r " L PAYSON rilRONirl 2,000,000 Now "Fly Through the Air With the Greatest of Ease" Recent Celebration of National Air Travel Week Dramatized the Amazing Development of Airplane Transportation of Passengers, Mail and Express During the 10 Years Since a Famous Author Paid $400 for a Flight from Los Angeles to New York. 33-Ho- ur C Western Newspaper Union. By ELMO SCOTT WATSON thousand enjoyed, first time, the realization of an ancient dream of mankind. They flew through the air with the greatest of ease not on the flying trapeze, nor yet on Aladdins magic carpet, but aird in swift, the ultimate are that planes in comfort and safety. This mass flight of at least 50,000 people was a part of the observance of National Air Travel Week, sponsored by the aviation industry of the country, including the 21 domestic air transport lines to celeand brate the tenth year jubilee of air transportation and call to the attention of the nation the spectacular growth of a service which has risen in 10 years from an extremely small industry, chiefly dependent on air mail, to one which now carries more than 2,000,000 passengers every year plus millions of pounds of air mail and express. multi-engine- It's true that passengers were being carried by airplane in 1926 but in that year air transport was still an experiment. The air lines then in existence were using small single-engine- d planes and they definitely did not encourage passenger traffic. These lines existed mainly to transport the mail and when they did take passengers, these passengers rode on the mail sacks or crouched down in small, cramped cockpits. The pilots of these ships werent any too happy to have a passenger along and be made to feel the extra responsibility for his safety. v vWa A Af The remarkable advance in air transportation is visualized by the pictures of the various types of airplanes that have been flown in service since 1928. The- first d service requiring 33 hours, was flown with a biplane shown at the top. Next came the plane with a cruising speed of 105 miles an hour. In 1933 air transportation was revolutionized with the introduction of the worlds first - coast-to-coa- st coast-to-coa- st mail-passeng- single-engine- twin-engine- d, te l, low-win- g The bottom picture shows the latest refinement of the type with a top speed of 212 miles an hour. coast-to-coa- st sound-proofe- d coast-to-coa- st full-cour- multi-engine- well-know- one-wa- y multi-engme- multi-engine- single-engine- multi-engme- d air-ma- il multi-engine- d) Louis-Chicag- st K v ,.v.v.-r- adventurers. They paid $400 for a transcontinental ticket, sat upright in a small metal chair with little upholstery; their plane landed every few hundred miles for fuel; little food, if any, was served; and the journey took 33 hours. In 1938, at the beginning of the second Lindy Points the Way. decade the flight between New Then came the year 1927. York and Los Angeles or San otherwise Francisco has been reduced to an Lindy, Lucky Charles A. Lindbergh, a former overnight journey in a large, air mail pilot, made the flight comfortable berth aboard a The transport. across the Atlantic and the whole air fare has been world flung his name against the stars. The impetus given to avi- reduced to less than $150. The ation was immediate. By the passenger enjoys a hot meal that is served without any end of that year air transportation was emerging from the ex- extra cost. The business man perimental stage. One factor journeying from his New York office to the Pacific coast does which hastened it was the develd not lose a single business hour the of larger opment flight equipment. These in spanning the continent. powerful motors meant a larger Fares Cut in Half. margin of safety in carrying pasIn a decade air fares in the sengers. United States have been reduced Then came another historic from an average of 12 cents a event, but one not so widely mile to 5V cents, while speed has known, although it was widely re- been more than doubled and comcalled during the recent celebra- forts not even thought of in those tion of National Air Travel Week. days have made air travel a luxn John Monk Saunders, a ury form of transoortation. Si- American author, paid ticket be$400 for a tween Los Angeles and New York and became the first pay passenger aboard the first regular d scheduled flight in a transport plane. That marked the real beginning of modern passenger air transport. As a matter of fact, Saunders was only one of 47,840 Americans who traveled by air that year. But not all of these were flown d in ships. Most of the small operators were still flyd ships ing small since the only foundation needed for starting an airline in those days was to have a few pilots, a plane or two and a place to fly to. In 1928 the air lines had a total of 325 single and transports in service and flew a total of 10,673,450 miles. In 1938, just 10 years later, the air lines Col. Charles A. Lindbergh when have about 386 transports (all and during 1937 he was an pilot and flew the first mail