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— ISSUED BY —
OFFICE CHIEF OF AIR CORPS WAR DEPARTMENT WASHINGTON, D.C.
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JANUARY 10, 1929
NO. 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS 0O0
Page
New Methods of Calculating Altitude 1- 2
Colombian Flyer Lands in Panama 2
Piloting Shill Averts Serious Accident ..... 2- 3
Target Glider Experiments at Wright Field 3
Lieut. Bertrandias Flies Autogiro in Paris 3
Two Mere Members Added to Caterpillar Club 4 - 6
Student Training at March Field 6 - 7
Training of the Second Bombardment Group ......... 7
General Gillmore P.e turns from Europe 7 - 8
Construction Work at March Field 8
Major Fickel Lands in Desert .... ....... 8
Colonel Graham Transferred to Third Corps Area. 8
Altitude Test of Bombing Planes with Full Load 9
Basketball at March Field 9
Formal Inspection of France Field 9
Mounted Duck Hunters .......... 10
Transport Plane to Be Ferried to Panama 10
Watch Out 10
Status of the Furlow Eill 11-12
Newspaper Comment on Air Corps Promotion Bill 12-13
A Narrow "Squeak" for Wright Field Flyers 13-14
Endurance Plane Equipped at Middletown Air Depot 14
New Instructors at Air Corps Flying Schools 14
Japanese Officers Make Emergency Jumps 14
Photographic Work in Panama . . 14
Air Corps personnel Changes 15
War Department Orders Affecting Air Corps Officers 15-16
The Flight of the "Question Mark" 16-17
Notes from Air Corps Fields . 18
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\0L. XIII
Information Division Air Corps
January 10 ,
HEWS
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1929 ■,}
Munitions Building Washington. D.C. 1J
The chief purpose of this publication is to distribute information on aero- nautics to the flying nersonnel in the Regular Army, Reserve Corps , Rational Guard, and others connected with aviation.
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HEW METHODS OE CALCULATING ALTITUDE
In the Hews Letter of October 29th last, a full description of the altitude flight, made on October 10th by Captains St, Clair Street t and Albert W. Stevens was given. In this article it was pointed out that cne of the main purposes of the flight was to test photographic equipment and to obtain comparison of alti- tude figures as calibrated from the recording barometers by the U.S. Bureau of Standards and the Federation Aeronautique Internationale methods, and those cal- culated mathematically from the photographs taken at the peak of the flight.
It was further stated, by way of explanation of the method of measuring altitude by aerial photography, that if three or more points on the ground are shown, the distances between which are known, from accurate ground survey data, by measuring the distance of the image separations on the negative and knowing the distance from the negative to the optical center of the lens in the camera (the focal length), the problem of the length of the perpendicular dropped from the lens to the ground becomes a geometric one of similar triangles, and can be figured in feet or meters to within one-tenth of one percent mathematical accuracy.
A comparison of the results obtained through camera calculations with those obtained from the barograph formula used by statisticians in the Bureau of Standards has been made and, according to the Hews Letter Correspondent from the Materiel Division, Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, Miss A.M. Jacobs, the follow- ing extremely interesting results have been obtained. The highest altitude reached, according to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale calibration, was 37,854 feet. According to the Bureau of Standards, it Was 39,606 feet and, according to the photographic method, 39,050 feet.
In order to obtain accurate calculations from the photographic method, the Corps of Engineers at Wright Field sent a detachment to make six closed traverses aggregating 188,987.92 feet in length of the area of ground photographed by the highest shots of the camera. Captain Stevens writes as follows:
"These traverses were run with transit and tape and had an average error of closure of one part in 10,700, Following this survey, the altitude was calculat- ed by four different methods , as a result of which one photograph shows an alti- tude of 37,920 feet above ground, o§ 38,890 feet above sea level, and a photo- graph made several minutes later in flight, shows an altitude of 38,080 feet above the ground or 39,050 feet above sea level. The ground elevation of 970 feet was determined from the records of survey of the C.C.C. and St. L. Railroad which passes Rushville, Indiana (the point of landing). It is believed that these values for elevation, as determined through weeks of careful calculations, are correct to within forty feet plus or minus.
It will be observed that the figure of 33.050 feet is much higher than the figure of 37,854 feet obtained from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale tables, for a barometer pressure of 152 mm. of mercury. A conclusion may be drawn that the F.A.I. tables are off about three percent and too low for this altitude. It is also of interest to note that the Bureau of Standards have com- puted, from the tables of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, and using table of temperatures ©btained on the flight, that the elevation by baro- meter was 39,606 feat. Again assuming that the camera method is the most accu- rate, the H.A.C.A. formula is approximately one and one-half percent off and too high.
The methods of calculation used by the Corps of Engineers are four: The purely mathematical method requires twelve hours' computation for a single photo- graph; the Bagley method requires four hours; the pyramid graphical method re- quires four hours; and a second mathematical method requires eight hours. The results by the four methods check within fifty feet and average of the values was taken." -1-
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The News Letter* the very interesting story told by
C^pta.i-ft-^t'e-ve'hs'b f the notable flight made by Captain Street t -and himself on October 10th, when the altitude reached was just 564 feet shy of matching the wo rid is record of 38,418 feet made singly by Lieut. C .0 . Chaiipion, U.S. Navy.
Captain S.treett's version of their great adventure was contained in an an article by Miss Nell Ray Clarke which appeared in a recent issue of the Philadelphia Public Ledger, and is given below, as follows;
"After having reached 26,000 feet on the climb both the throttle controls and the supercharger controls were in the extreme forward position, indicating that the engine was delivering its greatest amount of horsepower at that time. From 26,000 feet until the plane had reached its ceiling - .40,200 feet indicated altitude - these controls remained in the same position. The plane was in very
cold atmosphere for about forty minutes at the top of the climb. This condition
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was sufficient to shrink the metal parts of the throttle and supercharged con- trols to such an extent that they could not be moved manually.
This was quite a surprise and it was not until after we had reached the ground that the solution of the phenomenon dawned upon us. Being up about 53,000 feet above sea level, however, and not being able to shut your engine off is rather a peculiar position to be in.
I must have worked for twenty minutes intermittently to pull back the throttle and supercharger control with absolutely no luck, although I had bent the supercharger control out of shape trying to reduce the engine speed.
We succeeded at last in forcing the plane by diving down to about 34,000 feet, but when we had reached that altitude our indicated speeds were pretty high and a dive sufficient to overcome the climbing tendency of the airplane at that altitude was dangerous because of the stresses which it induced in the air- plane. In other words, we weren't sure that our wings would stay with us if we dove much in excess of 115 miles per hour because of the very light construction of the plane.
Ne we rc afraid to cut our switches, which would have been the only way of cutting the engine off, for fear the water in the radiator and water jackets would freeze because of the intense cold, and it would have been dangerous to have cut the switches and turned them on again intermittently because of the gasoline which would have been pumped through the supercharger and exhaust mani- fold, probably causing fire.
Shortly after we succeeded in getting the supercharger off and the throttle reduced, we ran out of gas and the engine began to pop and spit , but fortunately we were able to reduce our altitude sufficiently in the short period that the engine did function after it began to spit, to get down low enough to preclude the possibility of freezing the water in the radiator and water jackets.
At about 34,000 feet on the way down I lifted, my goggles sufficiently to look around, and found that we were between Richmond, Ind. and Indianapolis. About that time the engine began to emit, so that we abandoned all hope of getting bade to Dayton, a distance of approximately seventy miles."
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COLOMBIAN FLYER LANDS IN PANAMA
Lieut. Benjamin Mendez, the Colombian Good-Will Flyer, arrived at France Field, panama Canal Zone, on December 1st. He had an accident in landing his Curtiss "Falcon" Seaplane, the "Becaurte" , one of the struts on the pontoon giving way and causing him to crash. His plane was practically wrecked. The plane was towed to shore and taken out of the water immediately. Crews of the Panama Air Depot started that night to tear the plane and motor down and get them overhauled and repaired so that Lieut. Mendez could continue his flight to his home station at Bogota, Colombia, without delay.
Beceptions were held in honor of Lieut. Mendez in the Republic of Panama, by the Panamanian officials; in the Canal Zone by the Panama Canal officials, and at France Field by the Air Corps and, from all indications , he enjoyed him- self very much.
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PILOTING SKILL AVERTS SERIOUS ACCIDENT
Lieut. Oscar P, Hebert, pilot, and Staff Sergeant J, H. Peters, Crew Chief, both of the 96th Bombardment Squadron, were engaged in a flight, "climbing to
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service ceiling with.. xtull.. military .Load carrying a 2 , QQO-^pound dummy bomb."
While near Fort Eustis , Va. , and after reaching an altitude of 3,500 feet, the left vertical fin and rudder tore away and hung for a minute or so thrashing against the elevator. Immediately Sergeant Peters released the 2 ,000-pound bomb and Lieut. Hebert, finding it impossible to control the plane properly with the rudder hanging over the elevator, was about to part company with the plane and he and Sgt. Peters take to their parachutes. Just in time the vertical fin and rudder tore completely away and fell free. Lieut. Hebert and Sergeant Peters then decided to stick with the ship. Displaying considerable skill and judgment, Lieut. Hebert f lev/ his plane about 18 miles with the use of only one rudder, landing safely at Langley Field.
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TARGET GLIDER EXPERIMENTS AT WRIGHT FIELD By A.M. Jacobs
Captain Carl Greene recently acted as observer for Major Gerald E. Brower in a series of flight tests with the target glider and came down declaring that he wouldn’t be surprised if Major Brower soon had the thing so docile as to be able to land it at any given point on the speed course from any altitude. The inspiration for such extravagance was the three flights he had just witnassed in which the glider after release had behaved exactly as the Major had foreordained.
The target glider, it v/ill be remembered, is a twelve-foot high- wing mono- plane of box-spar construction, carried on the upper Wing of a full-sized air- plane from which it is released, becoming as it floats out into the air, a target for aerial gunnery or anti-aircraft practice. By bending the elevator and tab to certain settings, various angles of descent may be predetermined.
On the aforementioned flight, Major Brower had made the setting for smooth steady flight, and a smooth steady flight had followed until it drifted gently to earth. Next he set it for diving and zooming for 2,000 feet from a 3,000 ft. altitude. It obeyed. But the third demonstration was the one which took Captain Greene’s breath. In order to make the glider suitable for naval anti- aircraft practice, Major Brower had padded it with kapok to keep it afloat. He made the setting for a stall and a dive from 800 feet. Flying at this altitude, he and Captain Greene proceeded to a small lake about 300 .yards wide, situated near Wright Field. At the proper moment he released the glider , which with three oscillations landed squarely in the middle of the water. The floatation feature was successful, as it was still atop when several hours later they went to haul it out.
This glider has proved quite durable, having made more than fifty landings without damage. Major Brower is now developing a metal wing to replace the pres- ent wood structure. It is believed this will better retain rigidity than the present type, which becomes "floppy" after numerous landings and cannot be set set quite so accurately.
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LIEUT. BERTRANDIAS FLIES AUTQGIRO IN PARIS
Lieut. Victor E. Bertrandias , Air Corps, was a recent visitor at the Materiel Division, Wright Field, stopping on his way to California, where he is District Manager in charge of Production at the Douglas Company’s aircraft plant at Santa Monica.
Lieut. Bertrandias just returned from a six weeks’ trip to Europe, where he had the unique experience of flying the Cierva Autogiro at the LeBourget Airdrome near Paris. He said that the new type ulane handled well and possessed highly interesting possibilities. General Gillmore saw the Autogiro when he was at Le Bourget , and since his return has written its inventor, Cierva, regarding the possibility of having one sent to this country and to Wright Field for experi- mental purposes. If negotiations are successfully comoleted, no doubt many other flying officers will have the opportunity ot trying out the new and unconvention- al helicopter in the air.
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TWO MOM MEMBERS ADDED TO CATERPILLAR CLUB
If every candidate for admission to membership in the Caterpillar Club was subjected to a regular initiation ceremony, it could be said that 110 -persons had at one time or another been astride of that invisible animal in fraternal circles generally alluded to as the "Goat." But the Caterpillar Club itself is an in- visible organization. It has no officers; no meetings are held; there are no dues to pay, and no inducements are offered to join it. As a matter of fact, however, no inducements under heaven could persuade anyone to join the Club voluntarily. Those who are members joined through absolute necessity. Bate slapped them on the back and peremptorily ordered them to do so. Tc have refused would have meant certain death.
The Caterpillar Club is merely a name, but what a meaning that name has! It would really be a fine thing if the Caterpillar Club were made a real live organ- ization, with officers, constitution and by-laws, regular meetings, membership dues, etc. Eor the head of the .Order it would seem that Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh would be the logical choice, since he is a 4th degree member. The various members of the Club, however, are scattered far and wide over the broad expanse of this country, and the proposition is not practical. It is possible that the Club could be conducted through correspondence, but who is going to ae~ vote the time and effort to learn the whereabouts of the various members and or- ganize the Club along the proper lines?
In the previous issue of the News Letter the official score of the Caterpillar Club stood at 108 lives saved and 114 emergency jumps made, six being repeaters. Since then two more members joined the fold in the persons of Elying Cadet Richard I. Dugan and Air Mail pilot J, Ordway Webster.
A check of the membership of the Caterpillar Club discloses the fact that through the medium of the parachute two lives were saved in 1919, one in 1920, two in 1922, ten in 1924, twelve in 1925, twelve in 1925, thirty-five in 1927, and thirty-six in the year just ended,- making a total of 110.
Of the 110 lives saved, 65 were Air Corps personnel, viz: 37 Regular offi- cers, 6 Reserve officers, 12 Plying Cadets and 10 enlisted men. Of the remaining 45 members of the Caterpillar Club, one at the time of his jump was an officer of the Signal Corps, U.S. Army; 5 were National Guard officers; 13 were Navy and 5 Marine Corps personnel, and 21 were civil ia.ns.
Reports v/ere recently received giving accounts of the emergency parachute jumps of Cadet Dugan, Lieuts. Robert L. Schoenlein and Wm. H. Doolittle, and Civilian Test pilot James Collins, and these are hereinafter quoted as follows:
RICHARD I. DUGAN, Plying Cadet, .Air Corps, wa.s practicing acrobatics in the
vicinity of Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas, on November 22, 1928. He attempted to perform what is commonly known as an "outside spin" by means of the following maneuvers :
Starting from a fast dive at an altitude of 4500 feet, he pulled up into a loop, and when he had reached a position on his back put the ship into a stall by pushing forward on the stick. "In this position," Cadet Dugan stated, "I kicked right rudder and pulled the stick back and to the right. Immediately the ship fell off into a slowly turning inverted spin which after about one turn tightened up and began to spin very fast. Allowing the spin to continue for a turn, I attempted to bring it out by putting on opnosite rudder and neutralizing the stick. The controls seemed to have no effect and the ship continued to spiri at a high rate of speed except for a slight slackening twice after which it whipped into' the maneuver again. I knew I had started with sufficient altitude to bring the ship cut of the spin with plenty of room had I succeeded in acconi- plishing it even after it had spun several times, but when the controls failed / to respond continually and I had completed what I estimate as six or seven turns at least, I decided to leave the ship, thinking I was getting very close to the' ground. I reached with my left hand, took the heavy rubber band which acts as a safety off the buckle and pulled the buckle open, I was immediately thrown out of the plane due to the tightness with which the spin was throwing me against the belt.
