| Show I I r i J- J c r tc D O ra roe e ft f ry O 13 j I I C roD roD- aK 10 r 1100 p rt 0 e ano c o tr I Q aVi S r I wr 4 4 t 9 Ito A Figures Figure in f 6 cn Circles Circlet Show r b Approximate b s o f Elapsed i at 11 Aar u. u A O t Hours Houn of Mail II c v na nA iJ t 24 2 IO taut 0 Planes from wien nos 7 emu e t CHICAGO T 1 ad M er wy a AIR MAIL I v ca Is Given 17 aw Ii Preference t 12 it i a t t I Over Ove I w f A Ordinary UTON vuron s Mail Meil end and 15 0 N 16 AIR MAIL ROUTES n Travels II Ei I goo In di I al at hiss have J Dire Jt Air Mau and practically wry 14 j matly a L city U Is through rail plane The Tha L I Th Three 11 Tirres maU over the ii shown As Fast q Ia I her hies travel mils daily cs carrying titian g I t D I a EI every ry 24 is houra I f I 4 1 e er I II I A r s e z t I 3 I r c r re e r J i Y a a P t s' s sr r. r l aaA r 4 ins 3 ec y R s v r j ra F's Y s1 VF V y yik j M tl i 3 R g iF r t f fT iL ik i I It t T s S. S fro L I x j O Only a Small of It Aar R Map M and und Pictures Courtesy United Air Lines By ELMO SCOTT WATSON Ir lAn l'An SI such as ns this of or n famous poem I A Twos the nl night ht before Christmas and nil all through the hou house o Not a n creature was stirring not even e n a mouse i But up lip In III n the sky over nil of I the land It on red airplanes and pilots pilot a n new Santa Santu Claws Clam 1 bandl band l I might be aptly used to describe the situation of or air clr mall ani and I air express this Christmas Truly airplane pilots will ho roaring through the skies carrying Christmas gifts and greetings greeting from one end of ot the United States Stales to 10 the other And quite fitting filling It Is too tOil that Unit pi gifts ft should III nr ar arrive rive In this manner fps Isn't t It true trill that those reindeer steeds of or Santas Santa's alwa always had lUll a n propensity propensity propensity pro pro- for tor air travel tran Always Alwa's the pictures we have seen of or them show how them coming conning down the sky about to settle on the snow snowy roofs roots of or houses below them Hut now now Instead of or Dasher Dusher and Dancer and Vixen Ponder bonder anti the time six sh fast animate animals who for tor so long love hun pulled Santas Santa's sleigh loaded with gifts girts to our chimney tops It Is I. Pratt not Whitney Curtiss anI and Fokker and Corsair airplanes and engines that loom zoom through the skies carrying the great load of ot Christmas mall mail And that rotund figure with white heard beard and Jolly oily face tace who dressed In to n II bright red unie ume trimmed with Arctic fur has been supplanted b bya by bya a different breed of ot man mUll one ono who Is U leaner of or figure and sterner of or face tUtt He lie Is no less joll Jolly by nature perhaps but he tae Is 18 serious i with the new lIew Intelligence of ot air navigation na lie Ile and his hiM fellow pilots lire are men who have been selected to fly lIy the mall because of or their superior qualities all as s aviators The well placed faith which the public hasIn has hns hasIn In the accuracy and speed of air mall dispatch Is II more than usually evident at nt Christmas time beginning about the first of ot December air tine line employees start preparation for the rush r of or air mall mail and express that will begin about that time and by three days before Christ Christmas mils will have reached hed an nn almost cyclonic pitch As s I the Influx of ot mall mail Increases uses extra planes and pilots will be called Into service ser ani and In III some Instances It will be necessary estry to cancel passenger rl reservations reserva so IiO that the n a would space passenger occupy oc cc c. c cupy In a ship can cun be Ill utilized for carrying More mail It is I. a com common won sight around aroun l an airport at Christmas time to see people who have delayed their Christmas mailing until the Ir ery tery last to win min In ute COWl come hurrying In to their cars curl on foot andon and on street t cars to get Iet their packages In a II plane which will get them to their destination In to time Practically nil ail types of merchandise Is n accepted ac as- by air lines for tor trall transport und and a 8 variety of t gifts tiM 1 their way Into time till