| Show I Veteran ran Mail Pilot Tells o of edI ed I By Fliers to Get Mail Through at Any Ay Cost Death Plays Hide and Seek With Pilots in Airmail Airmail Airmail Air Air- mail Lanes EDITORS EDITOR'S NOTE Every day every every night death rides in the airmail airmail airmail air air- mail lanes playing hide and seek among the clouds with the daring pilots vho ho whisk your letter through the skies for a a. cent 5 postage stamp Here is the first of five st stories ries in which Major Wesley L. L Smith superintendent superintendent superintendent super super- of the New York Chicago divisi division n of the transcontinental airmail service tells of the dangers faced by the fliers In the airmail service himself since 1919 Major Smith has flown a half million miles or a distance of twenty twenty times times around the earth By NEA Service Death DeaU rides the air all 1 lanes S wh where re rethe the airmail wings Us its way His fingers clutch from the fog the storms the lightning the ice clouds His score Is nine forty-nine of ot the finest finest fin fin- est pilots America has trained In Inthis Inthis inthis this new science of riding the skies But the times s he has clutched at empty t air are e legion f for r the theda- theda dar dar- ln t utha M who wM fl skies sIdes have learned d grim exp experience to to to outwit their foe and outguess his moods Battling the fogs the storms and the Ice has become their business Squeezing their planes between clouds and mountain tops riding high or roaring roaring- up valleys between th the hills are all part of the tho days day's work worl Danger Dangel rides with them Gambling Gambling Gam Cam bling hung with death is is' is the spice which seasons the monotony of ot the long rides alone through the skies sIdes under under under un un- un- un der blazing suns through blanket- blanket like fogs togs or riding high above the beacon lights which pick out out the course at night The stor story of their brushes with death and the high degree of courage courage courage cour cour- age with which they battle their old- old time foe is almost ah an an epic And the story of ot Major Wesley Vesley L L. Smith one of the original airmail fliers and now superintendent nt of th the eastern eastern east east- em ern division of ot N National Air All Transport Transport Transport Trans Trans- port company is typical of oC them all lIe He Is in charge chargo of airmail operations operations operations op op- op- op on the New York-Chicago York division of the trans transcontinental airmail airmail air air- mail maii route His headquarters are arc areat areat at Cleveland Ohio HOURS IN AIR Smith is a war-trained war pilot a a. veteran of hours in the air all during which he has flown the equivalent of ot twenty times the tho distance distance distance dis dis- tance around the world For Fot eight years he flew the airmail air- air mail mall first on the original New NewYork York York- York Washington route and then on the hell stretch over the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Penn Penn- sylvania mountain leg of the tho transcontinental transcontinental trans trans- continental route the tho worst stretch of flying country In the United States Still flies me it in fact if the emergency arises and he is needed He has crashed hiS bin plane on mountaintops fought through the Ice clouds to the the clear air above where the stars kept him company fought fire firo more than a a. mile niile high and brought his ship down safely and and lives to tell the stor story A tale talethe talethe the thc fictionists couldn't imagine If ft they tried yet ct a true tale of the tho dangers and the heroism of tho the themen thomen thomen men who fl fly the tho airmail Smith who attended the University University University sity of ot C California was a a. war-trained war flier filer and a veteran of a a. summer of aerial barnstorming when he joined the airmail service His first flight with the mall mail might have been his last LOST IN THE FOG That was In the days das of the original original I nal New York York- York Wash York Washington 1 ington airmail route He had left leCt the Belmont Park N. N Y terminal headed for I Washington with bad weather ahead planning to follow the Long Island shore hop the bay to the Jersey coast and then strike Inland to Washington It was his first experience with bad weather flying He set his ship on its course plowing through fog tOg banks and showers of ot rain When he had been on his way thirty minutes minutes min mm- utes h he looked below hoping to sight the bay T There ere was nothing I below but tor fog Then housetops and church spires began to fla HaJi by too close below for comfort or 0 safet safety He lie was off oct his course flying over the housetops housetops housetops house house- tops of ot Brooklyn There was nothing to do but plunge on dodging the high buildIngs buildings buildings build build- ings if it I could Smith says Luck was with me I found m myself over the river rl and Il headed down the bayThe bayThe bay The air all was a soup of ot fog Below Below Below Be Be- low I could hear the whistles whistleR of ot tUgS and far away the clatter of ot the theL theL L L trains over owr t fH l j fy 1 T. T goal was the Statue of Liberty If I 1 could coula find that I 1 could point my way down the bay and to the tho Jersey Jersey Jersey Jer Jer- sey coast DODGES STATUE OF LIBERTY IB The The statue looms up large large on Island on a a. clear day clay It ItIs Itis Itis Is a different matter to o find l findt t from U the e air wh when n i th tho ie air lr Is full lull of i fog fog and rain and you cant can't see where youre you're headed Suddenly I 1 saw the long upraised upraised upraised up up- raised hand of Liberty ahead Smith said I swung to the north got my bearings and swept past pat toward the open sea and nd the Jersey Jersey Jer Jer- soy sey sey coast farewell to the goddess as I passed I 1 was on In my course again and anti the rest of the journey passed without incident On another occasion while still flying the New York York- York Washington route Smith lost the ground soon after he ho left Baltimore heading north for tor Now New York For three hours he flew blind through clouds and find snow flu flurries bound for the Newark N. N J. J field then the northern north north- ern era terminus of ot the route KNOW TOWNS BY SMELLS But he ho overestimated d the strength of ot a a. head wind and wh when n he found a hole in the clouds and dove down downto to land he found himself in country covered with snow He was at Orange Conn straight on his course but he had overshot Newark by forty miles Such blind flying is part of the airmail pilots pilot's business today He lIe will battle fog Cog and storms for hours on his course if only he is assured of ot an even chance to land his plane at the end of the journey journe Their instruments keep them flying flying nyIng fly fly- Ing level and at a safe altitude even though the fogs hem them in like a blanket Sometimes th they y find their vay way home by the tho sm smells of the towns they arc are headed for Many Manyan an airmail pilot has found the Chicago Chicago Chicago Chi Chi- cago field by the tho smell of the stock fock yards ards They know by the pungent odor of oC the tho oil refineries when they are passing Baltimore J- J Next Eight thousand fe feet t uDina uD in a flaming flaminA plane I er Ia m I wI w- w I 4 II I W WESLEY SLEY L. L SMITH |