"I remember nothing then except hunting for the rip cord which I found very easily. The chute opened and I landed about 100 feet from where the plane crash- ed. I was not in a position to observe the altitude from which I left the ship, but I imagined it to be close to a thousand feet. After my chute opened and I was in a -position to observe the ship, I saw it in a straight dive directlp
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■below me. It hit the ground, in this manner."
Observers on the ground stated that after the pilot left the plane it made one more turn in the spin, then straightened out and came down in a straoght nose dive, crashing into the ground and being completely demolished.
Lieuts. Doolittle and Schoenlein, piloting P-3A Pursuit planes over Selfridge Field, Mt . Clemens, Mich., on the afternoon of December 11, 1928, collided. The controls of both planes were rendered inoperative and the pilots resorted to their parachutes to reach the ground safely.
LIEUT. WILLIAM H. DOOLITTLE stated that after the collision the aircraft was out
of control, as the tail surfaces had been completely cut off. The ship whipped into a dive at an approximate speed of 130 miles per hour. Pulling the safety belt, he was thrown clear of the plane.
"I was leading a three ship flight in an inverted position," Lieut.
Doolittle stated, "the two wing ships were upright. I signalled my intention to half-roll back to the upright position. As the ship arrived at the normal posi- tion the crash occurred. I glanced quickly to the right and saw the other ship very close. At this time my ship whipped forward into a dive and spin.
The only reaction was to immediately look for the parachute of the other pilot. After that there was an intense quietness and feeling of not moving towards the ground. The only ill effects were slightly bruised shoulders and stiff neck, probably caused by the chute opening with a jerk."
LIEUT. ROBERT L. S CHOEITLEII'T stated that at the time of the jump the position of
the aircraft was a very fast and flat spin. "In leaving the aircraft," Lieut. Schoenlein stated, "my feet were pulled well back, and pishing up while pulling from the top of the cockpit by hand, and repeating this a number of times, I finally gained a hold on the edge of the windshield which gave me sufficient leverage to get my head, shoulders and chest above the upper edge of the cockpit. Then I took hold of the rip cord and rolled over the edge of the cockpit on my stomach.
The cause for the jump was that there was no response to the controls after the crash, when the ship was turning in a large circle and then a fast and flat spin.
My feelings and reactions during the jump and while attempting to get into position to jump are numerous, and an account of same is not 100^ accurate. Upon concluding that the ship was beyond control , my next thought was to get out . This fact was amplified many times when the flat spin plus the stiff leather flying suit rendered freedom of physical movement nearly impossible. The latter was proven by the fact that it took more than 1500 feet of altitude to get out of the ship. Immediately upon landing I feared the safety of Lieut. Doolittle, but located him and his parachute sailing down a few hundred yards north, and went out to meet him. This was a great relief.
A number of small bruises were sustained from the jump, some being from the landing on the ground and others are unaccounted for."
JAMS COLLIES, test pilot for the Curtiss Company, was flight-testing a new air- plane at Soiling Field, D.C., an the afternoon of December 3,1928,
when his ship failed and he was forced to jump with a parachute while the crash-
ing plane distributed its wreckage from the cornfields around Howard Road, Anacostia, to the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge.
In an interview, Mr. Collins told a Washington "Herald" representative that before he took off for the flight he happened to remember that his chute had not been repacked for a long period, so he had this important detail attended to.
"I remember thinking at the time," Mr. Collins added, "that after all they could build a new airplane, but I doubted that even if it were desirable, they
could build a new Jimmy Collins - at least not to my satisfaction.
I took off from the U.S . llaval Air Station at Anacostia at 2:30 p.m. on a demonstration test flight for the ITavy. The ship went beautifully through the preliminaries of sharp turns, climbing turns, true immelmans, loops, short ver- tical dives, and so forth.
Then I climbed to 11,500 feet to do an 8,000-foot vertical dive. I pulled the ship over the top of a loop and then held it vertical with engine wide open.
After getting straightened around in the dive I glanced at the altimeter and watched it for a few seconds. At what I recall to have been about 7,000 feet I cautiously began to ease out of the dive .
Suddenly everything gave way with a crashing and rending, and I received a violent blow on the left temple. The blow must have dazed me -because the next thing I clearly remember is finding myself blindly struggling to get out of the ship without first having unloosened my belt. I repeat that I must have been
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dazed during the interval “between ' tlae blow on the temple and my discovery of my- self making this ludicrous attempt to get out of the ship, “because official Navy observers on the. ground report that I fell at least several thousand feet with the ship -after it first failed and “before they finally saw me leave the fuse- lage, and I am quite sure it did not take me all that time to do the few things I clearly remember doing between making this ’numerous discevery of myself and finally getting • clear of the ship.
The first thing X did was to carefully look at the belt clasp and undo it. Next, I looked at the rip-cord ring and placed my hand on it - sort of mentally locating it. For no good reason except that I happened to look that way first,
I then looked over the right side of the cockpit and saw it was clear except for a few trailing wires. Then I used both hands and feet to raise myself out of the cockpit , put my right foot on the right side of the leather binding on the cockpit edge, and leaped head foremost as hard as I could clear of the plane and trailing wires. I leaped out without having my hand on the rip cord ring, feeling sure that having located it once before I jumped I could certain- ly locate it again when I wanted to. After getting clear of the ship, the first thing I did was to look for the falling wreck to determine if it was going to fall on me . I saw it only once and have but a hazy recollection of it.
I waited just a little longer after that glance of the wreck to make sure it
would clear me when I opened my chute. Then I carefully looked at the rip cord ring, placed my right hand on it, and pulled hard. The chute seemed to open almost immediately, and mast have caught me upside down because the resulting jerk turned me end for end before it left me swinging quite nicely in the harness .
Just after the chute opened I heard a loud crash, which I knew to be the
ship hitting the ground. I did not see it. I had not seen it since that one
glimpse of it right after leaving it, and I did not see it again until they brought it in on a track.
Just after the chute’s opening and my hearing the wreck hit, I looked down and discovered rather to my amazement that I was not very high. Spectators say that I had fallen clear about 1,500 or 2,000 feet before the chute opened. After the chute had opened and I had looked down, I was concerned about where I was going to land. I thought I was dropping in a grove of trees, so I slipped my chute away from them toward a plowed area beside them. I hit in the middle of the plowed area, relaxing as I hit, and did not feel even any noticeable jar.
I spilled the chute by pulling in on the bottom risers. I located the rip cord ring and was busy folding the chute when the ambulance reached me. It took me to the hospital and treated me for nothing worse than a black eye and nerve shock. "
Collins is nearly 25 years old, and studied aviation with Colonel Lindbergh both at the Air Corps Primary Plying School at Brooks Field, San Antonio, and at the Air Corps Advanced Flying School at Kelly Field.
"In combat formation with Lindbergh," he said, "I saw him make his first jump as a result of his collision with another member of the formation. That was early in 1925."
After serving with the First Pursuit Group at Selfridge Field, Mt. Clemens, Mich. , under Major Thomas G Lanphier, Collins went back to Brooks Field as an instructor. He instructed also at March Field, Riverside, Calif., and then re- signed from the Army to serve with the Department of Commerce in branches of aviation inspection in New York territory.
J. ORBWAY WEBSTER, Air Mail Pilot for the National Air Transport, ran into a
heavy fog in the vicinity of Thompsonville , Conn., just after dusk on the evening of December 17, 1928. It is reported that Pilot Webster jumped from an altitude of about 6,200 feet, his plane at that time being out of fuel. He landed without a scratch near Suffield, Conn. , the plane circling on thereafter for about two miles, grazing the roofs of houses in North Thompsonville and then plowing into the ground,
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STUDENT TRAINING AT MARCH FIELD
To date the Air Corps Primary Flying School at March Field, Riverside , Calif . has graduated two classes of Flying Cadets and two classes are now undergoing in- struction. The upper class, which began training July 1st with 125 students,
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including three holdxxvers , is no-w reduced to 72 students after auproximately six months’ training. This means that 57 j> of the original class still remains, which is the highest average maintained yet at this stage of instruction. A few of the students in this class, which is now in the DH stage of flying, are being given flying Instruction on the new 02- K in place of the DK. Instructors in charge of this special training claim that the 02- K is far superior to the DH for instructional purposes.
The lower class, which started training on November 1st with 109 students, is still on the dual and solo stages with only six eliminations thus far.
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THAI MUG- OF THE SECOND BOMBARDMENT GROUP
The Second Bombardment Group, Langley Field, Va. , started its yearly train- ing period on November 1st with only nine LB-5A Bombers, two 0-11’s, two DH-4M2’s and one tri-motored Fokker Transport. The LB-5A’s are divided so that each tactical squadron, the 20th, 49th and 96th, have three planes each, and the 0-11’ s, DH’s and the Fokker Transport are assigned to the 59th Service Squadron.
The great shortage of planes in the Group is due to the fact that eight LB-5’s were transferred to Kelly Field, Texas, for use in th,e training of stu- dent pilots attending the Advanced Flying School. Last June Langley Field turned its ten Martin Bombers over to the same station. For this reason it has been necessary to keep the nine LB~5A’s in perfect mechanical condition to enable them to be flown the maximum amount of time. It has been considered a grave crime to permit a plane to rest on the ground during the hours scheduled for flying. Three planes must put double time in the air to do the work of six. Furthermore, this is being done very effectively, but it requires the closest attention of the mechanics and crews on the line.
The types of missions in this period of training comprise camera obscura, aerial bombing (intermediate altitude), aerial gunnery, both ground and tow targets and night flying. In addition, a large amount of time was put in by cross country flights, test flights and general training missions. The tow target firing has been conducted, using the forward guns in the LB-5A’s, while the rear guns of the 0-11’s have been used against the ground targets. In this connection, it is interesting to note the unusually high degree of accuracy which is possible with the guns on the L3-5A’s in comparison with that obtained with the guns in the 0-11 rear cockpits. Due to the far greater speed of the 0-11 and its slipstream, it is almost impossible to fire with any degree of accuracy at ground targets.
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GENERAL GILLMORE RETURNS FROM EUROPE By A. M* Jacobs
"To travel abroad is to find new delights in our own country," said General Wm. E. Gillmore upon his recent return to the Materiel Division, Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, from a three-months’ sojourn in Europe. During this time he and Mrs. Gillmore traveled extensively in France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany Belgium, Holland and England. The foreign scene, its people, historical asso- ciations , art and architecture held true delight for the travelers, but the contrasts with modern comfortable living conditions of the United States, the opportunities for progress possible for even the humblest could never be wholly absent from the thought.
In the survey of the aeronautical situation, which was naturally the General's outstanding interest, the comparison was likewise In our favor. .. No- where did he find experiment and research work being carried out on such large proportions, nowhere a laboratory with such advanced equipment as that of Wright Field. The smaller countries have not been able to afford research along broad lines and seemed to have tacitly formed the policy of letting the bigger, -richer countries handle research, while they keep abreast in manufac- ture, taking advantage as far as possible of development prosecuted elsewhere.
Ift Italy, Moussolini has declared himself in favor of vigorous research policies, insisting, however, that manufacturing rights to all material used must be held by Italy and fabrication carried on within the Italian border.
Germany, thanks to the Versailles Treaty which relieved her of all mili-
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^ary equipment and. forbade military development, the,. general declares to be the -eading country in the world in commercial aviation. The German people after the war had their revolution, recovered, and got to work in uncommonly short order. In aviation, they have turned their remarkable engineering ingenuity to excellent advantage .
The General said that air-cooled engine development in foreign military aviation stands about as in the United States. The nations are interested 'out nave not yet accepted the air-cooled engine as standard military equipment. Higher-powered engines for both military and commercial purposes are under de- velopment everywhere. All-metal construction continues to absorb engineering interest .
Looking exceptionally fit and refreshed after his vacation, the General has brought a fresh infusion of encouragement and enthusiasm to the Materiel Division workers. It is good to have the "Chief” home again.
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CONSTRUCTION WORK AT MARCH FIELD
With the construction program rapidly progressing, March Field, Riverside, Calif., .is beginning to take on the appearance of a real Air Field. It won’t be long now before the big hangars intended for housing bombing planes will be cluttered up with PT’s, mongrel DH’s and "what have you." Officers' quarters are rapidly nearing completion, and it is expected that in a few months hence some of the officers will be ordered from their palatial homes in Riverside to occupy the post quarters. It is thought that this will considerably relieve the traffic congestion, at the main gate about 11:15 A.M, (Exit only).
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MAJOR FICKEL LARDS IN DESERT
Major Jacob E. Fickel, Air Corps, Executive Officer of the Materiel Divi- sion, left Wright Field, Dayton,, Ohio, the latter part of October for California for the purpose of a visit of inspection of the Douglas Company’s plant and to ferry back to the Materiel Division the first Douglas 0-2K airplane. According to the News Letter Correspondent from Wright Field, Major Fickel left Rockwell Field for the east, flying solo, on November 7th, with everything pointing towards a successful journey.
It is a triumph of the fiendish forces of the universe, perhaps , that when an airplane engine is "going bad" they usually see that it happens in the heart of the desert. East of Yuma, Arizona, the Liberty began to sputter. The Major, who had plenty of altitude, consulted his map and headed for the nearest desig- nated landing field, which was at Stovall. He made the place nicely, barely out- distancing his engine, however, for on gliding in the stick went completely dead.
The field wasn't highly distinguishable from. the rest sf the terrain, and the town itself consisted of a Mexican section-hand's dwelling. -There was nothin like a telephone or telegraph office in sight. Resorting to small boy tactics, .:. Major thui#ed himself a ride to Aztec, ten miles away. There he found a much better landing field than the one at Stovall, but no' sign of it on the map. Ste £ for its indication have since been taken. Here also was a telephone. Having gotten in touch with Rockwell Field, Lieut. Gothlin and a mechanic flew to his aid and, discovering seriously sticking valves, impaired the engine. The trio ^laen returned to Rockwell Field, where a new engine, was installed in Major Pi eke 1 r s„ plane .
Again the Major started east in the 0-2 K, this, time enjoying a journey safe and uninterrupted except for the predetermined stops at Lordsburg, New Mexico 'Marfa, Texas; Dallas, I'exa.s ; Muskogee, Ckla. , and St. Louis, Mo. On November ISlM-lfre. arrived at Wright Field, delivering the new plane for flight-testing.
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COLONEL GRAHAM TRANSFERRED TO THIRD CORPS AREA
Lieut-Col. Harry Graham, Commandant of Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, was re- cently transferred to duty with the Third Corps Area as Air Officer, with head- quarters at Ealtimore, Md. Colonel Graham came to the field in July, 1927, re- placing Major John E. Curry as Commanding Officer and Chief of the Administra- tion Section when the latter was ordered to Langley Field, Va.
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ALTITUDE TEST OF BOMBING PLANES WITH FULL LOAD
One of 'the most interesting phases of the training program of the 2nd Bombardment Group, Langley .Field , Va, , which was recently initiated, was the climb to service ceiling with full military load, carrying a 2,000-lb. bomb.