cockpit A A Chinese fisherman who tied on the coast of of Ala Alaska k last year pur sent a ato to 40 pound Alaska fl man n to his sportsman friend In New tw York tor for whom wham he hI worked during the time fishing lea season SOD as ns it u guide With Ith such a u tremendously rapid medium of transportation as us the airplane that accomplishment fell fIll Into the realms of or the com enin- No 0 more precautions were token taken for tor preparing Unit that fish for a n 2500 tulle ride across the continent than would be Ill taken h by a II eon con confectioner preparing nn an Icing to be delivered to tn a n suburban customer 20 0 O tulles mills away The fish was packed In III a bit of dr dry Ice placed In the compartment compartment com com- of nf an airplane and about 44 hours later wua tuns served In iii the course of a u Christmas dinner for a n group roup of ot New Yorkers A young woman living In Los Ios Angeles sent as asa asu a u Christmas gift to a II friend living ll on the the snow swept prairies of nf Illinois a u bouquet of or orchids Santa Claus with his very swift reindeer couldn't e hate done much better In ering a II perishable gift Ift such a u Ion long distance Many finny shipments of toys such us as little sets of tin 1111 dolls and mechanical gadgets 11 form forma a u part of the cargo of ot a II mall plane e. e n An exquisite exquisite ex n- lien beautifully 11 set tiN pt bra bracelet whose value alue was twits almost st that of f tits the ship hIp which carried It was twos once 1111 part of f the tho cargo In a II shipment of air express s. s What about the mail i pilots on till Christmas cIa day Do Du they I share In III the te festivities lIlls or r Is It Just another an nn- other tt work worl urk 11 day for fur them therm III In the Isolated distracts dis Us districts tracts In the tilt Fur I West Kest and Northwest t It Is customary cus cus- tomary for the hit people to from tram miles around and gather at nt the airport to tree see 11 the ship comeIn come comeIn In Just as liS It used to 10 be hI customary r In small communities to 10 go 10 down 11 to 10 the Ihl II depot 11 t and ami l see seethe seethe pt the Ihl train come ollie Int In At t airports l on Christmas Christman Ia day time the attendants at there prepare a n Christmas dinner for forthe forthe the Incoming pilot who ho will gill 1 dl descend from n II hit bit bitterly lerl terly cold sky k throw off otT hI his fur lined fur flying uit ami and Join with ravenous m l till appetite In as fes- fes 11 e a II t Christmas it ill dinner II as will wl be ht served In III the Iii land nil The story of the IIII development dl of the air mill mall service ser In this l country Is an Interesting one IIII On the tenth anniversary of Its establishment Mar liar Marry r ry S. S New Nees then I I States antes tutt 10 jell gen general gen gen- ITU eral prepared an nn article on the tarl early development develop anent ment of the service let from roan which time the following ln excerpts are taken It II Willi May Ia 1 13 in 1911 HilS that lint the till department over ewer which I 1 now preside took tOIk the time initiative and with alto planes places ami pilots borrowed lIl from the War lIr department essa essayed ed n 1 regular service b by air between a Washington and Nl New rw w York On Oil that eventful I Ia day the I stage tall was set It set and rightfully u MI u us liS In III celebration of ut a n major event e Time The President of the Ihl milted States alii nail and ether high officials were present to witness the Inauguration In In- of the till air mall mail route They were kept waiting a II quarter of f nn nil hour when It was discovered that the 11 plane a III ready to start other otherwise otherwise wise was without gas II This TIlls Inauspicious ls beginning begin ning was b by no means redeemed when the Inexperienced inexperienced In in- experienced pilot landed near nEur Waldorf l Md Ud to discover r that he le had hud been hellI traveling almost In Inthe inthe the pJ llIe direction from Philadelphia which had been his goal Subsequent efforts effort at flying the mull mall proved etl more however and three months later Iter the Post Oll ee department took over operation of ot the route rout 1 