships now nearing completion
for service across the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans, took off from San
Francisco Sunday for a flight by
lelsurely stages to the Atlantic
Coast. She is under command of
Capt. Harold Gray who conducted
Pan Americans transatlantic sur
vey flight in 1887 and who has done
more Atlantic flying than any other
American pilot
Manning the flight deck, itself
larger than the entire passenger
rebin of 21-passenger Douglas
airliner. are First Officer C. S..
Vaughn, Second Officer H. Brock.
Third Officer a. E. Kalkowsky,
Radio Officer A. w. Beideman, Engi-
neer Officer G. D. Wright, and As
siStant Engineer Officers ]. W..
Etchison and S. M. Kritser. The
first. second and third officers are
all pilots and Third Officer Kalkow-
sky, in addition, is navigator.
Route Followed.
The trip east is being made bv
way OF San Diego, where the super
clipper spent yesterday afternoon
and last night at the naval base
for inspection by naval aviation
officers: long overland hop to
New Orleans or Gulfport and then
to Baltimore.
AT the same time sister ship
OF the Atlantic clipper is about to
take off across the Pacific on a
final Federal test flight, under COM
mand of Clipper Capt. William A.
Clarthe. The Civil Aeronautics Au-
thority's inspection crew from WASH
ington is headed by w. T. Bill"
Miller. assistant to the chief of the
Air Carrier Inspection Division, and
includes G. w. Lossow, senior air
carrier inspector who will study
maintenance problems aboard; F.
H. Stephens of the Air Carrier In
spection Service, who will observe
the radio and communications sys-
tenn, and j. E. BoudWin, senior engl-
neering inspector, who put the clip
per through her test flight schedule
for the c. A. A. at Seattle.
The Pacific clipper is to make the
run to Hong Kong and back, with
overnight stops in Hawaii, Wake
and Midway Islands, Guam and
N1oAAAAo. LII odAl1tlOll W lliC TCucl al
inspection crew, she will carry mail
and express.
Another Clipper at Fair.
The third of the superclippers now
Is at the San Francisco World Fair
and the other three are to be deliv-
cred at tine rate of one a month
beginning March /.
The superclipper is to be inspect
ed at Baltimore tomorrow by dele
gates to the National Aviation
Forum and most of the ranking
officials of the Civil Aeronautics
Authority and the Navy Bureau OF
Aeronautics. She is rated as the
worlds largest aircraft, either mill
tary or commercial. She has
power plant totaling 5000 horse
power in four engines, all fully &C
cessible for maintenance and minor
repairs in flight. The hull length
Is 100 feet, almost identical with the
famous World War submarine
chasers; the height overall is more
than % feet and the wing span
152 feet.
High speed is 203 miles per hour
and cruising speed at minimum
horsepower, $50 miles per hour. She
has range, equipped for service,
of 4,275 miles and a ceiling of 81 900
feet. In addition to 80 passengers
and crew, she can carry a cargo of
5000 pounds.