According to the Hews ■ Letter Correspondent, it proved quite a task to get the bobbers to climb efficiently after gaining 6,500 feet. Lieut. Malone of the 96th .Bombardment Squadron made 8,500 feet in 75 minutes, which was the highest altitude gained before the bombers were temporarily grounded for the purpose of reinforcing the- tail surfaces.
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BASKETBALL' AT MARCH FIELD By the Hews Letter Correspondent
March Field is represented in the Inland Division of the Southern Californi. Y.M.C.A. Basketball League by the Flying Cadet Detachment this year under the supervision of Lieut. Dixon Allison, Post E. & R. Officer. Thus far the team has lost but two games, the first to San Bernardino "Y" - the initial game of the season - and the second to Orange "Y". These games ended in very close scores - 32-28 and 27-24, respectively. The Cadets defeated Riverside "Y", Ontario "Y", San Diego "Y" and Redlands "Y". All these games were won by comfortable scores.
The Cadet team is composed of ex-college sta.rs , such as E.U7. Anderson, ex- captain at Stanford University; Hugh Fite, letter man at West Point; KA. Rogers, letter man at Stanford; R „W . ^ Burns, letter man at Wisconsin University; T7.A. Dolan, letter man at Wis#88&$Bi State Teachers College; Troup, all-State High School forward from Kansas , and numerous other lesser stars from various parts oi the country. They have displayed a brand of basketball which has completely be- wildered and smothered their opponents in all except the two games lost. (This is by no means an alibi). In the two losing games, the Cadets were not outplayed but rather out lucked. The San Bernardino game was their first of the season and they had not yet perfected their team play, and the Orange game caught them off their stride, stale and after a fifty-mile drive in the rain, - all of which is not conducive to playing up a bang-up basketball contest.
A very unfortunate and disagreeable incident has arisen concerning the Kay-det team. We have on the squad as a substitute guard "Tut" I ml ay, famous All-American quarterback of the University of California. Imlay has played in all the games except Redlands and Orange. Mr. Imlay, it must be remembered, was a star member of the Hew York Giants Pro-football team in 1927. San Diego regis- tered a protest to his playing, and the basketball committee has ruled that all games that Imlay has played in will be forfeited. That, of course, is very unfortunate, for we were of the opinion that a man regained his amateur standing on enlisting in the Army. All we can do is take the decision on the chin and whip the rest of our opponents to a frazzle.
Credit must be given where credit is due, and it would be unfair not to mention the work and effort that has been exerted by Lieut. W.C. Goldsborough, coach supreme where basketball is concerned.
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FORMAL INSPECTION OF INANCE FIELD
Major-General Malin Craig recently made his annual inspection of France Field, Panama Canal Zone. He brought with him a number of staff officers who made detailed inspections of all departments while the General and Colonel Fisher, the Commanding Officer of the f ield, wtfr© inspecting in a more general way. The General, at the conclusion of his inspection, spoke to the assembled officers. Among other things he stated that France Field he had found loyal in every respect and that there was .less trouble with the personnel of this post than with any other post in his Department. Naturally, the France Field offi- cers were pleased with this .
The Hews Letter Correspondent states that the reports of the staff officers have not as yet been received, but it is believed that any "skins" will be of a minor character.
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MOUNTED DUCK HUNTERS By the France Field Correspondent
Have yon ever gone duck hunting on horseback? Nell, you have missed some- thing if you have not, especially if you Gadget a small horse like we get down here in Panama and you have long legs. Not?1" continue with the story, I’ll tell you about a duck hunting party recently where they went hunting on horses. The party was composed of Lieut. -Col. Fisher, Captain Skemp , Lieuts. A.E. and E.D. Jones, LavideLon, Master Sgt . Lucy and Private Ballard, who acted as camp cook.
The x^arty left France Field in a Bomber on a cross-country flight to Ancon. After a flight of an hour and fifteen minutes, the party landed and was greeted as per usual by the populace and pitched camp in an adobe house near the com- munity well. After a rusty meal the X-^^ty pushed off to hunt ducks or any odder game that could be gagged. The Colonel drew a small grey mule as his mount, and the other members drew small native ponies. Three mozos were engaged as guides and some kids were taken along to retrieve the game. The first game encountered, was a flock of large doves. Next was a flock of wild pigeons, then came the ducks and, needless to say, the gunners had all the shooting they could handle for a fev; hours. Now, some of the members of this party had not ridden a hay burner for several years, and you can imagine how they felt the next day.
The return trip to France Field was made in one of the heaviest rain storms of the season, and at times it seemed as though the party was riding in a sub- marine with a porthole open.
Speaking of hunting, the News Letter Correspondent from March' Field stater- that this year’s hunting season has been a very successful one for the personnel of the T)cst. Many limits of duck and quail were brought in, and a few deer - very few. Now that the season is nearing to a close it is expected that the field will begin to function normally again.
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TRANSPORT PLANE TO BE FERRIED TO PANAMA
Ferrying an airplane from the United States to one of its foreign stations is the latest reject to be undertaken by the Army Air Corps.
A C-2 Army Transport plane , a type similar to the one which. was niloted by Lieuts. Maitland and Hegenberger on the historic California to Hawaii Flight, will be ferried from Nright Field, Dayton, Ohio, to France Field, Panama Canal Zone, by Lieuts. George C. McDonald and Dwight J. Canfield, Air Corps, who are now stationed in panama. These two officers, who are under orders to proceed to Washington to confer on official matters with the Chief of the Air Corps , will next proceed to Dayton to secure their conveyance for their return journey. TTm. y will be accompanied by Major Paul Bock, Air Corps, who is now on a leave of absence in the United States. The flight, scheduled to start on January 8th, will land at Miami, Florida, the same date, and in Havana, Cuba, the next day. From Havana the plane will proceed directly to Panama.
The Air Corps has for several years:,- in the interest of economy and speed ferried airxolanes from the factories to the stations of Continental United Sta i Although Air Corps officers have figured in several flights from the United States to panama, this will be the first time a plane has been delivered to an assigned foreign station by ferry.
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NATCH OUT'
A new pastime, that of dropping a watch from an airplane to the cold, co] i ground to see if it would continue to run was recently tried out by an airman a . Lowry Field, Denver, Colorado, the home airdrome of the 45th Division, NationAJ Guard Air Service. The watch was placed In a football and dropiced* from a Douglas plane flying at an altitude of 2,000 feet. Despite the cold weather, a large crowd came out to the field that particular Sunday morning to witness the stunt. It was an excellent demonstration of time passing swiftly. It was necessary, of course, to take time out - of the football - and the pilot short ’’y thereafter was wearing the watch on his wrist. It was still ticking along merrily.
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STATUS OF THE EURLCW BILL
In the last issue of the Hews Letter it was stated that Senate Bill 3269, ■providing for higher rank fo-r Major-Generals' Hunter Liggett and Robert L.
Ballard, and which was massed by the Senate during the first session of the 70th Go tigress,. had been amended in the House of representatives in the present session by the inclusions of the provisions of H.R.' 12814 - known as the Eurlow Bill - to increase the: efficiency of the Air Corps and for other pur-poses, and that the lower house passed the bill in its amended form oh Lecember 17th..,
On December 19th the amended bill was laid before the Senate by the Vice President, whereupon the following debate- ensued:
Mr. Cart is. Mr. president, I ask that the matter may go over until to- morrow. m v \
The Vice President.' Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. King. I would like to ask the Senator from' Kansas if he will not con- sent that the amendments of the House shall -go to the appropriate committee , the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Cart is . I understand there will be a motion made which will probably .lead to some discussion, and I think we have arrangements whereby we can get s, vote on the unfinished business pretty soon.
Mr. LaFolle-tte. It is impossible to hear the Senator from Kansas.
Mr. Cartis. I ask that the House amendments may go over, because we are trying to reach an agreement to vote on the pending measure, and I think if theg go over and we may have a little more opportunity for discussion this .afternoon we can reach an agreement .
Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania. Mr. president, a parliamentary inquiry. If the matter goes over, as requested by the Senator from Kansas , when would it be la:’ d before the Senate?
The Vice president. It is a privileged matter, and can be laid before the Senate at any time.
Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania. Then I give notice that at 2 o’clock to-morrow, or as soon thereafter as I can get- recognition, I will ask that the amendments of the House be laid before the Senate.
Mr. Black. I move that the consideration of the House amendments relating, to promotions in the Air Corps be deferred until the first legislative day afte: the Christmas holidays. I make that motion for this reason: The Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Robinson) is interested in the bill with reference to the Air Cor He and I have conferred concerning it many times. I am very frank to state the.; if this bill comes up tomorrow at 2 o'clock, from the information I have receiv- ed, the debate concerning it will last until Saturday night. It is not fair, ir ■my judgment, that any effort should be made to have the bill disposed of in the absence of the Senator from Arkansas. For that reason I am delaying the motion.
Ho one can be delayed; no injury can occur. Conferees could not agree between now and the Christmas holidays', and if the plans go through as devised, in my judgment conferees would never agree. But irrespective of that, it will lead to prolonged debate if an effort is made to have the House amendments come up in the absence of the Senator from Arkansas, who is interested in the matter. A motion for a conference is going to bring up the question of instructing the conferees . -f
It may bring up a contest as to who shall be the conferees. It will cer- tainly bring up the qaestion as to whether or not the amendments shall be re-' ferred to the Committee on Military Affairs for consideration in order that the conferees may be instructed in line with the majority of that committee. There- fore I make the motion that the consideration of the House amendments be post- poned until the first legislative day after the Christmas holidays.
Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania. Mr. President, if the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Robinson) desired that this matter should go ever, I would, of course, be inclined to comply with his request; but he has made no such request, and I haw no reason to think that it is his desire that it should go over. Therefore I make the point of order that the motion of the Senator from Alabama is not now w order.
Mr. Black. Why not?
The Vice president. The Chair everrules the point of order. The action o? the House has been laid before the Senate.
Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania. Then I make a notion that the Senate disagree to the amendments of the House , that it ask for a conference , and that the Chair ap-
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point the conferees on the part of the Senate. In this connection I call atten- tion to the fact that my motion is privileged and would come up before the motio: of the Senator from Alabama.
Mu. Black. Mr. President, I ask for a ruling on that, because if the Chair holds that to be the rule I desire to submit another motion which is privi- leged over the motion made by the Senator from Pennsylvania.
The Vice president. The Chair rules that the motion of the Senator from Pennsylvania has precedence over the motion of the Senator from Alabama.
Mr. Black. Then, Mr. President, I move that the amendments of the House be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs for consideration.
Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania. I make the point of order that the motion which I made to refer to a committee of conference takes -nrecedence over the motion of the Senator from Alabama.
The Vice President. The motion to refer to a committee of the Senate would take precedence over a motion to refer to a committee of conference.
Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania. But the motion to refer to a committee of con- ference is a motion to refer to a joint committee and is privileged just as much as a motion to refer to the Committee on Military Affairs.
The Vice President. The Chair is informed that a motion to refer to a standing committee takes precedence over a notion to refer to a committee of conference. The Chair will state the parliamentary situation. It has been a matter of some study and this will perhaps save some debate.
The House amendment, under Rule VII, subdivision 7, is a nrivileged matter, and its consideration does not displace but simply suspends action on the un- finished business. For the purpose of amendment the House amendment is to be regarded as the original text. It contains several distinct propositions and may be divided as to same.
The following motions, which are debatable, may be made, taking precedence in the order named:
1. To refer same to a committee!.
2. To amend same.
3. To disagree and ask conference.
4. To agree to House amendment.
Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania. Mr. President, a parliamentary inquiry. Does the Chair hold that the motion of the Senator from Alabama to refer the amend- ments of the House to the Committee on Military Affairs is now the pending question?
The Vice president. That is correct. It is the pending question.
Mr. Reed of Pennsylvania. I have no objection to the adoption of that motion.
The motion to refer the amendments of the House to the Committee on Military Affairs was agreed to.
On the following da.y, December 20th, Senator Hiram Bingham, of Connecticut, asked unanimous consent that House Bill 12814 to increase the eff iciencyof the Air Corps (the Furlow Bill) be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. He stated that the Furlow Bill granting a separate promotion list to the Air Corps had been referred to at various times in the conventions of the American Legion and in the meetings of the Rational Aeronautic Association; that in view of the fact that the provisions of the Furlow Bill came over from the house in the shape of an amendment to another bill and, instead of being sent to conference, was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, it seemed only fair that the original bill, known as the Farlow Bill, should be sent back to that Committee also .
Senator McKe liar objected on the ground that the junior Senator from Alabama (Mr. Black) ^is greatly interested in the matter, was absent, and he therefore hoped that the matter might go over.
The presiding Officer accordingly ordered the bill to go over.
NEWSPAPER COMMENT ON AIR CORPS PROMOTION BILL.
The "New York American," on December 26th, stated - "If there is a sound argument against the Furlow bill for a separate promotion list for the Army Air Corps, we have yet to hear it. When all the army world fliers, except one, have left the service because of the difficulty of winning promotion, when the morale
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of the flying forco isy threatened," it is time for action/ Aviation should not he considered the Government 1 s step-obi Id. "
The "Washington Star11 , after quoting Colonel Lindbergh1 s statement -regarding the promotion situation, ‘ which statement' appeared in the previous issue of the Hews Letter, goes on to say:
"Colonel Lindbergh, who’ wrote these words, did not 'write them as ah editor- ial for the Star. But because they more adequately ex-ores s the fundamental necessity for the creation of . a separate promotion list for the Army Air Corps - and it should here be said that the Same logic applies with equal pertinence to the Havy ~ The 'Star reprints . then, and soys 'Amen, 1
There . is no doubt that the^ morale of the Army Air Corps has suffered owing to the fact that, under the existing' system of promotion with' aviators on the sane promotion list as those in tho less hazardous branches of the service, there are many first lieutenants engaged in actual flying service who cannot look forward to anything but a captaincy or maybe a majority by the tine he must retire. .When this fact is weighed as against the current inducements of civil aviation it becomes apparent that from the standpoint of practicality something must be done if efficient officers are to be retained in the Air Corps. When it is further considered that with but one-twelfth of the total officer personnel upon its rosters the Army Air Corps furnishes approximately forty percent of the casualties among all Army officers in time of peace, and that in a vast majority of cases when an aviator is killed it is an officer in the less hazardous branches who is advanced to take the rank which ho held, from the far more im- portant standpoint of ordinary justice one must demand a change.
, A. bill purposed to effect this change has passed the House of Representa- tives It will be brought up in the Senate military affairs committee shortly after, the holidays. It should, be reported from that body with favor and prompti- tude and swiftly enacted into law by the Senate and President. 11
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, . A HAEBOH "SQUEAK" FOR WRIGHT FIELD -FLYERS
By the Hews Letter Correspondent
That we have not, for all our aviation ascendency, completely left the age of structural failure behind us was demonstrated recently to -Majors C.W. Howard, G. E. Brower and Lieut. E.W. Dichman during a test flight of a new type bomber at Wright Field, A pilot new to the Flight Tost Branch had reported upon land- ing the bomber that something was wrong. When the rudder was moved, everything else in .the ship started to move also, he said. Some of the more experienced pilots looked skeptical. It was possible that the new tester was unused to the vibration in certain experimental bombers which seemed much more shattering in character than it really was. The inspector had reported nothing serious. The three officers named above decided they'd check the report in the air.