plane on the St. flew the astonishing total of line in 1926. miles, carrying 1,267,580 passengers. In fact, one of the with decrease in most amazing of all of air trans- multaneously, faster schedules and fare, ports accomplishments has beena er comfort, the industrygreathas its steady expansion during of a record written safe, dependadecade that has been marked by ble operation in view of the trethe contraction and retrenchment mendous increase in flying, which of other lines of industry. is a standard for the world. Pioneer Passengers. With the inception of this vast But it is in the "human ele- air line system the number of seats available for passenger conment, the side of the business, sumption have increased from that the most interesting example 600 in 1928 to 3,600 in 1938. In of progress is noted. The first 1938 a total of 447,716,419 seat travelers were true miles were flown by the nation's coast-to-coa- v , jt't o monoplane. twin-engine- d air lines. Ten years ago an average of 131 passengers per day rode on air line planes. Today sees' 3,200 persons board United States airline ships daily. Safer Than Automobiles. Safety has, of course increased tremendously in recent years, the best example being that in 1928, the air lines flew only 945,476 miles per fatal accident as com' pared with 13,214,301 miles per fatal accident in 1937. Safety has reached the point that on a mileage travel basis, a person is safer on a modern transport plane than he is driving his own automobile between the same cities today. ' The air line plane of 1928 had an average speed of 90 miles an hour.. This was an exceptionally swift pace, but not the zenith by any means. Manufacturers set to work to build faster equipment. By 1933 some of the air lines were operating planes with cruising speeds of three miles a minute. At the turn of the first decade the average air line plane cruises at 200 miles an hour. Little or nothing was known about the supercharging of engines in 1928 for that reason air line planes flew low. between one and two thousand feet. A flight above 4,000 feet was really high flying. Rough air was usually the rule at these low altitudes and approximately 10 per cent of the air travelers were troubled by air sickness. Little or nothing was known about the scientific ventilation of Airplane cabins and it was not uncommon for a cabin to be filled with motor fumes Heating of cabins was accom plished directly from engine ex hausts. The ships of 1928 car ried a limited amount of fuel and had to land every few hundred miles for gas. The modern plane today has a cruising range of 1,000 to 1,500 miles flying at 10,000 feet, where smooth air prevails. The roar ing, booming noise of the throbbing motors of 1928 has been eliminated by soundproofing and the cabins are ventilated by the constant flow of fresh, filtered air. Steamheating is automatically controlled and the cabin of the modern transport has the atmosphere, of a living e room. flying came in vogue a few years ago and today some of the domestic routes are p flights of 900 operating miles. But even this is not the epitome. The Douglas planes of today have bona fide cruising ranges of 1,500 miles and test flights of nearly 2,000 miles without even stopping for fuel have been made. well-appoint- Long-rang- non-sto- North Scientific Fannin?, Combine to Cut ?oulh Blow Area Next v Platte e-- ftf Denver Summer. Daily ' W. LaBINE By JOSEPH The sun is beginning to shine southwestthrough America's five Where clouds. ern dust drouth ago there was City, and desolation, encouraged farmers now prick up their on ears to hear rain pound once pockwindows that were marked by sandstorms. This is taking place in the dust bowl region, compris- a, A is a perfect physi- WE ha CKy mtl tkC rf M SantaT Albuquerque OKL TEXAS lions the dust bowl has been shrinking, and r prediction of next years and other efforts to trouble-cente- r, Contour the soil are rejpomitk rains have been the heaviest since 1932, and like a great piece of wool, the dust bowl seems to shrink when it gets wet. But behind the dust bowls shrinkage is something far more fundamental than rain. It is a definite change in Americas treatment of her No. 1 industry, agriculture. New Century, New Problems. Oldtimers recall how, 50 years ago, each midwestern homestead was an independent kingdom on .JA, which the farmer lived without concern for high neighbors The land was new and good; no problem was bigger than the homestead itself. But since free land disappeared, since cultivation began loosening the soil from its anchors, problems have sprung up that are not localized. It all boils down to the problem of preserving our land. Gas masks for a dusl storm. This is far more important than I'sed since 1932 in the south the matter of agricultural prices tcest, but soon they may be and surplus. When land begins stored away. eroding and blowing away it spreads like a cancerw America s cancer lies that from 1928 was the ket of the nation, pr V 300,000,000 bushels of w4si:, rom 1932 