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Show lW to the heavy south wind land on the north-south runway was advisable, but snow had drift ed over and obliterated the line of lights east of the runway. The lights on the west were clear, so BuffLngton told the pilot to land on the N-S strip, to the right of the visible lights. Snow on the runway did not cause any trouble as the B-25 with its five man crew landed at 7:25 p. m. After a night's stay at the Banque Hotel they took off for March Field Saturday. So it was that the excellent facilities fac-ilities of Delta Airport served once more to save human lives and a valuable ship from destruction. Had the crew bailed out, as they considered, con-sidered, the risks would have been great and the big ship lost. Delta's Del-ta's airport has provided safe emergency em-ergency landings for several big ships and countless private flyers, and thus saved far in excess of the cost of the airport. Earlier this winter ,two Monarch airliners landed here in similar situations. Ours is probably the safest airport air-port in Utah, location and facilities considered. With its long, surfaced runways, night lights and radio ser vice, it is one of the few airports in Utah that can accomodate any thing from a Cub to a Mainliner or-a B-29 in safety. WARD'S AWARD ... Nate Ward is a modest man. Last December 14, in Salt Lake, he was given a Certificate of A- ward and $25.00 by District Airport Engineer Harold Bean, of the CAA, and he never said a word about it. We had to get the item from another an-other source. In attendance at the ceremony were E. . Leimantine, G. R. Thornburg, R. W. Pyburn, A. S. Hall, and H. C. Howard, all CAA officials. Ward's award was given in recognition re-cognition of an improvement he suggested in the means of checking check-ing the alarm system of the radio range monitor . This check has been made by using the remote control dial to cut off the range signals for the check. Nate decided decid-ed it would be better to short-out the range signal with a simple push button, and he has been using us-ing this method in Delta since 1943. Official recognition that his method is better and simpler indicates in-dicates that it will be used at all CAA statons. The purpose of the check is to be sure the buzzer and light of the alarm will work in case of interruption of the radio range signals. Mr. Ward joined the CAA service ser-vice June 13, 1940, having learned radio in the army. He worked at CAA stations at Humble Field, Nev. Pheonix, Ariz., Needles, Cal., and Salt Lake before becoming Chief Aircraft Cijmmicator at Delta on March 15, 1942. DINNER IN OGDEN ... i Leon, Roberta, Lola and Leo flew the sedan to Ogden for dinner, Sun I ship v.oullr! smishnd to hits in i matter Of seconds. Plainly, they vould have to give up the idea of land at Hill Field that night. The storm was playing strange tricks with the radio range signals. The radio man at Hill Field ad-ised ad-ised them to try for Delta, a little more than a hundred miles south, the nearest good field where the air was clear. So, with about an hour's fuel in the tanks, the crew took their B-25 up to 14,000 feet and headed south. A few minutes, which seemed like hours to the five men flying blind through the storm , brought them somewhere near Eureka, and they were able to hear Delta radio. They couldn't get their bearings by either the LF or the VOR range, but kept up radiotelephone contact. Lewis Buffington was the communicator com-municator on duty, and by check-tag check-tag with the ship's radio operator he was able to determine which quadrant of the radio range they were in, and he "talked them in" to Delta. Above Lynndyl the B-25 flew out of the. "soup" and they could see the Delta field. They had a half hour's fuel left - - not enough to take them to any other field on which they could set down safely, i Once the Delta Airport was in I sight a safe land was assured, yet even then it wasn't as simple as lit might have been. The runway marker lights did not work as they should, and Delta airport man ager, Leo Burraston, had to do some fast work to get them on. , Wingovers (From the Delta Airport by . Dick Morrison) HAVEN FOR FIVE . . . "The wind was a torrent of dark ness", visibility was near zero, and radio reception poor. Fuel was running run-ning low, and the fall of night was turning the murky sky to sol-Id sol-Id black. Their B-25 plowed on through a sea of cloud and fog. That was the situation in which Major Shaeffer and his crew of 4 men found themselves as they nea red Hill Field, AFB, between 6 and 7 p. m. last Friday night. They had taken off at Rapid City, S. D., that afternoon at 3:30 in flight to March Field, Cal. Getting his bearings by radio as best he could, pilot Shaeffer made two passes over the field, or where he thought the field should be, before concluding that it would be impossible to find the runway and land under those conditions. Peering Peer-ing through windshield and windows win-dows as if to penetrate the dusk by sheer force of will, the crew, members discerned only some tall I pine trees through the fog, close, terrifyingly close, to the ship as she roared past them, and they know they were near the mountains, moun-tains, and wondered if there could be a granite cliff ahead, if their 1 yed Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3., and Liszt's Less Preludes, the latter work being the musical source of a favorite Choir number, num-ber, Preludes to Eternity. Nona says she never expects to hear finer music, and perhaps she shan't. With Paganini, Rachmaninoff, Rachman-inoff, Abravanel, the Utah Symphony, Sym-phony, as well as Beethoven and Liszt contributing to the evening's entertainment ,it would be hard to find anything better. An event which may be about as good, tho, is the forthcoming appearance of Rise Stevens with the Symphony. That's another affair which could induce certain Delta people to fly, drive, or hop a freight to get to the Tabernacle one certain night this spring. day, and back Sunday evening. They enjoyed smooth flying and a delightful afternoon trip. LONGHAIR'S BIG NIGHT ... The question whether Vladimir Horowitz or Arthur Rubinstein is the best piano player rages perennially peren-nially among long haired musicians. music-ians. Horowitz men instst that he is the faster, and Rubinstein men reply that their man is just as fast and besides his playing is more expressive :Neither sjde has conceded a point in the last ten years, but regardless of which is right, Utah music lovers were treated trea-ted to this winter season's finest concert so far, last week, when Rubinstein was guest soloist with Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony, in the Tabernacle. Fenton and Owen Gardner, Dale and Norma Pearson, Nona Chesley, Lois Gardner and members of their families and friends, were among the Delta people who attended. Nona gave me an ear-witness account, ac-count, saying that she was particularly partic-ularly thrilled with Rubinstein's rendition, with the orchestra, of Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody On A Theme By Pagannini". I am not familiar with this work, but compositions com-positions of the late Sergei Rachmaninoff Rach-maninoff always "get" me. His harmonies and modulations aren't blue, exactly, but might be describ ed as Royal Purple, with the richness rich-ness of thick velvet. Rich, smooth, svelte, sensuous music. The soloist also performed Beethoven's Bee-thoven's Concerto in G Major, which musicoligists may rate higher high-er than the Rachmaninoff work, although the public probably prefers pre-fers the latter. They gave it an ovation which Mr. Rubinstein rewarded re-warded with two encores, a Chopin Chop-in Waltz, and De Falla's Ritual Dance of Fire. The orchestra pla- MY ACHING BACK ... An advantage of having your own signed column is that you can print almost anything, with only the general restriction that if the column turns out too hopelessly lousy, the editor can substitute boiler plate for it. No literary editor ed-itor has had an opportunity to buy the following original poem, but if local readers like it there's no reason why I can't submit it to the Atlantic. I call, "I'll Never Slip Around Again". The ice on Clark Street Is a thing of iniquity. When is causes us The loss of our dignity. So woe unto him Who makes a catcall. When on that ice I take a prattfall. JET POWERED WEDDINGS . . . Angelenos may fly to Las Vegas get married, and be back in LA in five hours, by the new "marriage plan" service started by Western Air Lines last Thursday. For $10.00 besides the round trip fare of $19. 90, the airline will provide the license and Justice of the Peace, with the pilot and stewardess as witnesses. A package of rice and some old shoes are "thrown in" free by the airline. |