The bomber climbed nicely to 2,000 foot, Major Brower piloting, Major Howard beside him to make observations in the fore part of the plane, and Lieut. Dichman in the rear cockpit where ha could observe the action of the structural members more closely from the inside. At 2,000 feet, Major Brower "fish tailed" the rudder with true test vehemence, firmed lately it was apparent that something was wrong, for the whole airplane ' distorted alarmingly. He repeated the per- formance five or. six times to help the observers locate "the fault.
Suddenly, Lieut . Dichman drew attention and with violent motions indicated that he had found it. He pointed to the left and made twisting gestures with his hands. Major Brower started to fishtail again to enable Dichman to verify his findings, whereupon the latter, in the language of the small boy, threw a fit. Again sign language -prohibiting further rough handling. Major Brower whipped the tail into a turn to bring the plane over the field, and Dichman, now thoroughly agitated, almost went wild, ' Signalling for a swan-like easy turn with hands that were learning eloquence and pointing again to the left longeron, he made a snapping movement, as if breaking a stick.
The truth dawned on the two in the front cockpit with sudden calming effect. Their first instinct was a. fiance over the side to observe altitude and a seek- ing of the rip cord ring. But the ..plane was responding nicely to the controls and Major Brower saw every chance of a safe landing which he - proceeded to' accom- plish with all possible care. ' ■
On the ground, they looked uoonan upper left longeron in the bomb bay which
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r.ad been fractured. All that had been holding that part of the plane together was ^ the fabric and cowling strips. The fracture, it was decided, was due to the fatigue of the metal as a result of vibration. They felt the solid ground her*, neath their feet with vast relief.
The Dreakage had escaped detection on the ground because hidden by the bomb load which had remained in the plane throughout all the tests. The younger pilot so far as we know, has refrained from saying "I told you so."
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ENDURANCE PLANE EQUIPPED AT MIDDLETOWN AIR DEPOT
Under the direction of Caotain Estabrook, the installation of all the appa- ratus was accomplished on the C-l and 0-2 airplanes. The last-named plane broke all existing world’s records for duration in an uninterrupted flight lasting 150 hours, 40 minutes and 15 seconds.
Lieut. Ray Harris was an able assistant and, due to the unusual amount of work entailed, spent quite a few hours burning the midnight oil before the planes were ready to b;e turned over to Major Spatz and Captain Eaker. General Eechet also showed great interest in the refueling endurance flight and visited the Middletown Air Depot to inspect the work being done ©n the planes.
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NEW INSTRUCTORS AT AIR CORPS PLYING- SCHOOLS
Fourteen Air Corps officers are about to change their present jobs to one of instructing students how to fly. Those assigned by Special Orders of the War Department to duty as Instructors at the Air Corps Training Center at Duncan Field, San Antonio, Texas, are as follows:
1st Lieut. Lewis A. Dayton, upon completion of duty in Hawaiian Department
1st Lieut. Elmer D. Perrin, upon completion of duty in Philippines.
1st Lieut. Lawrence J. Carr from Selfridge Field, Mich.
1st Lieut. James A. Mollison from Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
1st Lieuts . John G-. Williams and John F. McBlain from Fort Crockett, Texas.
1st Lieuts. John K. Cannon, 2nd Lieuts. John E. Bodle, William H .Doolittle and Demas T. Craw from Selfridge Field, Mich.
2nd Lieut. Dale D. Fisher from Langley Field, Va.
2nd Lieutenants Ward J. Davies, Langley Field; Harold F. Brown, Crissy Field, and Earl C. Robbins, Fort Crockett, Texas, have been ordered to proceed to the Air Corps Training Center, Duncan Field, Texas, on temporary duty for the purpose of taking the refresher course in flying training and then proceed to March Field, Calif., not later than March 1, 1929, for duty as Instructor at the Air Corps Primary Flying School.
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JAPANESE OFFICERS MAKE EMERGENCY JUMPS
If Ja-pan , like the United States, boaS/fced of an organization such as the Caterpillar Club, two natives of the Land of the Rising Sun would be eligible for membership thereto. A communi cation recently received from Major W.B.
Duty, commanding the Philippine Air Depot, Camp Nichols, P.I., reads as follows ;
"I noticed in one of the recent issues of the News Letter that you have been informed that two Japanese have joined the Caterpillar Club, but that the Irving Air Chute Company was unable to furnish you the names of those making the jumps. For your information I inform you herewith that I was on duty at the First Japanese Air Regiment at the time these jumps were made. Mr. S. Nakac , a test pilot of the Mitsubishi Airplane Company, while testing an experimental pursuit plane in June, 1928, was forced to jump and was saved. On the 26th of July, 1928, while testing a plane, Lieutenant Ishihara of the First Pursuit Regiment was forced to jump 'and was saved Both of these pilots used parachuter made by the Irving Air Chute Company. "
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During the month of November the 12th Photo Section, stationed at France Field, Panama Canal Zone, accomplished the following projects: Mosaic of Fort Sherman, Canal Zone; Mosaic of Fort Randolph, Canal Zone, and Tri Lens Camera mapping in the vicinity of Santiago and Laguna Lieaguada, Republic of Panama.
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AIR CORPS PERSONNEL CHANGES
... . - • ,* > # ! * . • : • ■ ’ * ■ *
A compilation of the strength reports for the month of November shows a total of 10,438 enlisted men, including 348 Plying- Cadets , in the Air Corps on November 30, 1928. This figure shows a net gain of 132 men in the Air Corps during the month. With the additional noncommissioned officers recently allot- ted, the present authorized enlisted strength is 10,126.
The War Department's approval of the proposed distribution by the Air Corps of the additional noncommissioned officers, privates and specialists ratings re- cently authorized resulted in the following changes in ratings and strength of Air Corps organizations:
Increased personnel for the 58th and 59th Service Squadrons and the Tac- tical School Detachment at Langley Field, Va.
Increase in strength of the 22nd Observation Squadron, Maxwell Field, Montgomery, Ala.', from 132 to 145 enlisted men to provide for the detachment at Fort Bragg,. N.C., the Commanding Officer of ' the 22nd Squadron to adjust the grades and ratings in the squadron proper and the detachment at Fort Bragg so as to afford equitable promotion in the two activities. •
Increase of the Air Corps Detachment at Bolling Field, D.C., from 271 to 299 enlisted men.
Increase the strength of the 1st and 5th Observation Squadrons, Mitchel Field, N.Y., from 102 to 132 men 'each, and providing for additional specialists ratings for the 99th Observation Squadron recently reconstituted.
Increase the 17th, 27th and 94th Pursuit -Squadrons , Selfridge Field, Mich., by 30 men each, thus increasing the strength from 102 to 132 enlisted men each, and providing some additional grades and ratings for the 15th Observation Squad- ron recently reconstituted without sufficient grades and ratings.'
Provide specialists ratings for the Technical School Band at Chanute Field, Rantoul, 111. , and the Air Corps Training Center Band at Duncan Field, Sari Antonio, Texas, now operating only with privates.
Provide additional noncommissioned officers and specialists ratings for the 16th Observation Squadron, Marshall Field, Fort Riley, Kansas, the authorized strength of which is increased from 110 to 132 enlisted men.
Increase the strength of the Air Corps Detachment at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, by one fester Sergeant, and decreasing same by one private, the total strength remaining at 32 enlisted men.
Provide 32 additional noncommissioned officers and specialists for the 60th Service Squadron at Fort Crockett, Texas, thus increasing the strength of this unit from 140 to 172 enlisted men.
Provide additional noncommissioned officers and specialists for the 88th Observation Squadron, post Field, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, recently reconstituted without sufficient grades and ratings.
Increase the 52nd School Squadron by one Technical Sergeant, decreasing same by one private.
Provide additional grades and ratings for the 11th Bombardment Squadron and the 95th Pursuit Squadron, recently reconstituted without sufficient grades and ratings, thus bringing the strength of these two units at Rockwell Field, Calif, to 132 enlisted men each.
Increase the 6th Composite Group Headquarters, Panama Canal Zone , ' by one Technical Sergeant, and decreasing same by one private, also providing sufficient grades and ratings for the 6th Composite Group Band, now operating with privates.
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WAR DEPARTMENT ORDERS AFFECTING AIR CORPS OFFICERS
Changes in Station: Major Carl Spatz relieved from Office Chief of Air Corps, about April 28, 1929, to proceed to Rockwell Field, Calif., upon comple- tion of Air Corps Maneuvers in the 5th Corps Area.
1st Lieut. Charles W. Lawrence, March Field, Calif., to Panama Canal Zone, sailing from San Francisco, Calif, about April 10, 1929.
Captain Wm. E, Kepner, Scott Field,' 111., upon completion of present course of instruction at Special Observers School, Kelly Field, Texas, to Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, for duty in Materiel Division.
Captain Ernest Clark, Langley Field, ,Va. , to Bolling Field, D.C.
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Retirement ; • 1st Lieut. Solomon L. Van Meter, Jr., December 13,1928, for disability- incident to* the service - rank of Captain.
Promotions; 1st Lieuts. Frederic B. Wieners, perry Wainer, William S. Gravely and Harlan W. Holden to Captain, to rank from Nov. 17th, Nov. 30th,
Dec. 13th and Dec. 13th, respectively; and 2nd Lieuts. Richard H. Dean and Rowland Kieburtz to 1st Lieuts. with rank from Nov, 13th and Nov. 18th, re- spectively.
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THE FLIGHT OF THE "QUESTION MARK"
Young 1929 had barely seen 'the light of day when the Army Air Corps, with its usual penchant for "doing things" started on a project which culminated in an astounding endurance record. The crew of the "Question Mark" accomplished an uninterrupted cruise in a heavier-than-air craft lasting 6-| days. This was made possible by refueling the plane in the air. While refueling operations during flight had been accomplished by the Air Corps several years prior to this remarkable endurance flight of 150 hours, 40 minutes and 15 seconds, the record is new and one which at this stage of aeronautical progress seems to present an almost insurmountable barrier to those who may seek to eclipse it.
The Secretary of War, the Hon. Dwight F. Davis, made the following state- ment in connection with the Air Corps' new record;
"The flight is a great -thing. It is going to have a very good effect on aviation in view of the general confidence it will inspire in equipment. Wonder ful results have been accomplished in the reliability of motor, planes and ac- cessories. Not only is the flight of great value in a military way but it is also of commercial value. We are very proud of the results obtained. The way the "Question Mark" and the attending planes have been handled, the skill of the crew, and the functioning of the equipment have all combined to make the flight a tremendous success. It is an interesting experiment with a good deal of practicable value to increasing the radius of flight. The flight should also be of value to the Navy in that it indicates the possibility of refueling from airplane carriers over water."
The Chief of the Air Corps, Major-General James E. Fechet, stated;
"I am highly elated to learn of the safe landing of the Army endurance plane "Question Mark", after breaking all records for sustained flight for all types of aircraft. I extend my heartiest congratulations to the personnel con- nected with this mission. In the preparation for the flight and throughout the more than six days that the "Question Mark" has been aloft, all concerned have devoted themselves to the matter in hand with a zeal which is characterise tic- of the Air Corps. I am proud of their accomplishment which I prophesy will have a far reaching effect in the advancement of aviation, both military and civil . "
The Hon. F. Trubee Davison, Assistant Secretary of War, in sending his con- gratulations to the crew of the "Question Mark", remarked that they had perform- ed a magnificent piece of work of real value to military and commercial aviation
In his congratulatory message, the Chief of Staff, Major-General Charles F. Summerall, stated that the skill demonstrated in the frequent refueling of the ship brings great credit to the participants and to the personnel, training and equipment of the entire Air Corps.
No definite plans for the use of the knowledge gained in this flight have been made at present, and none can be made until Major Spatz and his crew return to Washington and render their report. ...
After new engines are installed in the plane which shattered all previous records for both heavier-than-air and lighter-than-air craft, the crew will fly it back to Washington, but no attempt will be made to perform any refueling en route.
The engines used in the endurance flight will be torn down and very care- fully inspected to determine their actual condition following the severe test which this long grind imposed upon them. The aircraft industry, particularly those engaged in the manufacture of air-cooled engines, are extremely interested in ascertaining the condition of these engines with a view to remedying whatever material defects may have developed resulting in the final exhaustion of same.
The airplane used on this flight is one of the regular service type trans- ports used in the Army Air Corps - the C-2, converted so that it could be
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refuelled, in the air. It is a type similar to the one which was used on the non- stop flight from California to Honolulu in the Spring of 1927 by Lieut s . Maitland and Hegenberger of the -Air Corps.
As ' soon 'as 'a complete report on this refueling flight is rendered, a study will be made' with a view , to determining the type of aircraft construction, type of engine , .crews japd other requirements which would make possible flights of longer duration With less frequent refueling- contacts.
It appears from .the preliminary . statement of the ' surgeons, who ascertained the physical' cond.it ion of the crew after landing that flights of much longer duration ;can. be_ made .without danger of exhausting the crew.
f ' Although the lype of plane used on the" refueling flight is capable .of trav- eling at a speed in excess of 100 .miles an hour, no attempt was made to estab- lish any speed or distance records. .To hove done so would have necessitated the crew of the "Question Mark" flying over a measured course both day and night. It is calculated that the "Question Mark" flew at an average speed of- 75 miles an' hour . ~ 1
The ‘ Army pilots who encircled the globe by air in 1924 accomplished, this feat in': a' flying time of slightly over 453 hours, covering a total of 27,553 miles'. Thd crew of the "Question Mark" in exceeding a non-step flight of 150 hotirs, covered an approximate distance of 11,300 miles, considerably- more than a third of the distance around the world, or 90 miles less' than the distance traversed by the World Flyers from Seattle, Washington, to Calcutta, India (11,390 miles). Another flight of such duration and at the same average speed, assuming, of course, that proper refueling contacts are made, would have taken the crew of the "Question Mark", following the same route as the World Flyers, from Calcutta, India, to the vicinity of Harrisburg, pa..
The' crew of the "Question. Mark" were Major Carl'Spatz, commander; Captain Ira C. Faker, Lieuts. Harry A. Halverson, Elwocd R. Quesada and Staff Sergeant Roy W. Hooe.. '-Among the other personnel connected with this project were Captain Ross G-. Hoyt,, pilot of refueling plane No .- 1; Lieut. Odas Moon, Pilot of refuel- ing plane No. 2; Lieut. Ray G- . Harris, engineering officer of the flight; and Lieut. Arthur I % Ennis, . Radio. and Communications Officer of the Flight, In the absence of the report on this flight, the names of all the personnel who partic- ipated in this epoch making achievement are hot available at this time.. It is hoped to publish a detailed report on this flight when same is made.
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NOTES FROM AIR CORPS FIELDS 0O0
Langley Field, Hampton, Y a., Nov. 23, 1928.