furnishing Its own ow-n equipment tnt and personnel Before the end of ot a II year jear It had been demonstrated that with aith tilt 1001 solving bowing of or A ut problems on regular schedule and andall In III t all 1111 kinds of or weather could he ht made mad with a u cre cred creditable j 1 degree of performance It U was exactly one year Ilir following the time g oration of the New pw York Washington route roule Hint hi m service lr was IS begun between eland Cle l und and Chi Ch eago n designed as us the first 1 le II leg of nf n II pr Irn prospective I transcontinental system The coed cond II legs leg Ne c New NewYork tt York to 11 was established less than tit tm- tm months later later July July 1 I. mill It was September 8 g S 10 O ID-O 0 O before landing fields hall hail been laid aid out a n d other necessary work completed to tn permit of dr r operation from one toll coast t to In the other The transcontinental operation wu not r n II through h service kl Pianos Planes flew tiel In the ca car ar carr r r vying Ing only nl such lIch mall n ns as could lx h. advanced 1 In III delhery or speeded nn on Its way aI lit at a II savins sa of train from I 12 to III 21 I hour hours It was called Balled an 1111 aI r In Ing Ind sr service l' l 11 It resulted In it lipping Ip something n II like Ii I 21 I hours from the tio heat possible transcontinental n train time of 87 hours In Ism August 1 WI mil the Ihl lust continuous I I thigh l from ruin coast to tn coast were here made As AM 1111 they blaz ell the way for a ma new nety worlds world's rerun In III aviation n the pilots were guided gelded h by the till m v. v Iv Installed Install P t land lighthouses ls's or t J hl s 1 nod 4 n II ml gallant ant group of air pioneers time the OIl con 0 11 m with air mail 4 times In III rush direction 11 a At t the rod end of or the Ih 4 days IIII'S they gait Ilia itt with n II rI of H KH I per lIr cent perfect The next Important tift stops steps Ill I'll In III time till progress am and growth th of the air lIr m mall curve came with I Ii the lilt Inn thou of f f the contract service 1 tend time the 11 meat ment h by the govern government to hI private lIt Initiative e e ethe o the operation ol of the transcontinental route mats The rho first lirt of the contract routes rummies was pine placed ell I in operation li 11 15 1110 between Del h and Cleveland Il and Detroit and Chicago i em contracts were awarded fruits from time to time n and nd he the service Hr expanded Ct rapidly many of the cc con n tract routes operating us 1111 feeders to the tra trans ns g continental anti nOli the overnight o New XI York York Chicago hica g l lines lues The TIll O lIt nt route between C Chi hl rugo and San Pan an Francisco went Into private opera ope nt a lion July 1 I 1927 followed tI two Iwo months later b bj by r the rime he double dally service lIe bPI between New Nety r York lurk a anil od a I a Since that operated government on route went In n to Iri private ate operation many 1 more inure advances In air wall mull lane have been ui made ule No lou longer lr er r Is I. the danger Imminent of H s pilot glint landing lunding so some not place only to discover u that he hI tins has been flyt tic for fur hours houri In time the opposite direction from hl his hh IK destination us IIi happened on that first air am mull ill Il night In tIllS JUIN Now the magnetic compass the ear earth th h Inductor coin puss and numerous other nil vi gu u tonal alII aids the pit pil t Ib Iii aided by the use of mat t th tin I ht directional radio radt brow Stations w which lieb tru trans tr us mil malt tile this beam are art located along the flight rot route te and each station elation emits a 0 radio radii bourn town toward toward- gds the he other so SIt that the two beam lUll ere u and UDd ni form a direct line lille for rut the In ni lUghi lit to follow t The beam of course II Is not Dot visible bk le to the human i- i ie eke e but a 8 I receiving lu IU the cockpit of or the airplane I U s sensitive to the he beam Beal and end Indicates by a u radio radii dot dash system ew ui whether the tbt ship Is III on Its course or off oft lt its its' IU III course OUNe either to 10 the tilt left or the right 6 to by bf aper l' l lo I |
