The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-05-29
ould at least reach Ireland.

Rumors of his impending take-of had spread through the town Satur- day night, and crowd of 100 was little was known of his preparations on the beach to watch him go, but except for casual remarks that he and three friends dropped at the Glow Inn Hotel where they spent the night.
 The secrecy was attributed to his failure to apply for the required flight permit from the department of commerce-a permit that unques- tionably would have been denied.
 The plane carried no radio, no pontoons for landing at sea. It was flying the great circle route, 150 miles north of the regular steam ship lane where he might possibly be seen. Otherwise, it was well equipped with accessories, including three compasses, blind flying instru- ments and three parachutes which Smith planned to drop with messages reporting his progress, provided he passed any human habitation.
 Named Baby Clipper"
 He had named the plane the Baby Clipper" after the Pan-Amer- ican Airways transatlantic clip pers one of which, the Atlantic Clipper, was in the air bound for Europe ahead of him, but over the Sa fer southern r0lIte
 No Irishman is Smith, although he was born on St. Patrick's Day, 1914 and unlike Douglas Corrigan, who flew the wrong way" to Ireland, in an $500 "crate," his take-of had been long and thoroughly planned and well timed, according to his friends. He wrote from the beach just a few minutes before the tide came in. It was learned that he had been keeping the plane in hiding for week in the abandoned, grass brown Scarboro airport at Portland, tuning it up for the trip.
 The plane was new Aeronca that cost about $500 not including the accessories. The total weight in flight was 1850 pounds, more than twice the planes weight empty.
 Native of West Virginia
 Smith is a native of Clarksburg, w. Va, and had been working for the past two years as an airplane Terminal, Los Angeles, Calf.
 He is fairly well known as test salesman at the Grand Central Air and endurance pilot and with two companions, he set an endurance record of 218 hours and g minutes for light planes at Los Angeles last November. The flyers relieved each other in flight, transferring to and from the plane by rope ladder dan gling to speeding automobile.
 The Baby Clipper" was especially built for Smith at factory in De- troit eight months ago. An extra gasoline tank with 68 gallons capa- city was built into the tail. He flew it here alone and was greeted by three friends who preceded him in an automobile. Parking the plane at the far end of the beach, they went to the hotel where they confided in Francis W. O'Neill, the innkeeper, who later supplied most of the de- tails of the take-off.
 Looks Like Bobby Jones
 Of Smith, O,Neill said "all I could think of when I saw him was that he looked like Bobby Jones. He was a stocky boy with brown hair and 8 round face. But when he talked he reminded me of Wiley Post, who was here just before he crossed the ocean with Harold Gatty."
 Early Saturday morning, Smith and his friends emerged from the hotel, stripped of the tarpaulin that covered the plane, and rolled 1t out for the take-off. Smith wore 8 brown tweed suit and carried a raincoat He laid a pistol, knife. mosquito net and a thermos bottle of coffee in the plane, climbed in. shook hands with his friends, waved to the crowd and taxied away. It took run of 1920 feet to get the plane of the ground.
 Smiths parents are MT. and Mrs. Harvey Ferris Smith of Clarksburg. He is unmarried and has a brother. Collins Smith. of Vineland, N. J.. and sitser, Mrs. Harry Doner Her. shey of Syracuse, N. Y.
 London Reports
 London, May 29.-(UP)--The air ministry announced today that if Thomas Smiths "Baby Clipper" held to its course 1t would encounter "fairly good" weather of tho west coast cf Ireland and England but