Our thirteen new officers, five regulars and eight reserves from the lost class at Kelly Field who graduated the 26th of last month, have been reporting in the past two weeks, much to the pleasure of the personnel of the Group. The following is a list of those who are now present for duty': 2nd Lieutenants Marion M. Burnside, Maurice F. Daly and Marion Huggins of the Regular Army, and 2nd Lieutenants Dean V. Johnson, Donald W. Buckman, YYarren Higgins, Howard E. Hall, Emery J. Martin, Leland S. Stranathan, Y/alter R. Agee and Harry J. Osterman,
Air Corps Resperve. 2nd Lieutenants Ernest G. Schmidt and David M. Hackman, Air Corps, Regular Army are still on leave. The old officers of the Group extend to these officers a warm and hearty welcome. It is expected to give a Group Dance at the Hampton Country Club in their honor.
A few days before the new officers started arriving, the Group was unfor- tunate in losing Lieut. John R. Drum, who was transferred to Kelly Field, Lieut. A.R. MacConnell transferred to the 58th Service Squadron and Lieut. James F.
Walsh who transferred to the 58th Service Squadron, relieving Lieut. George R, Geer, hence their loss is more than merely sentimental. However, all must go some time, and we wish them the best of luck and hapny landings always.
It was quite an unusual month for the Group with only one small trip to Greenville, S.C., of three bombers to participate in the dedication of a new airport .
Langley Field, Va., December 17, 1928.
With no planes of our own to fly except two O-lls, one DH-4 M2, one Fokker Transport, and one PT-1 all belonging to the 59th Service Squadron, the Air Corps Tactical School demonstrated its splendid cooperation by loaning the Group their planes all morning of each flying day. The A.C.T.S, has loaned the Group three O-lls and two AT-5As per squadron. In addition to these, several A-3s are made available three or four days a week. With these borrowed planes it has been practically possible to carry on with our regular training except for camera obscura and aerial bombing. Moreover, this period is giving our pilots excel- lent opportunity to keep their "hands ‘in" on pursuit, attack and observation types of planes.
This month the Group has been unfortunate in losing three officers. Lieut. Willard R. Wolfenbarger was transferred to the 2nd Wing Headquarters, Lieut.
James F. Walsh to the 58th Service Squadron and Lieut. Emile T. Kennedy on DDL to Sand Point Airdrome, Seattle Wash. The transfer of these three officers, all of whom have been with the Group for a considerable time, is considered a great loss.
The Group pictorial history is nearing completion. It is a book of great size, 2 feet by 3 feet, with the insignia of each squadron painted on its face.
It will rest on a beautiful mahogany stand, the top supported by two sa^ed off DH club props, and will be permanently placed in the Group Operation Office.
Unlike the last training period, when the Second Bombardment Group had twenty^two bombardment planes and pilots well trained on big ships, many diffi- culties have been experienced during the first training period of this year, with only nine LB-5-A Keystone bombers available for the tactical training of, thirty-six officers. The last and most heart breaking trouble occurred last ■ Friday when all our planes were grounded until their vibrating tails can be reinforced. This will probably keep the ships on the ground until the middle of January.
San Ant o n icy Air Depot, Duncan Field, San Antonio, Texas, December 14,1928 .
On November 22nd, the Depot was visited by a group of twelve student offi- cers of the present class at the School of Aviation Medicine, Brooks Field, in charge of Capt . Robert K. Simpson, M.C , The party inspected the various phases of this Denotes activities in connection with their course of instruction.
The Annual Survey of War Department Activities and Installations at this Depot was made by Lieut Colonel Joseph F, Barnes, I.G.D., of Headquarters
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Eighth Corps Area, who visited the Deuot on December llth and 12th for that purpose .
The Engineering Department of the De-pot overhauled and repaired the follow- ing airplanes and engines during the month of November :~ Airplanes: 2 DH-4M-1,
4 DH-4M-2., .2 DH-4M-2T, 2 02-C, 8 02-H, 1 02-K, 3 AT -4, 3 PT-1, 2 A-3, 1 CGA-1,
2 C-l-C, Tot.al, 30 airplanes: Engines: 6 Liberty, 31 Wright E, 1 Wright J-5,
10 Curtiss D-12, Total, 48 engines.
The many excellent hunting regions within reasonable reach of this vicinity combined with the good hunting weather this year, have attracted many of the Depot personnel from time to time this season, who report good bags of deer, turkey, quail and other game.
Maxwell JField , Mo ntgomery, Ala . , De c. 18th ,
During the month of November numerous visiting planes arrived and departed from this station.
On November 5th, Col. C.A. Bach, Corps. Area Inspector General, arrived at Maxwell for the annual survey and inspection.
General Preston Brown, Commanding General of the 1st Corps Area, with Lieut* Donald Duke as pilot, stopped over night at Maxwell Field early in November.
November 9th three planes from Maxwell Field, piloted by Lieuts. Jas. G. Pratt, J.W, Persons and W.H. McArthur, departed from Jackson, Miss., to partici- pate in the opening of an airport there. On the same day a- flight of three planes, piloted by Lieuts. Frank Byerly, Murray C. Woodbury and Reuben Kyle,
Jr., left for Greenville, S.C., to participate in similar exercises.
Assistant Secretary of War Robbins, with Capt. Galloway as pilot, landed at this station on November llth, departing the following day for Hot Spring,
Ark.
Assistant Secretary of War F. Trubee Davison, General James Fechet, Chief of the Air Corps, Major John Brooks and Lieut. Lester Maitland stopped over night at Maxwell Field, while en route to the new Attack Wing site. They went from here to Shreveport, Lai. They were traveling in tri-motored Fokker mono- planes.
Another distinguished visitor to Maxwell Field during November was Col. Singleton, of presidio, Cal., who made a short stop here while en route to Columbus, Ga., where he had been called on account of the illness of a relative. He reached here by train and was ferried the rest of the way by a plane from Maxwell Field.
Major Frank M. Kennedy, from the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps, visited Maxwell Field, November 16th.
Capt. Ira C. Eaker, Pilot and Capt . Watson, passenger, arrived on the 1ft h in a tri-motored Fokker plane, departing the following day for New Orleans.
Capts. Eaker sand Watson visited Maxwell Field several days on their return trip to Washington and were the guests of the Commanding Officer.
Lieut. Byerly departed for Dayton, Ohio, in the Transport on Nov. 24th, for the purpose of ferrying metal propellers to Fairfield Air Depot for period- ical etching. On the same day Lieut. Pratt ferried Col. peter J. Brady in an 02-H to New Orleans, La.
During November, planes from this field participated in Infantry Contact Missions at Fort Benning, Ga., Maneuvers at Fort Earrancas, Fla. and Tow Target Missions at Fort Benning, Ga.
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France Field, Panama Canal Zone, pec. 15th
Recently instructions were received from the Chief of Materiel Division to return Liberty engines with four overhauls. In a period of eight, days Mr. Sgt, Haney and a detail of nine men, prepared for shipment and shipped one hundred and forty-four engines. We think this is fast time in view of the amount of' work required to get these engines ready for shipment.
1st Sgt. William Calvert, 63rd Service Squadron, left on the December 14th boat for his new station and 1st Sgt. Edward B. Fiedler arrived to take his place . ,
The Annual Target Practice for the. 6th Composite Group is just about com- plete, the 7th Observation Squadron having two or three more officers to fire record practice. So far, Lieut. Canfield is high man with a score of 1002. Thirteen officers of the 24th Pursuit Squadron fired, and all of them qualified
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as experts, the highest being Lieut . Douglass with a score of 1076.6. The 25th bombardment Squadron, with ten officers firing, qualified three experts and five sharpshooters, two not qualifying. Capt . Simonin headed the pilots’ course with a score of 722.8 and Lieut. Harmon headed the observers’ course with a score of 472. This organization has not completed its bombing practice and, from all indications, will far exceed the scores made last year.
1st Lieuts. Ward F. Robinson, Donald F. Fritch and James M. FitzUaur ice Air Corps, arrived at this station for a tour of foreign service and were as- signed to the 25th Bombardment Squadron, 24th pursuit Squadron and 7th Observa- tion Squadron, respectively.
The latest news is that France Field will soon have the long waited for consignment of 12 0-2-H airplanes and a C-2 Transport.
March Field, Riverside, Cal., Jan. 1, 1929 .
Fifty-fourth School Squadron: During the past month, two officers of this Sta- tion were transferred to Letterman General Hospital, presidio of San Francisco. Cal., for observation and treatment. 1st Lieut. Kenneth Garrett was transferred to the Hospital on November 20th, and 1st Lieut. George E. Rice on Dec. 8th.
Headquarters, 15th School Group: Chaplain Charles F. Graeser, U.S.Army, rejoined from leave of Absence, November 11th.
Capt. Idwal H. Edwards, Air Corps, has been on Detached Service, Crissy Field, San Francisco, Cal., since November 16, 1328.
The Squadron Basketball League is now in the final round and, as usual, is being led by the Fifty^third and Fifty-fourth Squadrons.
These two teams are in a tie for first place after having won the game frqt each other. As things stack up now it seems that neither will lose another game until they meet again, and then we will have the old irresistible force meeting the immovable object. At any rate, a battle royal is expected.
Headquarters and the Seventieth Squadrons are fighting it out for third place, with Headquarters having an edge on the Seventieth.
The Forty-seventh Squadron to date has lost all its games, being very un- fortunate in not having basketball material. Their team has been more or less wrecked by the "flu".
Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, Dec. 15, 1928.
Capt. E.E. Aldrin, who since 1919 has been associated with the Materiel Division, as organizer, secretary, and assistant commandant of the Air Corps Engineering School, and more recently as Assistant Executive of the Division, left on November 12th for New York City, where he is to be manager of the Aeronautical Department of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. His address, 26 Broadway, is fairly pivotal, and Captain Aldrin hopes to see many of his old Army associates, who find their way to the big city, from time to time.
Lieut. Donald L. Bruner, who was in charge of night flying equipment devel- opment when formerly at McCook Field, and Lieut. David Lingle, graduate of the Engineering School, are slated for return to the Division at the expiration of their foreign service periods. Bo til are expected to report by the new year.
The new quarters of the Materiel Division will be strapge to them, but they will f'ind many familiar faces, which they last saw at the old stamping ground, to welcome them.
Lieuts. James C. Cluck, France Field, panama Canal Zone, and Herbert f. Anderson, Fort Crockett, Texas will report for duty in the near future at the 'Materiel Division.
Among the many visitors to come to Wright Field during the latter part of November, was Major Georges Thenault, Air Attache of the French Embassy, Wash- ington, D.C., and former commander of th& Lafayette lj?sc&dr£lle of World War i ame .
Middletown, Pa. v Air Depot, January 5, 1929.
The Christmas season was a rather hectic one at this Depot, and all con- cerned are rather glad that it comes but once a year. Santa Claus, imperson- ated by Lieut. Wes Zellner, was located at the main gate under a huge electric-^ ally lighted tree. All children under seven years of age of military personnel
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and employees were presented with a gift and come fruit. Altogether, 175 pres- ents were dispensed toy^bhe jovial Saint, and upon completion of the ceremonies he reported his arms as being quite tired from passing out packages to the glee- ful children. This joy was made possible this year by donations from the Offi- cers of the Post, the Air Depot Golf Club and the Welfare Association of the T Post .
During the month four airplanes (one Observation and three Cargo) , also two Curtiss D-12 motors were given major overhaul in the Engineering Shoos. However, the engine shops also dismantled thirty old Liberty engines which had been on survey, reclaiming the serviceable parts for stock.
Lieut. Harry H. Hills journeyed to Chicago, 111., on an aoproved cross- country flight, December 4th, returning to Middletown via Eairfield on Dec. 10th.
Col. Ira E, Travel visited the home station over the Christmas holidays but was ■’unable to stay for a very lengthy visit due to the fact that he had to hurry back to Kelly Pie Id on Jan. 1st.
Six experimental type lights have been erected on the flying field for the purpose of a test to be made as to their lighting qualities. At the present time planes are being equipped for this test, and a report will be forwarded to the Chief, Materiel Division, as soon as night flying can be accomplished.
Prom December 20th to the end of the year things were exceptionally dull, due to the fact that the Commanding Officer had sent a notice to all fields in the control axes, stating that a skeleton force only would be on hand until the first of the year. Part of this skeleton force were busily engaged completing the annual physical inventory. The Engineering outfit were also busily engaged,, not in naking airplanes as they should be, but in going over machinery and equip- ment, and putting new life into worn out machinery, so that the New Year can be started with everything in tip top shape. Consequently , there was practically no flying in or out of the field over the holiday period, and no frenzied radios for parts for rush shipment.
The Middletown ’'Aviators" Basketball Team has been going strong. Under the able direction of Capt. Wallace the team has succeeded in winning five games out of six starts, defeating such strong teams in the vicinity as the Brownstown "Big Pive (two games), The York "White Poses", "St .Mary’s" quintette of McSherrystown, and the Lancaster "Moose", Inquiries have been mailed out and it is expected that next month we will be able to play the leading service teams, including Mitchel Field, Carlisle Barracks, the Naval Air Sta.tion at Anacostia and possibly Langley Field.
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— ISSUED BY —
OFFICE CHIEF OF AIR CORPS WAR DEPARTMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C
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Letter
VOL. XSIt
JANUARY 31, 1929
NO. 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS 0O0
Page
Ground Operations on "Question Mark" Refueling Flight 22-27
Commercial Aviation in Costa Rica. ... 27
France Field Airmen Pay Visit to Costa Rica 28-30
Lieut. Ent to Receive the "Cheney Award" . 30-31
War Department Orders Affecting Air Corps Officers ....... 31-32
Hazy Flying Conditions in Vicinity of Mitchel Field 32
Newspaper Comment on the ^rlow Bill 32-33
The Flight Tutor 33
Langley Field Loses Two Young Officers ... 34-35
Department Commander Pleased with Inspection of France Field . . 35
C-2 Transport Plane Ferried to Panama 35
State of Oklahoma Honors "Question Mark" Pilot ... 36
Lieut. Doolittle Flies Through Snowstorm 36
New Cadets Appointed for March Glass . 36-3?
New Types of Airplanes to he Tested at Wright Field 37
Reserve Officers Required to Present Identification Papers ... 37
Status of the 99th Observation Squadron. . 37
Newspaper Editorial Comment on Endurance Flight . 38-41
Congratulations to Captain L.D. Seymour 41-42
Colombian Government Thanks the Air Corps 42
France Field pistol Team Wins First Honors 42
New Bombing plane for Air Corps 42
California Executive Comments Air Corps Flyers 42-43
Rockwell Field's part in the Flight of the "Question Mark" ... 43
Air Training for West Point Cadets 43
Civil Aviation in England 43
Notes from Air Corps Fields 44
V-5859, A.C.
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VOL, XII I 1IH CO R F S R E W; -S , - - ", NO , 2
Inf ormat ion Division .. , January 31 , 1029. : ' Munitions Bai Idling
Air Corns ^ y • . Ti a shington, D . C .
The chief purpose of this publication is to distribute information on aeronautics to the flying personnel in the Regular Array, Preserve Corps,
Rational Guard and others connected with -aviation. ;
oOo — ,, . •
• GROUND OPERATIONS' OR "QUESTION MARK” REFUELING FLIGHT
A report was received from Rockwell Field, Coronado, California, detail- ing the work done by personnel at that station in connection with the refueling endurance flight of the Army .Transport -’’Question Park".
