Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-08
Bv joseph s. Edperton.

oAA WIZ SteiA AAAe nIllbC NOllSl ClC VA
the new municipal airport at Miami,
the 45,000-pound Boeing BOT strato-
clipper, Flying Cloud" stood in a
bright morning sun, its four engines
ticking over easily, awaiting the
opening of the throttles which would
spell in surge of 4,400 horsepower
the inauguration of a new service
tying even closer together the in
dependent republics of the Amer
icas.
Partially in a vet uncompleted
hangar were two giant sister ships,
the Rainbow and Comet, awaiting
their turn to participate in a new
international transport drama
which, because of the threat of
totalitarian competition in the
Americas, is developing increasing
tension as the scenes unfold.
The Flying Cloud and her great
flying sisters were about to cut in
half the flying time between North
and South America, making the
1,148-mile airline hop across the
Caribbean in nonstop fight for
the first time. These big land-planes
are now in regular operation down
the east coast of South America. as
well as across the Caribbean, cutting
two full days from travel time be-
tween the United States and the two
great east coast capitals, Buenos
Aires and Rio de Janeiro.
With German drive for economic
and political, if not actual physical,
domination of South America gain
ing Roadway, any steps toward in
creasing the bonds between the
American nations and of cutting
down trade and communications
barriers between them are regarded
as of vital importance. The inau-
guration of stratoclipper service by
Pan American Always, to increase
further the speed of its air-trans-
port service connecting all the ma
tions of the Americas, is one of the
highly important steps toward this
goal.
1t was in realization of the i'm
portance of the new service that
four United States newspapermen
were among the passengers now
settling into the deep, comfort
able seats of the Flying Cloud and
obeying the injunction in three
languages displayed on little illu-
minated panels: Use Seat Belts
Cinturones-Cint
Coast Line Recedes.
All secure, Capt. C. Heller
Goodwin opened the throttles and
at 7:57 am, the Flying Cloud began
rolling smoothly along the concrete
taxying strip and a moment later
lifted cleanly and easily off the new
runway, heading across Biscayne
Bay near the south causeway. A
few minutes later the coast line
slipped away.
At about 5000 feet, Capt. Goodwin
turned on the cabin supercharger
which makes the stratoclippers
unique among the worlds transport
aircraft. In the past, when air.
liners have had to climb into air
too high and thin to support human
respiration with comfort and safety
resort has been made to oxygen. We
were to encounter this method later
In crossing the high hump" of the
Andes. In the stratoclippers, how
ever, the thin outer air is COM
pressed by powerful pumps or super
chargers and fed under pressure
into the Theoretically sealed pas
senger cabin.
Now, despite heat generated in
COMPRISING outer air with a tenn
perature already below freezing
the cabin windows began to frost
over lightly as we roared dowa one
line of the Florida keys. We leveleo
off finally at $4,000 feet with an out
side temperature of zero and sea
almost fiat gray far under a broken
overcast below.
At an altitude of nearly miles
In a dazzling sun, we were ripping
off the miles-at 9:34 am. the
Cuban coast passed below and sea
gave way to forests and fields and a
faint tracery of roads radiating
from a village which probably was
Camaguey. We put the southern
coast behind at 9:58 and crossed
the great bay, passing just west oil
our last Cuban soil, at Cape Cruz, al
1880 am.
Just less than a half hour later
however, we again made landfall
the course taking us across the
re,ter If Jouaica
Over the Caribbean.
Luncheon was served with fine lin.
ems and crystal, over a deep blue
Caribbean, and there was just time
for a brief siesta before we raised
the South American mainland just
after pm. We reached the coast
west of the mouth of the Magdalena
River and moment later touched
wheels to the soil of another con-
tinent on the airport at Barran-
quilla, Colombia. Only hours and
80 minutes had been required to spar
the Caribbean and unite North and
South America.
There was a grim reminder of the
tension the European war and total
itarian aggression has brought into
the lives of our South American
neiehbors. Armed soldiers, on guard
continuously since the war began
and Colombia ousted Nazi pilots and