to 1938 dropped to 150,900,000 bill cancer is still ipreaauifcS the northeast into Kansas Xt A But the encouraging latte man can now reconquer W' T inal dust bowl, and is atleaji fC. ing how this precious fci .VC should be handle! v Todays farmer admitster well-bein- ' P M eastern ing western Kansas, Colorado, the Oklahoma Panhandle and northwest Texas. But it extends northward, too, of through desolate wastes a North and South Dakota where fed farmers ago scant few years their cattle Russian thistle because nothing else would grow. Rain has been partly responsible defor this new optimism, for the 1930s apthe of pressing dry cycle s pears to be ending. This year f its a years Frequent Examinations. cal specimen. He undergoes a thorough physical examination on an average of every three months. He leads a normal, retiring life when hes not putting in his maximum of 85 hours in the air each month. The average air line captain has his own home and flower garden, plays a good game of golf, is a camera enthusiast and spends as much time as possible with his wife and children. He is a solid citizen in his community and is a great student, always seeking to improve and strengthen his knowledge of air line flying. Often you can find him at his terminal flying a training device that simulates every conceivable flight characteristic of an airplane, even to the guidance of airplanes by directive radio beams. The cockpit of an air liner has grown to a scientific office where the pilot has been provided with proper tools to accomplish his work. The cockpit of 1928 boasted of sparse instruments and a few controls. Todays air line has an automatic robot pilot, for example, that is capable of guiding the airplane in the same precise manner that the human pilot does. Hence, the human pilot can turn over command of the plane to the robot pilot at any o Kain re Todays pilot tTAll Dusl bowl Looms as Proving For Enlightened American A 12-to- n Pan-America- n, To anyone who knows anything about the history of aviation in this country, the question immediately arises, Why call it the tenth anniversary of air transportation? If I remember rightly, they were flying the mail 20 years ago, in 1918, and the first transcontinental service was begun in 1924 and within two years passengers were being carried. Why didn't we celebrate this tenth anniversary two years ago, in 1936? The answer is this: PAYSOK. othIn air transport, as in any passengers the of er, the safety of course depends ultimately, men the operating it. me upon alertness physical fitness, mental and practiced skill of the man behind the wheel in an automoa bile, in the pilot house of snip or in the cab of a locomotive determines pretty much whether or not youll reach your destination safely if you travel by land or water. The same thing is true if you travel by air. But if you have an idea thata to you are entrusting your life a dashing, of the air, knight fellow, given to takdoing spectacular stunts and may That it! chances forget ing have been true in the post-wa- r t true period of aviation but it isn now. The average pilot of 1928 wa3 a man who, if he had 2,000 hours of experience, was regarded as a veteran airman. He knew little about night flying and had no faith in theories that some day airentireplanes could be controlled his in cockpit. instruments by ly The average pilot in command airliner today is a of a big has highly professional man whomora journeyed a million miles or in the sky aboard transport planes. He is a technical man, too, understanding that he has been provided with an airplane in perfect condition, every proven aid to the science of air navigation, and with corps of ground workers who are studying weather reports, communicating with him by radio and generally directing the orderly procedure of his flight with marked efficiency. devil-may-ca- SEVERAL K. wssr' earth ha3 been misused, a half century of boomera' its resources were draiM attempt was made to rested Years ago there wasnonc as crop rotation, nor did a, out hillside cause t year-after-ye- the eventually plain mad, rt good dried up and biul Agricultures Proving GV.! The dust bowl offers agrz;' best example of whatmsj throughout the Midwest, cf, will result. In this of wasted land once h ductive farm territory-eo- -:r -- Germany Builds New Zeppelin , Unshaken by Past Tragedies fostered partment by the United Ste of agriculture bi a painstaking battle. lta? sands have migrated, ths? less farms stand deep sand, the dust bowl is end a proving ground for tana in e riculture. It was not enough that i learned to leave a er during winter months, mf enough to learn that ten:?, erosion frombott1 prevent W'ashouts and blowing It !'