The world at large knows what the crew of the "Question Mark" accomolished , but the establishment by them of 'this astounding record for heavier-than-air flight would not have been possible without the efficient aid of the men com- prising the ground organisation. "It goes without saying that they accomplished their work well. .The record flight offers the best possible nroof of thac fact. These men stood by at all hours of the night and day with a vigilance that ri- valled active war operations on an enemy front line. Nothing was left undone to provide for the comfort, wants and safety of the men who were circling ip the atmosphere above them.
During the preparatory stages, the flight itself, and after its completion the morale, discipline, efficiency and conduct of all personnel connected there- with was of the highest. The work of Captain Hoyt, Lieuts. Strickland and Wood- ring as the prew of one refueling plane, and of Lieuts. Moon, Hopkins and loiter * of the second refueling plane cannot be too highly praised.
The work of Lieut. Ray G. Harris, Engineering Officer of the flight, which extended ever the- entire preparations for and during the period of the flight, was in a large -measure responsible for the completeness and perfection of all integral parts of the. plane and its ability to perform the mission assigned to it. Lieut. Harris exercised complete supervision over the preparation of the "Question Mark" for the flight, as well as the preparation of the tw; refueling planes.
The Middletown Air Depot performed praiseworthy work in preparing tie planes, which necessitated extreme accuracy and involved long hours of unre- mitting toil, while the work of the Engineering Officer of Rockwell Field and his department left nothing to be desired.
Others who extended full cooperation and contributed materially to the success of the flight, were Major A.L. Snaed, Commanding P-fficer of Rockwell Field; Major J.H. Houghton, Depot Engineering Officer; Captain H.M. Elmendor:, Airdrome Officer; Major W.S. Woolf ord and Captain J.M. Stanley, Medical Corps, Flight Surgeons at Rockwell Field, and the military and civilian personnel of Rockwell Field.
Before quoting the Rockwell Field report, it may be of interest to record here some statistical data bearing on the record flight, so as to present sons idea of the work a flight of this character involved.
The "Question Mark" was refueled 34 times with gasoline and on eight oc- casions with oil. In these 34 contacts, a total of 5,760 gallons of gasoline coursed through the flexible hose which connected the fueling ship with the "Question Mark" at time of contact. The attempt to transfer the oil through the hose met with failure and, whenever' needed, same was lowered from the re- fueling ships to the "Question Mark" in five-gallon cans. In IS of the 34 refueling contacts for gasoline, 170 gallons were transferred and in four instances 270 gallons . Twice 270 gallons were transferred , twice 100 gallons, twice 110 gallons, twice 50 gallons, and once each 150, 160 and 250 gallons.
Food was lowered to the crew of the endurance plane during 13 of the son- tacts, also water, mail, Heathernrep«yhts , toilet articles, batteries, Very Pistol cartridges, etc. The duration of the contacts varied from five to 12 minutes, most of them involving seven to eight minutes.
Of the 42 refueling contacts, eight were performed during absolute dark- ness. Most of the contacts, 27 to be exact, were made while the "Question Mark" was flying over the Metropolitan Airport at Los Angeles; 9 were made over Rockwell Field, Coronado; five over El Centro in the Imperial Valley and one over Oceanside, Calif. 'The first contact was made over the Metropolitan
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jvir-ponv at 'd : 15~ ATMT," January 1st, and the last one at the same plane at 1:60 P.M., oa.nue.ry 7th.
The report from Rockwell Field, is hereinafter quoted as follows:
"An attempt is made here to record everything of importance that trans- pired on the ground in connection with the flight of the "Question Mark’1. The ground crews1 objective and mission was to expeditiously fulfill all requests, from the "Question Mark", practice Refuelings:
On December 2Sth, Refueling Crew ho. 1, took off with 150 gals, gas; flow would not start due to hose being coiled above gas level.
Refueling Crew ho . 1 took off with 30 gallons oil and battery in container. Very little oil transferred due to poor flow and level of hose. Battery could not be transferred as container offered too much area to slip stream. "Question. Mark" dumped gas and landed.
Tests on Oil Flow ;
On December 3Cth, three test runs were made, heating the oil - and it was found that due to the installation of the tank and line, even with oil heated at 115 C., the flow approximated one gallon per minute. A five gallon can of
oil was lowered by the handles and found to ride steady.
"Question Mark" left for Van Nuys . March Field C-2 left for Van buys with newspaper men end enlisted men for station at the Metropolitan Airport.
December 31st, slings were made at Rockwell Air Depot for five gallon oil can and battery. Oil cans were obtained from the Depot Supply.
This same date "Ground Headquarters" were established at Rockwell Field, near the Post Garage.
Tests man from Refueling Crew No. 1 were made as follows:
Oil can with sling lowered O.K.
Battery with sling lowered O.K.
Rope with 16f lead weight O.K.
Refueling Crew No. 2, with Lieuts. Odas Moon, J.G. Hookins, A.^. Solter and civilian mechanic, Wm.Duthie, took off from Rockwell Field for the Metro- politan Airport. They were forced down, however, at Oceanside, Long Beach and Rogers Airport. These forced landings were attributed to ignition trouble. Anticipating further trouble Lieut. Moon phoned for a new set of Liberty heads and these were rushed to the Metropolitan Airport and installed upon arrival.
The ship was then flight tested, with motor functioning perfectly.
The same afternoon, December 31, 1928, Lieuos. H.W. Keefer and R.V. Williams, took off in two "Blackboard" PW-9 planes for the Metropolitan Airport. January 1, 1929:
At 7:26:47 A.M., January 1, 1929, the "Question Mark" took off from Metro- politan Airport, Van Nuys, Calif. Refueling Crew No. 2 made contact with the "Question Mark" at 8:15 A.M. and transferred 100 gals, of gas, and the "Question Mark" departed for Rockwell Field.
At 10:10 A.M. Lieut. Moon loaded baggage and supplies into ship and immed- iately left for Imperial.
At 10:25 A.M. Refueling Crew No. 1 made contact with "Question Mark" and transferred 250 gals. gas. Upon return of Refueling Crew No. 2 a. rope was rigged up about half way on the hose to assist in jockeying a returning to refueling plane.
12:05 P.M. Blackboard plane flew alongside of the "Question Mark" with the following message;
"Don't forget Rose Bowl and don't forget drop message."
3:00 P.M. "Blackboard" plane took the following message to "Question Mark"
"Water - 250 gals, gas coming up."
2:15 P.M. the "Question Mark" dropned the following message;
"7/e need oil - water - food - gas in order named.
"We will remain in vicinity of Rockwell until 5 PM.
"Total amount of gas needed 450 gals.
"Last load of gas to be as close to 5 PM as light conditions permit.
"Be prepared to refuel us on call tonight - we will give you one hour’s warning. In case no fuel called for tonight gas will be required at break of day tomorrow. Gjve us gas in that case before anything else. Notify Moon we may need gas at dawn if foggy at Rockwell and consequently be prepared. Tell both Hoyt and Moon to slow down as load runs out." Receipt of the above messages was ^acknowledged by panel signal.
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2:20 P.M. the "Question Mark*' dropped the following message;
"Just received mesi$age - water and 250 gals, gas coming up. Send oil immediately after transport lands and made 3rd trip near 5 P.M. for food and remainder of gas (200 gals.).
"We will remain vicinity Rockwell .until 5 P.M. We need oil - water - food - ga.s in order named. Total gas requirements 450 gals. - includes what we take on front ship now in air - last refueling to be as close as 5 PM as safe.
"We may require fuel tonight - if so will give you Very pistol signal- if now fuel taken aboard tonight Moon and Hoyt should be ready at crack of dawn and give us gas then before food, water or oil."
Receipt of above messages acknowledged by panel signal.
At 2:30 PM Refueling Crew ho. 1 made contact and transferred 150 gals, gas to "Question Mark". At 3 PM same crew made contact and transferred 35 gals oil in five gallon containers* The transfer was watched with great interest by the ground personnel, as it was the first time oil had actually been transferred in this manner.
3 PM the "Question Mark dropped the following message:
"We only got 150 gals, and rear tank overflowed.
We need oil then two more trips for gas of 200 gals. each.
Put out oanel as soon as you understand,"
Receipt of message acknowledged by panel signal.
Refueling Crew ho. 1 returned and plane was loaded with 200 gals, gas - food - messages. Refueling Crew ho. 2 made flight test at Imperial with 150 gals, gas in main tank and 70 gals, gas in wing tanks, performance. Refueling Crew ho. 2 at 3:55 PM again made flight test at Imperial with 220 gals, gas in main tank and wing tanks full. Got off with good margin of safety.
At 4 PM Refueling Crew ho . 1 made contact with the "Question Mark" trans- ferring 200 gads, gas, dinner and the following message to the "Question Mark":
"Will be standing by all night - try to drop messages nearer line as they are hard to follow and find.
Received three messages OK. If you use flares don't use too far away from horth Island. If you can, give us your approximate schedule for tomorrow."
4:40 PM the "Question Mark" dropped the following message:
"We will need 200 gals, at midnight tonight. Cannot take any more this afternoon - acknowledge by panel."
"We cannot maintain altitude with additional 200 gals. Will require refueling at midnight tonight - acknowledge by panel signals."
Receipt of above messages were acknowledged by panel signals, and the following message by "Blackboard" planes;
"Message received - ready at midnight."
The "Question Mark" rounded the pylon at Metropolitan Airport 7:20 PM and flood lights were turned on as soon as the ship was heard and kept on until it left for Rockwell Field. A strong north wind had been blowing all day but began to die out during the night, otherwise, the weather was good. Navy flood lights operated by Army personnel were turned on whenever "Question Mark" came over Rockwell Field, At 11; 50 PM Refueling Crew No . 1 took off with 220 gals, gas for the first attempt at an actual night refueling.
January 2, 1929:
Shortly after midnight the "Question Mark" fired one green flare, follow- ed by another flare. Refueling Crew Ho. 1 made contact almost immediately with the "Question Mark" and transferred 220 gals, of gas with difficulty. Refuel- ing crew on landing stated that the transfer was easier than in the day time, due to the smooth air, but asked that the "Question Mark be requested to play a flashlight on the hose to facilitate jockeying the same.
At 8:40 AM the "Question Mark" requested that Lieut. Moon and his crew and C-l leave Imperial and go to Metropolitan Airport, as they doubted advis- ability of crossing the mountains at night, not being able to get enough alti~ tude . Lieut. Moon was advised accordingly and Refueling Crew Ho. 2 cleared Imperial with all ground personnel, refueling ship and blackboard plane for Metropolitan,
At 5:25 PM the "Question Mark" dropped two red flares. Landing lights were turned on as it was dusk, ground crew could not determine whether "Questior Mark" wanted landing lights (signal for which was one red flare at night) or whether the ''Question Mark" was dropping a message (signal for which was one red flare in daytime) . "Question Mark" departed for Metropolitan Airport im~
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mediately thereafter.
At 0:25 PM Rockwell Field was entirely blanketed with fcg. The Metropoli- tan Airport, was notified by telephone and instr- rated to pat out red ground flares as soon as the "Question Mark" arrived there. Several minutes later the "Ques- tion Mark" was heard over Rockwell Field above the fcg; plane circled the field once and left in direction of Metropolitan Airport.
January 3, 1929:
Shortly after midnight Refueling Crew No . 2 took off and alternated to make contact but upon getting in position for contact "Question Mark" oulled away. Lieut. Hankins reported that the "Question Mark" carried no lights at all, that the air was very rough, and that when he had the hose out its entire length he could not see the "Question Mark" at all, and Refueling Crew returned without transferring gas.
Captain Elmendorf who was then at Rockwell Field received a telephone call fr<sm the Metropolitan Airport to the effect that "Question Mark" was having difficulty getting gasoline. Inasmuch as the fog covering Rockwell Field had raised slightly, Captain Flmendorf took off in a PW-9 to reconnoiter the weather conditions to see if refueling at Rockwell Field was possible. It was found that the fog then extended only as far south as the southern edge of San Diego Bay and that refueling wak possible above the fcg. The "Question Mark" was ad- vised accordingly, and white flares displayed at Metropolitan Airport showing Rockwell Field clear. However, "Question Mark" continued' to Circle San Fernando Valley and lights were kept at Metropolitan Airport for the remainder of the night. At about 9:30 AM a heavy fog covered the San Fernando Valley and re- mained throughout the day, so the "Question Mark" departed for Rockwell Field.
One of the important messages received from the "Question Mark" was to the effect that at 11:40 AM to get some gas up as quickly as possible, as they had less than an hour's supply, also requesting they be kept advised as to the weather at at he Metropolitan Airport. A new battery for the plane, and for all flashlights, also package Very pifetol cartridge of each color were desired.
Shortly after noon the same day the "Question Mark" advised that they were afraid of weather closing in at Rockwell and Metropolitan and requested a re- fuel operation be made over Rational City, and then decided to go on to Imperial.
Refueling Crew Ro . 1 took off for Imperial to acccmoany the "Question Mark" and shortly thereafter three 02S from the 11th Bombardment Squadron, a Govern- ment Dodge car and private cars of Mr.Sgt. Re is wander and Staff Sgt . Lester were pressed into service tc transfer necessary personnel and supplies to Imperial to establish a base at that point. Captain Elmendorf and Lieut. Roth proceeded to Imperial in PW-9Ds. A high ground wind at the Imperial Airport made it dif- ficult for the "Question Mark" crew to drop their messages accurately from the altitude at which they were flying.
January 4, 1929:
"Question Mark" advised at 6:46 AM they would return to the vicinity of Rockwell Field. However, after returning to Metropolitan Airport "Question Mark" stated the gas lines from the wing, tanks were leaking inside the fuselage at the valves, and requested some red lead. Contact was made shortly thereafter with the "Question Mark" transferring red lead, soap and shellac for fixing gasoline tank. At 9:40 PM that evening stated they had some missing cylinders, could not tell how many, "but can only take cn .100 gals, at a time, avery two hours 9-11-1-3-5,, and further stated might be able to limp through uictil morn- ing and replace plugs but unable to do anything tonight .
• January 6, 1929:
On making contact with the "Question Mark" at 1:00 AM, after transferring 110 gals, gas, upon pulling in the hose a message was found tied to the end of the hose advising no more gas needed until daylight unless Very pistol signal given.
At 10:16 AM "Question Mark" advised motors laboring heavily. Last night a number of plugs fouled but by opening up throttle they cleared themselves. However, the strain on the motors must have been heavy. "Question M«rk" further stated they may land today, tonight, tomorrow, etc., and at this writing it seems it is just a. question of hours.
January 7, 1929:
10:00 AM contact was made with the "Question Mark" after being in contact for about six minutes, during which time about 100 gals, gas were transferred contact was broken due to rough air. Contact was again established but gasoline level was too low to start flow succe ssf ully . Contact was again made several
- 25.-- V-5859 , A-C .
hours later but "Question Mark" broke contact after taking but 50 gals. ga:s and waved refueling plane away. Then request was made to send up 50 gals, gas hourly until forced to land as the left motor was acting badly. At 2 PM the "Question Mark" seemed^to ' be r.losing Altitude , and was seen from the ground to be dumping gasoline. At this time, by the use of field glasses, it could be seen that the propeller of ' the left motor was dead. The "QdSsilon Mark" con- tinued to lose altitude in the southern extremety of the field.
