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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 1178.PDF
•360 MAY 22ND, 1941. TEMPESTUOUS CORALIA (Continued) nearest clouds, but like all reflections, while true in lorm, act with insane irresponsibility. At one time the sea seems stationary and the clouds rush forward; then the reflection below makes the sea jump forward, or the sea again comes to a standstill and the reflected clouds rush backward. Oh Einstein, is this not the relativity you sought, and not the odious comparisons which strafed you from your fatherland ? The weather is perfect. Sea calm and blue sky. 1 look at my watch. We shall be in Bermuda in about another hour. Then down goes our left wing, and we make a complete turn and head back in the direction from which we have come. Nobody seems to notice the change, even though the sun now comes in through the opposite windows. I look round at my 23 fellow pas- sengers, none of whom knows we have turned completely round. Fancy making those passengers sit at an angle, like on the roof of a house, without any of them knowing it! After we had been flying back for twenty minutes a steward came in with a card saying that we were returning to La Guardia Field because of bad weather conditions at Bermuda. I learnt afterwards that a south-west gale had been blowing at Bermuda at 70 m.p.h. and that it was expected to moderate before we arrived. Instead it increased to 90, and so they were obliged to turn us : back when we had already flown 550 miles out of the , 750 from New York. As is customary on such occasions, * the aircraft company pay all the passenger expenses1-'' until the contracted flight is completed. They ran us, •• free from the airport at La Guardia Field to New York, put us up at the Commodore Hpi^f, and ran us out to the Clipper next morning. Another beautiful morning „ • as the cheerful passengers were greeted by the smiling 1 air crew. This time we embarked with the sense of old , adventure-stained travellers and flew straight through without further incident. • This 1,100-mile return free flight was the longest I have been privileged to make so far. Last October T.W.A. gave me a similar return flight over the Grand Canyon, and in the Hindenburg, some years ago, after arriving at Frankfort, we were taken for a tour of old German cities until the bumps on, a hot summer's day had been given time to level^ertif. DOUGLAS TOWN Some Details of One of America's Biggest FactoriesI T is at Santa Monica, California, that the parent factory of the Douglas organisation is located, but there is also the other branch at El Segundo, and the Long Beach factory will soon be working. The Santa Monica plant is the largest, employing a total of over 16,000 men and women on January 1st of this year. Exactly two years ago it had a payroll of 5,100, showing a three-fold expansion in this short time. Ten years ago, only 1,100 were em- ployed. The number at present on the Douglas payroll is the huge total of over 25,000. For 1940 the company sold $60 million worth of aircraft and its orders now total $348 million (£87 million). The Santa Monica factory is a town, an orderly town with each building laid out in streets one way and avenues the other, the avenues being designated by letters and the streets by numbers. There is no possibility of mistake when a plant maintenance man is told to repair a leaking air connection at the spray booth at the corner of Avenue L and Fifteenth Street. The factory covers an area of about 1,500,000 sq. ft., which can be thought of most easily as a.factory 100 yd. wide and one mile long, though it is not, of course, in this shape. Plant Railway A trackless railway system runs along the streets and avenues for the delivery of materials and parts, and quiet- running trucks pulling about six cars all painted bright orange may be seen under the charge of a driver, with a brake man on the rear truck. Plans are being made for the establishment of a central terminal for the trailer trains to simplify goods transport and make interchange of '' freight',' easier. The plant police force has 162 Douglas police officers enrolled, and is officered by ten sergeants, four lieutenants, two captains and the chief. The fire-fighting force is organised on a voluntary basis from among the employees and a staff of 300 is available to meet any trouble with modern equipment The telephone system has 900 numbers on it, and 60 lines connect the factory to the outside world There is even a radio station for two-way communication with air- craft during test flights. The factory aerodrome is over- looked by the airport control tower built on the top of the final assembly hangar. The factory mail system deals not only with outside letters coming in and going out, but with the internal communications between departments, which total about 15,000 every 24 hours. 5 Welfare Department Much thought is given to the welfare of workers, and feeding is well provided for with canteens, cafeterias and soda fountains, both indoor and outdoor. You may have your lunch at a table with a gaily coloured table cloth in the sun and watch an entertainment at the same time. The welfare department does much more. All of its profits go back to the employees. If a worker is sick, welfare sees to it his grocery bill is paid while his income has stopped. If he is sued, welfare helps get legal adviceCV If an employee gets a '' traffic ticket,'' welfare can get% someone to appear for him in court. ~* Completely equipped with such things as physiotherapy lamps and sterilisers, the dispensaries are open 24 hours a day, staffed by a total of 25 registered nurses, with doctors either present or on call. The medical plan makes avail- able to employees an insurance programme covering non- industrial illnesses and subscribing employees are provided with complete medical care for a low monthly fee. Thousands are so insured and thereby receive, as needed, major and minor operations, house calls and office calls. Even a "bank" is part of the organisation, for the Douglas Aircraft Federal Credit Union accepts interest- bearing deposits, and makes loans to employees. Thousands of Douglas workers are "going to school," increasing their skill and technical understanding through classes sponsored by the company's educational depart- ment. There is also a library system with a very complete aeronautical section. Sports are well provided for with innumerable clubs and teams, and the latest social event was moving pictures. " London Can Take It " was shown there in January.
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