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Show "FLIVVER" FLIERS' JOURNEY WAS MORE THAN JUST A STUNT Two young American pilots have just demonstrated that private pri-vate flying can be made just about as safe as the flier wants it to be. They are Clifford Evans and George Truman, who landed at Tetoboro. N. J.. last week, after a flight around the world in "flivver" planes. The casual impression is that their 123-day, 25.000-mile trip Mnt nnrl i h n t it mil ho Wda a attuit " - - written off as such. In reality the flight was carefully planned proof of the possibilities of the personal plane. When Truman and Evans took off last August 9 on the first leg of their journey they had a definite goal: to gc around the world and come back in one piece. Their flight was nlotted in advance and they took no unnecessary chances. When the weather reports said "No," they didn't fly. When plane check-ups meant changing chang-ing the flight schedule, they accepted ac-cepted the delay. When they needed navigational help, they asked for and got it. The result re-sult was that they completed their mission without mishap, altho not in the two months they originally planned. I During their hislory-makmg flight, Truman and Evans made I 49 stops in 23 countries. Then-longest Then-longest non-stop hop was from Lethbridge, Alta., to Van Nuys, Calif. 1275 miles in approximately approxi-mately 13 hours. Their most dangerous was from northern Hokaido, Japan, to sheya, near Attu in the Aleutians. On the latter jump, and also on the hop from the Aleutians to Alaska, Alas-ka, they were escorted by U. S. army B-17s. The rest of the long journey was strictly on their own. The Truman-Evans epic does not mean that Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public can take off this afternoon and hunt tigers in India next week. WThat these young men have shown is that by the exercise of sound com-' com-' mon sense private flying can be made as safe as any other human hu-man activity. Editorial in Salt Lake Tribune. |