At 2:07:01 PM after a beautiful glide, the wheels of the "Question Mark" again touched the earth in a perfect landing after completing a to'tal of 150 hours, 40 minutes, 14 seconds continuous sustained flight.
Attached is a table of contents showing the number of contacts in the- order made, giving time, place, crew and other pertinent data. The time of contact, the duration of minutes, and the number of gallons of gasoline- trans- ferred are all approximate, but any variation is negligible. In each case of gasoline contact, 20 gallons extra were loaded for wastage and the amount of gas remaining in tanks at end of contact measured.
The following high points noted during the refueling flight are given as they apoear to the ground personnel, and are recorded as difficulties which could be possibly avoided in future refueling flights.
Adaptability : The one thing which stood cut above all others was the adantability of the refueling scheme used, i.e., use of a large transport with a hole cut in the bottom as a mother ship and the ships to be refueled flying directly underneath this opening.
Transferring of practically any type of supplies from one plane to the other. This was especially evident after the failure of the oil system cn the C-ls to properly deliver oil and the change at the last minute to lower oil in five gallon containers.
It appeared from reports of the refueling crew of each ship, that a better system of lowering the hose for gasoline and oil could be devised. The hose used required a large amount of physical exertion and was very tiring to the personnel in the Gels; the second place the flow of gasoline was not as fast as could be expected. It took considerable, time to start the flow and did not start effectively unless there was a very good head in the tank. Some system of using a small hose with the gas under pressure appears feasible.
The transfer of oil could undoubtedly be made quickly through a hose of rather small diameter in case the oil in the tank is placed under slight pre ssure .
It also anpears that the extra weight of a generator to be used in keep- ing storage battery charged and' for radio communication would be of a logical step. In case batteries should be transferred it would appear better to use a two six volt batteries for the transfer instead of one t we lve-v^lt .
It was apparent from the beginning that the success of the operation must necessarily depend, in a very large degree, upon the efficiency of ground organ ization. With this end in view, Captan H.M. Elmendorf, Air Corps, was olaced in command of all Ground Operations.
Practically the entire personnel of Rockwell Field was made available for assignment to this G-round Organization. The accomoanying list marked enclosure No. 2, sets out in detail the duties of each individual connected with this flight. Attached also copies of Refueling Operations Orders, Nos. 1 and 2, and newspaper clippings.
LIST
:NC- OFFICERS AND ENLISTED PERSONNEL CONNECTED
Name and Rank
WLjlH GROUND OPERATIONS OF REFUELING- PROJECT
Duties
Cant. H.H. Elraendorff 1st Lt . Odas Moon 1st Lt . A.C. Strickland 2nd Lt . I. A. Woodring 2nd Lt . J.G-. Hopkins' 2nd Lt . A.F. Solter 1st Lt . C.P. Kane 2nd Lt . F.W. Ott 2nd Lt . J.S. Stowell 2nd Lt . R.V. Williams 2nd Lt . H.W. Keefer 1st Lt . A.F. Roth 2nd Lt. N.H. Ives
Officer in Charge Ground Operations Pilot Refueling Crew No . 2 Crew RC No . 1
Press Relations and Recording Officer Rep. N.A.A. - Recording Officer Recording Officer Metro. Airport Pilot Blackboard Plane
tf « if
it it ti
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V-5859 , A. C .
Name and. Rank- (Cont.) ' Ifitic s _____
Ca.pt . E.C.. Black Night Airdrome Officer
2nd Lt. K.J. Gr-egg » » "
1st Lt,. R.H. - Clark " " "
1st Lt . B.R. Dallas " " "
1st Lt .. E.M. Robbins Supply Officer
2nd Lt . W.C. Kingsbury Kerry Pilot
2nd ^t . H.C. Lichtenberger : " "
2nd Lt . .R.Jf. -Stewart n ”
2nd Lt . H.R . Baxter . 11 11
Mr. Wm,. H. Duthie ■ Crew Chief PC No. 2
Mr. Joseph Schott • Ground Crew PC No . 2
Mr . Sgt . Neiswander
11 " Adams
Stf.Sgt. Medcalf 11 " Oliver
" " Lester
Sgt . Olson " A.L. Hammer
n
ti
it
ii
n
ii
it
Cpl .
it
ii
ii
ti
it
ii
Pvt .
ii
ii
ii
ii
ii
ii
ii
ii
it
ti
ii
ii
ii
ii
ii
E . W . Roy Lee White Peter Berg Charbough Ered Chance M.E. Smith A.J. Dominick ■ Joe Beta C.A. Davis A.S. Bertenshaw Edgar Moody E. Hilton Wade Ditmore Lee Kreitz Im.H. Palmer •J .R .Adams Sterling White John Bouzek J. L .. Neiwich R.O. Peone J.H. Smith L . J . Jun T . S . Adams C.L. Hobbs A . B. Congrove C.A. Decker Elmer Brown W.L. Ereeman Ross Peck J.W. Ho Howell
Sgt. Jos. Montanna
Line Chief
Charge PW-9Ds - Rockwell . : Hose Detail "
Crew Chief RF No . 1 - Rockwell Charge Oil Heating - Rockwell Charge loading crew Landing Crew’ it ii
Asst. Crew Chief RC No . 1 Oil Detail
Charge food, water, batteries Ground crew RC No. 2.
Lookout, Metro .Airport Crew PW-9Ds. Gas tank operator.
Loading Crew ii ii
Lookout & crew pW-9Ds , Me tro -Airport n ii n it it
PW-9Ds crew - Rockwell Hose Detail - Rockwell Telephone orderly - Rockwell Loading Crew Oil Crew Truck Driver
Lookout and Crew PW-9Ds Metro .Airport- Dodge driver Gas truck operator Night crew p'w-9D - Rockwell ii ii it ii
ii ii ii it
ii ii it ii
Cleaning C-l Detail Messenger at Rockwell
" 11 and guard
Telephone orderly
Asst, to Mr. Adamson, Press Relations Guard and Orderly;
Ground Crew RC No . 2.
oOo
COMMERCIAL AVIATION IN COSTA RICA
Lieut. Donald E. Duke, whose regular station is the Boston, Mass. Airport, recently arrived at France Field, Panama Canal Zone, with the Loening Amphibian cabin plane to be used in connection with the mail and -passenger service con- ducted by the Pan American Airways in Costa Rica. Immediately upon his arrival, a crew was assigned the job of uncrating and assembling the plane. The plane was assembled and tested on December 27th, and Lieut. Duke took off for San Jose on the following day.
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V-5859, A.C.
FRANCE FIELD AIRMEN PAY VISIT. TO COSTA RICA By the News Letter Correspondent
A flight from France Field, Panama Canal Zone, to San Jose, Costa Rica, was made by members of the field between the dates of December 29th and Jamary 1st.
On December 29th a flight, of 15 airplanes, consisting of three bombers, six observation type and six pursuit planes, left France Field enroute to San Jose, Costa Rica. The flight consisted of the following officers and enlisted men:
Lieut .-Colonel A .5-'. Fisher, Major R.D.. Prescott, Captains A.?. Sullivan, Amin F. Herold, Saraoel C. Skerrro, 1st Lieut s . Orin J. Bushey , Clarence H. Welch, Robert T. Cronau, Richard K. LeDrou, David R, Stinson, Rufus 3 . Davidson, Joseph?. Bailey, Harrison G. Crocker, Henry F. Sessions, Charles G» Howard, Don W. Mayhue , Robert 3. Williams, James M. Fitznaurice, diaries G. Pearcy, 2nd Licuts. John N. Jones, Frank K. Park, Staff Sergeants John Chowan ie c , Harrison Stack, Raymond Lutz,
George W. Edwards, Oliver 3. King, Sergeants Milton H. Hawkins and William B. Wright. It was planned to take Major Carlyle H, Wash, but just prior to the trip he was seized with a violent attack of rheumatism which prevented his going. This enabled Lieut. Donald F. Fritch to be a member of the flight.
The flight took off in the following order; Pursuit, Observation and Bombard- ment. The Bombardment , having sufficient gas capacity to rake the entire trip to San Jose without stopping, was directed to pass over the flying field at David where the other planes were calling for gasoline, and unless we waved them down by reason of bad weather forecast, they were authorized to proceed on the trip.
The Pursuit and Observation planes arrived at David at 8:35 a.m. , after a flight of two hours and ten minutes. Weather reports from San Jose and punt arenas were delivered on the field, and a.s these were favorable the bombardment planes were allowed to continue on their way when they passed over the field at 9:45. All planes were off again from David by 10:30 a.m. The Pursuit planes, cutting across the mountains, were the first in at San Jose, arriving there after a flight of one hour and 50 minutes from David. Immediately following them, the bombardment planes landed, and by the time they had taxied out of the way, our new observation ships , the 02-H1 s (of which we took a flight of three) were coming in to land. Following them, the DH’s landed, all ships being on the ground by 1:00 p.m. The time consumed by the observation type was four hours and ten minutes actual flying tine, and by the pursuit type three hours and thirty minutes actual flying time.
The altitude of the field and City of San Jose is about 4,000 feet. The field is surrounded by trees and high tension lines on three sides and wireless towers on the fourth side. The thin air and the many obstacles make it a rather tricky field in which to land. The planes came in safely, however, except the last DH, which struck a rough spot on the field and broke a tail skid. In going; over this plane immediately after landing, wo discovered that, in addition, there was a crack in the housing of its left cam shaft assembly, so a radiogram was im- mediately sent to the Commanding Officer, France Field, requesting that these two parts be sent up as soon as possible, suggesting the use of two -PW* s for that purpose. Early next morning we received a radiogram that these two ?Ws were on the way, piloted by Lieut s. Pardee Martin and Hugh C. Downey, By one o’clock they were on the field, and by 4:00 p.m. the DH was as good as new.
The country between David and San Jose is wild, and apparently for the most part uninhabited. Part of the time we were passing over mountain ranges as high as 6,000 feet in altitude. At other times we skirted the edges of the Pacific Ocean. A great difference was noted between the Atlantic, which we had left early in the morning, and the pacific. The Atlantic at this time of the year is very rough with heavy swells, while the Pacific was as peaceful and calm as any inland lake. Hardly a ripple could be noticed along the shore.
¥e were met at the field in Costa Rica by the U.S . Minister to Costa Rica,
Mr. Roy T. Davis; President Cleto Gonzales Viquez of Co at a Rica and his Cabinet ; and practically the entire population of the city, which is said to be around 50,000. We were then taken in charge by different members of the -president ' s official family and extended every courtesy that could be thought of. This con- tinued throughout our entire stay.
A certain amount of courtesy mail was taken up by our flight - one bag to his Brittanic Majesty's Minister to Costa Rica, and a bag to the United States Minister to Costa Rica, Mr. Davis .
On the morning of the 30th all officers were received by the United States
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Minister and later by the President of Costa Eica and his Cabinet. That same evening a dinner was given by the President to all the members of the flight at the Union Club.
Immediately after the reception by the President on the morning of the 30th, the entire party proceeded to the flying field. In the meanwhile, Lieut. Lake had arrived with the Pan-American Airways Amphibian, and had made a success- ful landing on the field. Three pursuit ships were sent up under Pilots LeLrou, Uilliams and Pearcy , who did some formation flying and other maneuvers. The Costa Eicans had never seen anything like this before , and all were highly en- thused. After about 15 minutes’ flying, the pursuit ships landed and the President and six members of the Cabinet were given rides in L3-5's. This was the President's first trip, and he was flown over his birthplace and the sur- rounding towns, getting a flight of about one hour. While this flight was in the air, Lieut. Duke with the amphibian attempted to take off. He had loaded the ship with a full supply of gasoline, all the outgoing mail and three pas- sengers. On his first attempt he was not able to get out, of the field, so he returned to the starting point, unloaded one of the passengers and some of the mail and again took off. 3y reason of the heavy load he was unable to clear the royal palm trees at the far end of the field and was consequently compelled to cut his ignition and let the plane drop, this to save life. The plane was completely wrecked, although no one was hurt.
following luncheon, we attended one of the bull-baiting affairs. This is very different from the ordinary bullfight of Spanish and Mexican custom. If is held in a large arena and the "fight11 is somewhat as follows:
Several hundred of the natives, buoyed up by holiday spirits (and in numer- ous cases other spirits) enter the ring. They wear no uniforms of any sort and carry no wjeapons . When the crowd in the arena is sufficiently large, the "bull" (an ox Width sawed-off horns and a belt of tacks around his middle to lend him . pep) is admitted, after which -a general scattering occurs. The point of the game is to see who can let the bull come closest to him and not get hurt. The bull gallops madly around the ring, knocking over an occasional unfortunate who has slightly misjudged his distance. As -a rule, however, a -path forms through the crowd as if by magic as the animal approaches.
Occasionally a particularly ambitious bull is admitted, after which a gen- eral fence climbing takes place. The fence being inadequate for everybody, the rest attempt to hide behind the few poles scattered around the arena. These, too, are insufficient, and the lines behind them are sometimes twelve to fifteen men in depth. These lines swing around the pole like the hands of a clock as the bull approaches. If the men on the end of the line are too slowr, the bull occasionally nips a few of them off as he passes. In addition to the amusement furnished by this " bull- dodging , " there are usually several little individual fights going on in different parts of the arena which are subject to immediate postponement if the "bull" comes too close. During the course of the afternoon about five or six buhls are admitted. TThen one tires out, he is retired and a fresh one brought on. The whole performance lasts about two -and- a- half hours, which pass very quickly.
One the morning of the 31st we again had some flying by the same three pursuit pilots. After this we were taken for an automobile ride to Carta go, about twelve miles away, where we called on a former president of Costa Eica. That night we were guests again of the Government at a grand ball given to see the old year out and the new year in.
All planes, except one 02-H, were off by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of Jan. 1st, and all except two pursuit planes were in David by 12:00 noon. Having sufficient gas, Lieuts. Williams and LeBrou did not stop but proceeded directly to France Field.
One 02-H, which had taken Lieut. Duke to Port Limon on the morning of his accident, landed on the beach at port Limon and taxied over a soft spot, went over on its nose, bending its propeller tips. It was found impracticable to straighten them at this place, so the flight came home without this ship, oi which Lieut. Frank K. Park was the pilot. Upon our arrival at France Field a propeller and a mechanic were taken to port Limon by a United Fruit boat . The mechanic arrived on the morning of the third, changed the propeller at once, and Lieut. Park with his 02-H was at France Field again by four o'clock that after- noon.
It is believed that this trip has done a great deal of good in the way of
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promoting friendly relations 'between Costa Rica and the United States. We were informed by a number of Americans up there that there had been a decided change, in tone within the twenty-four hours following our arrival in Costa Rica. There had never been more than two or three ships in San Jose before at one time and it appeared indeed, as the president expressed it, "a great day in the history of Costa Rica. "
Prom the point of cross-country training, the trip was a complete success. Seventeen planes made the round trip without serious difficulty. Only two offi- cers of this command had flown farther north than David, R. de P. , and, there- fore, this trip afforded an excellent opportunity for almost half of the flying personnel stationed here to acquaint themselves with the air route between David and San Jose, as well as the possibilities of landing in this new country.
0O0
LIEUT. EHT TO RECEIVE THE " CHEHEY AWARD."