-eto carry out these pU L First, the Farm Secuntjsfj tration offered loans to fanarft would handle their land scE , ly, making further loan!" wished to lease adjacent ni, blow land and anchor M to I Though 220,000 dust under jut been placed have andiS-- t" agement this way, S,- r act Jones-Bankhea- A year ago List May, wen the giant Hindenburg exploded while landing at Lakehurst, N. J., the r world thought craft were a proven failure. But though one after another airship has been wrecked by structural defects, wartime shells, storms and explosions, Germany still has faith. Just launched is the new christened Graf Zeppelin after an earlier lighter-than-ai- r The ship. new Graf Zeppelin is a sister ship of the Hindenburg. and in Pilot W. L. Smith ready to start outward appearance is the same. But a visit to the hangar at on the first flight of the transcontinental air mail service inGermany, offers convincing proof that the similarity augurated July 1, 1924. ends there. The time. All instruments are in duis 803 feet long with plicate and the pilot can guide a beam of 135 feet. When inflated his airplane by looking at his in- it wall hold 7,060.000 cubic feet of struments. gas, helium if the United States govMotors have reached such a ernment will supply it. Germany high degree of perfection that wants to avoid hydrogen, whose inemergency landings because of flammability caused the Hindenburg' s downfall. motor difficulties are hghter-than-ai- Given O. 8. Assista ! This is a simple ptocan bE area in a certain abacdmfi ciation to lease for i W thereby qualifying ment from the V ment administration. ment provides niaclhJ buried fence posts, abandon and put the for Funds shape. F ment come from the and to administration AAA a paid when the to districtw3(i made LZ-13- Fried-richshafe- LZ-13- 0 virtually unknown. Todays transports are Eckener Is Leader. The guiding genius behind Gercapable of taking off and flying with only one engine operating many's dirig.bles is Dr. Hugo EckeNew type propellers have been ner. who has devoted most of his perfected that greatly reduce mo- iife to research. tor noise. Most of Um new new feaWeather has long been an ac- tures can be attributed to him. For knowledged factor in air trans- example, the mass of metal inside portation and was an early handi- the snip is made of duralumin, an cap to schedule efficiency. The amazingly fight alloy. Helium if system of weather reporting in Germany gets it will be stored in 16 1928 was far from compartments. The were not satisfactory and l.ghter-than-a- doughnut-shape- pilots provided with radio communication so that, like today, they could re- two-wa- y ceive trends. weather Because nothing was known about instrument schedule after schedule hadflying to be cancelled. Weather is today still a factor in schedule efficiency but not the great problem it was 10 years ago because much has been learned about the sc'ence of me teorology as applied to aviation The airlines still have complete safety as its goal and w hen wca'h er conditions of extreme pr Por" tions arise, flights are ca Velle ' ir d slop is powered by four motors capable of taking the ship from Germany to Lake-nurs- t. N J., in two and f ff'ys. retun ing in two. Store rooms bag'Pge compartments and passenger accommodations are inside the monger's belly, but actual naviga-- t on tikes place in gondola-likcontrol cars. The Graf Zeppelin has 20 one-hal- e cabins 40 accnpimodafing passengers as lth the Hindenburg's The smaller load ,s - " - - 'uteri '.crt-mi- e -i because hefium lifts Irngon Dining quar-- ' m the renter of the p kS government to purchase idle blow land, the new is operative attack methyl by still another conservation district This The news Graf Zep- going on unnoticed drouth pelin soars over Friedrichs-hafe- and otherthe amannf autumn on her first trial run, to the publics outwardly a carbon copy of brought time. Tbere TOP , s- n the ill-fate- d ABOVE . the first Hindenburg. misconception is a new great Dr. Hugo Eckener, guiding spirit of Germanys r research which dates hack to Count Ferdinand von Zeppelins experiments 40 , Am experts are but farm ? J out that it is a P tive region of See, Most of the lighter-than-ai- years ago. main runway, flanked on one side by a lounge and reading room, and on the other side by another lounge, a smoking room and a bar. Promenade decks are fitted with huge slanting windows that enable passengers to watch the world below. When regular transatlantic passenger service is inaugurated, it will cost $450 to come from Frankfort to Lakehurst, against $400 on the Hindenburg. Smaller pay loads are responsible for the added fare. Strong in her faith, Germany is already planning the to be larger still. Americas contribution to the dirigible field will be $3,000.-00U. S. navy training ship, authorized by congress last year. The principal reason it has not been started Is that engineers cannot decide whether it shall be covered with metal or fabric. LZ-13- 0 operated wtth v nas chinery It P31 the in crops a lively small ' I 4 V pe' A p operated this hlnwing subject to have They Knd 6,000.000 of th under cultivation'81 to grass put back becoming eventually grazingThe latest progress look e8 j. on Q gare 97,000.000 acre an next expected year- drouth Midwi-- t f which bascce ground liar technique r .riden W I T , ISPJP1' S Sa a? I