FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1923
1923 - 0755.PDF
DECEMBER 13, 1928 AN AMERICAN AROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT THE U.S. Secretary of War has approved a project, submittedby Major-General Mason M. Patrick, Chief of U.S. Air Service, to send a fleet of four or five Army aeroplanes on a flight aroundthe world during the coming spring and summer months. The route of the flight will not definitely be determined untilauthority has been received from the various foreign govern- ments whose territorial rights are involved. This matter isnow receiving the attention of the Department of State. However, the tentative plans for the flight are as follows:—A start will be made from Seattle, Wash., about April 1, when they will proceed northward along the coast of Canadaand Southern Alaska ; across the Aleutian Islands, down through the possessions of Japan ; then along the shore ofChina, French Indo-China, Siam and Burma ; across India and up the Persian Gulf ; across Turkey and Europe toEngland ; thence north through the Faroe Islands to Iceland and Greenland ; from here is made a turn southward alongthe eastern shore of the continent to Cape Farewell, thence a direct flight to Hamilton Inlet, on the Labrador Coast; along At various points along the route pontoons will be fittedin place of wheels, and vice versa. For example, pontoons will be used from Seattle to Japan, or Calcutta, where wheels willbe substituted for the flight across Asia Minor and Europe. From Hull, pontoons will again be used as far as Montreal orKeyport (N.J.), after which wheels will be fitted for the final stage of the journey. Existing airway facilities will be utilised in the U.S.A.,Southern Japan, and between India and London. The inter- vening sections will be given further study by officers whowill proceed over the route prior to the arrival of the machines. Supplies will have to be shipped from America to variouspoints on the route several months in advance of the flight, and for this purpose each division will have a main depot,with one or more sub-dep jts for major items of supply. Petrol, oil, and smaller articles of supply will be placed at practicallyall stops. The longest " hop," according to present plans, will be fromAttu Island to Paramishiru Island, in the northern part of the THE AMERICAN AROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT : One of the four Douglas " World Cruisers " (400 h.p.Liberty) which will be used in the U.S. Army Air Service around-the-world attempt next spring. the Canadian shore and up the St. Lawrence River to Quebecand Montreal, and finally to Washington. The " team " will consist of four officers and four enlistedmen well qualified for the long and arduous flight, and the selection of these men is now under consideration. As regards the machines, these will be entirely of Americandesign and construction, being products of the Douglas Airplane Company, of Santa Monica, Calif. The Douglas" World Cruiser," as may be seen from the accompanying illustration of one of these machines, is a comparatively largesingle-engined tractor biplane, somewhat similar in general appearance to the Douglas D.T.4 bomber described in FLIGHTfor November 8 last. Its folding wings, wide-track landing gear, and wing petrol tanks are the principal features. Theengine used is the 400 h.p. Liberty. A " path-finding" expedition of two officers—Lieuts.C. E. Crumrine and C. C. Nutt, both members of the 1920 Alaskan Flying Expedition—is now at work investigatingfacilities, etc., along certain portions of the route. The proposed route has been sub-divided into six divisions(1) Washington—Attu Island : (2) Attu—Nagasaki, Japan (3) Nagasaki—Calcutta ; (4) Calcutta—Constantinople(5) Constantinople—Hull, England ; (6) Hull—Washington. Kurile Islands group, a possession of Japan. Other longstages will be necessary over the Atlantic between the Faroe Islands and Iceland, Iceland and Greenland, and Greenlandand Northern Canada, the longest of these being about 700 miles. '.'"• As regards the British attempts at flying round the world,no further details as to final arrangements have been announced up to the present. As our readers are aware,three separate schemes are in the field—or, should we say, in the air ? These expeditions will be led by Squall.-Ldr.Archibald S. C. MacLaren (R.A.F.) ; Capt. Tymms and Mr. Macintosh ; and Capt. Norman MacMillan and Mr,Geofrey Malins. The former is using an advanced type of Vickers "Viking" amphibian (450 h.p. Napier "Lion"),and Capt. Tymms is flying a Fairey seaplane. As regards the latter scheme, it would seem that this will have to beabandoned, as the following news has just come to hand. The steam yacht " Frontiersman," which set out in June tolay dumps of petrol, etc., along the route, had, on reaching San Pedro, California, to be sold in order to meet an unexpecteddeficit in the funds of the expedition. . - . • :.-,-.„.;; LONDON TERMINAL AERODROME Monday Evening, December 10, 1923 FOR the. past fortnight there has been little activity at theLondon Terminal aerodrome owing to the unfavourable flying weather. At the Cafe Royal, Croydon, on Friday evening, Major-General Sir Sefton Brancker in the chair, the annual aerodrome dinner was held. It was a quieter and more enjoyable affairthan in previous years, and several of the speeches were well worth hearing. General Brancker announced that thearrangements for the Million Pound Scheme were now completed, and also stated that 75 per cent, of the personnel,and all the pilots, were under arrangement with the Govern- ment to be on the R.A.F. Reserve. There is a strong rumourto the effect that Colonel Searle will probably be the managing director of the new company. Although the Aerodrome Sports Club has now lapsed, thestaff of Messrs. Hall and Brenard, Ltd., who have now a wireless factory on the aerodrome, have formed a footballclub, and played their first match on the aerodrome football ground on Saturday. It is to be hoped that their examplewill be followed by others on the aerodrome, and that by combining a strong football team could be formed. There is-little doubt that a sports club, on however small a basis, would be a great asset to London's air-station. 755
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