Performing an act of valor and self sacrifice which the Cheney Award Board stated to be worthy of the highest commendation, 2nd Lieut. Uzal G. Ent , Air Corps, was designated to receive the Cheney Award for the year 1928. As a re- sult of this recommendation of the 3oard, which consisted of Brigadier-General Benjamin D. Poulols , Assistant Chief of the Air Corps; Major L.W. McIntosh, Executive, and Major Ira Longanecker, Chief of the Information Division, and the approval of Major-General James E. Rochet , Chief of the Air Corps, Lieut. Ent is to receive a cash award of $500, a bronze plaque with his name engraved thereon, and an engraved Certificate of Award.
The conduct of Lieut. Ent, which the Board was unanimous in characterizing as tho most outstanding and meritorious act performed by an individual eligible for consideration for the Cheney Award, was displayed by him during tho Rational Elimination Balloon Race which started from Bettis Pield, Pittsburgh, Pa., on May 30, 1928. As ■ aide to Lieut. Paul Evert, Air Corps, pilot of the Air Corps entry in the Race, Lieut. Ent evidenced courage, daring and heroism which re- flected great credit not only upon himself but upon the Army of the United States.
Shortly following the start of the Race, and while at an approximate alti- tude of 1200 feet over Youngwood, Pa. , a severe electrical storm was encounter- ed by the aeronauts. The balloon was either struck by lightning or received a heavy charge of electricity, as a result of which Lieut. Evert was instantly killed, the balloon set on fire and Lieut. Ent shocked to such an extent that his left leg and right arm were momentarily paralyzed. After he managed to struggle to his feet, he endeavored to revive his companion, but his efforts proved ineffective. He felt the pulse of the unconscious airman and thought at the time that he was alive. Meanwhile the burning balloon was descending at an alarming rate of speed with the likelihood of exploding at any moment.
Had he considered Ms personal safety alone, Lieut. Ent could have jumped from the balloon and landed safely with his parachute but, relieved of his weight, the balloon would have ascended and, after burning, would have had a dead fall of several thousand feet, destroy5-ng whatever spark of life might have remained in Lieut. Evert's body. Hot being certain of Lieut. Evert's condition, however, Lieut. Ent risked death when he chose to remain with the balloon. By throwing out of the balloon basket all the available ballast, he succeeded in checking its rapid descent and landed on the bank of a stream with but little jar. When the balloon was about 15 feet off the ground, tho gas bag had com- pletely burned away from the basket. The body of Liout. Evert was recovered and first aid treatment immediately rendered but, unfortunately, to no avail.
Lieut . Ent is the second member of the Air Corps to receive the Cheney Award, the first one being presented to Master Sergeant Harry Chapman last year for conspicuous bravery in the Airship ROMA disaster which occurred in February, 1921.
The Cheney Award was established in memory of 1st Lieutenant William H. Cheney, Mr Corps , who was killed in an air collision at Foggia, Italy, January 20, 1918. The donors of this award are Mrs . Mary L.C. Schofield, Peterboro ,H.E. and Mrs. Ruth Cheney Streeter, of Morristown, H.J., the mother and sister of th< deceased officer. Jointly they have set aside a trust fund of $15,000, the interest accruing therefrom to be used to make up the award, which is to be bestowed annually by the Chief of the Air Corps for an act of valor or of ex- treme fortitude or self sacrifice in a humanitarian interest, not necessarily o"
- 30 - V-5859, A.C .
a military nature, which shall have been nerformed in connection with aircraft. Those eligible to receive it are officers of the Air Corps and the Air Reserve as well as enlisted men of the Air Corps and Reserve, and the widow or next of kin in the event of a posthumous award.
A die of suitable design has been made, and each year the award is made a brmze plaque is struck off, the name of the recipient engraved thereon, and the memento presented to him together with an engraved Certificate of Award and a sum of money. Although the income from the trust fund exceeds $500 annually, the donors decided to limit the cash award to. that sum in the case of a single individual and to place the balance in a sinking fund to be used at such time as two or more individuals are recommended jointly for the award.
Lieut. Ent was born at North Underland, Pa. , March 3, 1900. Attending the Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pa., he left School to enlist in the Aviation Section, Signal Corps, during the war. He served as a Private,
Corporal and Sergeant in the lighter- than-air branch of the Air Corps until he received appointment as a cadet at the United States Military Academy.
Graduating from the Military Academy in 1924, he expressed preference for service in the Air Corps. He graduated from the Balloon and Airship School, Scott Eield, 111., and was rated Walloon Observer and Airship Pilot on June 26, 1926. In 1925 he pursued the line and staff course at the Chemical Warfare School. He was on duty at Scott Eield, 111., as personnel Adjutant until September, 1926, when he was transferred to Langley Eield, Va. Lieut. Ent re- cently graduated as Special- Observer from the Advanced Flying School, Kelly Eield, Texas. He is still on duty at Langley Eield, Va.
His heroic conduct in the Balloon Race resulted in his being recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was recently awarded to him.
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WAR DEPARTMENT ORDERS AFFECTING AIR CORPS OFFICERS
CHANGES OF STATION - Colonel Theodore Baldwin, Jr., from Hqrs. 2nd Corps Area, Governors Island, N.Y. to Hqrs. 4th. Corps Area, Atlanta., Ga. , June 30,'29.
Capt . Aubrey I. Eagle relieved from detail with Organized Reserves, 9th Corps Area, and to duty with Air Corps Detachment, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
2nd Lieut. John P. Kirkendall , Scott Field, to Hawaii, sailing from New York about March 8, 1929.
Captain Floyd N. Shumaker, Crissy Field; 1st Lieuts. Thomas M. Lowe, Brooks Field; Walter T. Meyer, Kelly Field; Auby C. Strickland, Rockwell Field; 2nd Lieut. Richard H. Dean, Kelly Field, to Hawaiian Dept. , sailing about April 25.
1st Lieut. Harold L. George, Office Chief of Air Corps, to duty in Hawaiian Department, sailing from New York about March 8, 1929.
Captain Wm. 0. Butler, Scott Field; 2nd Lieut. George H. Steel, Phillips Field, Md. , to duty in Philippines, sailing from New York about May 3, 1929.
1st Lieut. Leslie F. Young, Langley Field; 2nd Lieut. Rowland Kieburtz, Scott Field, to Hawaiian Department, sailing from New York about April 2,1929.
Upon completion of tour of duty in Hawaiian Department, Captain Lotha A. Smith and 1st Lieut. Joseph T. Morris to proceed to Selfridge Field, Mich.; 1st Lieut. Robert J. Brown to Langley Field; 1st Lieut. Charles D. McAllister to Wright Field; 1st Lieut. George W. Polk, Jr. to Brooks Field; 1st Lieut. Leon E Sharon and 2nd Lieut. Gilbert L. Tefft to March Field; 2nd Lieut. Lee Q,. Wasser to Rockwell Field.
Upon completion of tour of duty in Panama 1st Lieut. Orin J. Bushey to proceed to Scott Field, 111. for duty.
Upon completion of tour of duty in the Philippines, Captain George L. Usher to proceed to Langley Field, Va. ; 1st Lieut. George \T. Goddard to Wright Field, Dayton, 0. : 1st Lieut. Charles 3. deShields, 88th Observation Squadron, Post Field, Fort Sill, Okla. to Phillips Field, Aberdeen proving Grounds, Md.
Major Martin F. Scanlon, upon completion present course of instruction at Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, to London, Eng., for duoy as Assistant Military Attache for Air.
1st Lieut. Louis N. Eller , relieved from detail as instructor National Guard, Hartford, Conn., to Mitchel Field for duty until about June 6, 1929, when he will sail for Panama Canal Zone for duty.
1st Lieut. Wm. C. Farnurn, 2nd Div. , Fort Sam Houston, Texas, to Minneapolis, Minn., for duty with Organized Reserves, 7th Corps Area, about June 1, 1929.
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Major Jenncr Y. Chi sum, Fr^grfield . Air- Depot » to Washington, D.C., for duty in Office Chief of Air Corps .
Upon completion of present' course of instruction at Ecole de Guerre-, Paris, Prance, Major Earl L. ITaiden to proceed to Washington, D.C. , for duty as Instructor at Army War College.
1st Lieut. Lyman P. Whitten to March Field, Calif., upon completion of tour of duty in Hawaii.
1st Lieut. Harrison G. Crocker to Wright Field, Dayton, 0., upon completion of tour of duty in panama. ^
1st Lieut . James A. Woodruff to Wright Field, 0., upon completion of tour of duty in Philippines.
1st Lieut . Harold D. Smith, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to Panama Canal Department, sailing from San Francisco about May 18.
1st Lieut. Charles Douglas, 12th Ohs. Squadron, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, to Philippines, sailing from San Francisco about May 25, 1929.
1st Lieut. Carl W. Pyle, March Field, Calif., to Hawaiian Department, sail- ing from San Francisco about May 24, 1S29.
RELIEVED FROM DETAIL TO AIR CORPS - 2nd Lieut. Me r row E. Sorley, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, to 29th Engineers at that station.
2nd Lieut. Lewis S . Kirkpatrick to 25th Infantry , Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
2nd Lieut. Thomas J. Moran, Ft. Sam Houston, Tex. to 29th Infantry, Fort Denning, Ga.
2nd Lieut. Robert W. Stika, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, to 34th Infantry at Fort Eustis , Va.
DETAILED TO THE AIR CORPS - 2nd Lieut. David S. Loughborough, Infantry, to Brooks Field, Texas, March 1, 1929, for training.
PROMOTIONS - Major Archie W. Barry to Lieut .-Colonel , to rank from 1-7-29
1st Lieut. Joseph L. Stromme to Captain, to rank from December 21, 1928.
1st Lieut. Rudolph W. Propst to Caotain, to rank from- January 9, 1929.
2nd Lieut. Albert F. Glonn to 1st Lieut., rank from December 13, 1928.
2nd Lieut. Earle E. partridge to 1st Lieut., rank from December 15, 1928.
TRANSFERS - 2nd Lieut . Walter S. Lee, Infantry, to Air Corps, December 26, 1928, with rank from June 30, 1926.
ASSIGNMENTS - 1st Lieut. Reuben 0. Moffat, in addition to other duties, to duty with Department of Commerce for one' year in connection with work of promot- ing civil aviation.
2nd Lieut. James V. Thompson, Infantry, detailed to Air Corps, and to pro- ceed to Brooks Field, Texas,' for duty as student, Primary Flying School, 3-1-29.
RESIGNATION - 1st Lieut. Floyd Albert Lundell , January 14, 1929.
— oOo—
HAZY FLYING CONDITIONS IN VICINITY OF MITCHSL FIELD
Pilots contemplating flights to Mitchel Field, L . I . , New York, during the winter months should remember that when the weather is universally excellent throughout these parts, there usually settles down over Long Island a dense haze toward early evening. 'This haze is often thickest around Ro ckaway , where it merges with the smoke from industrial plants in Brooklyn^ but once past that place the haze affords fair vertical visibility, even through the horizontal visibility is less than a half mile.
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NEWSPAPER COMMENT ON THE FJELOW BILL
The Washington POST on Sunday , January 27th, published the following edi- torial:
"According to the magazine Aviation, Capt . Lowell Smith, United States Army Air Corps, plans to obtain a year’s leave of absence during which he will manage an interisland airline in Hawaii. If the project Is successful , it is intimated that Capt. Smith may resign to devote his entire attention to commercial aviation.
Capt. Smith is one of the famous service aviators. In 1924 he led the round-the-world flight and he is the only member of its personnel still In the service. One by one the round-the-world fliers resigned their commissions to accept employment with commercial aviation companies, in each case because of
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dissatisfaction with the opportunities for advancement under the present Army promotion system.
The Furlow hill, designed to improve the promotion situation in the Air Corps hy placing flying officers on a senarate promotion list, and authorizing promotion in each instance after specified years of service, has passed the House. The Senate may see in Capt. Smith’s reported plan to resign the reasons underlying the drafting of the hill. Army aviators should not he restricted to the general promotion li&i. Unlike other branches of the service, the Air Corps, so far as fatalities are concerned, stands in the position of being, con- tinually at war, and its officers should he accorded special treatment.
Other measures having to do with the difficult subject of Army promotions are before Congress, hut the Fur low hill is the only one to hear general endorsement."
0O0
THE FLIGHT TUTOH hy A.M. Jacons
It is not an easy thing for most of us to recall the days when we were learning to spell "dog" and "cat," hut the memory of the primer which seemed then the acme of all learning often remains strangely familiar. Ho doubt the "primer plane," now nearing completion in the Materiel Division Laboratories, will some day hold the same associations in the minds of fliers of the future. Heed for a further aid than now exists in the preliminary training of flight, a step between the ground tests and the first handling of the controls in the air, has long been felt in training centers, and the primer plane has been de- signed to fill this need.
This plane consists of a small fuselage body with rudder, elevator, and .aileron control surfaces. These surfaces are fully movable under the operation of standard airplane controls installed in the fuselage body, and the plane it- self is sent "flying" in the slipstream of a tractor propeller driven by a 15 horsepower electric motor, mounted forward in the fuselage of the primer plane as is the engine in the actual airplane.
The plane itself is mounted in a double tripod frame twenty feet high. The height of the car gives a sense of disassociation with the ground and a certain horizon perspective . While the student becomes familiar with the features of flying that at first are amt to be confusing - the blast of air, the racket of the propeller, the rocking, tipwing motions of flight - he is also becoming usee1 to the response of actual flying controls. Feet on the rudder bar, control stick in hand, the student can cause the primer plane to assume any position an airplane could take in flight and can get the "feel" of the controls and the different movements of the plane with the assurance of safety while he is learning. An instrument board equipped with compass, clock, tachometer, air speed indicator, inclinometer, bank and turn indicator, in short, the standard flight instruments, enables him to form the habit of automatic reference to the board in all attitudes of flight.
From the instructor's point of view also, the primer plane will be extreme- ly helpful. He will be able to observe closely the student's reactions, his natural adaptability to flying. If he notes some fault in ma mpulation, or wishes to demonstrate a point, he may stop the plane at any time for directions or explanations.
3y placing a hood over the student's head, shutting off the horizon, sky and ground, blind flying may be taught by having the student recover from various attitudes back to normal by instrument reference only.
A final advantage of the primer plane will be its low cost of construction in comparison with other forms of equ.ilabra.tor. This will make it possible for national Guard, * Air Corps Deserve, and other such organizations to obtain them,, no doubt, and to give their fliers the benefit of this preliminary instruction.
0O0
An informal dinner was tendered Major Carl W. Spatz and other members of the crew of the Army plane Question Mark upon its arrival Jan. 22nd at Shreveport, La., from Midland, Texas. The Chamber of Commerce was host at the dinner, to which the public generally was invited as a special courtesy to the airplane crew.
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Y-5859 , A. C .
LANGLEY FIELD LOSES TWO YOUNG OFFICERS ■ By the News Letter Correspondent
The tragedy that cost the lives of two of our new officers and threw gloom over the entire 2nd Bombardment Group occurred on the morning of January 5th. Second Lieutenant Harry James Osterman, as pilot, and Second Lieutenant Bean Vance Johnston, as observer, both reserve officers, took off in a DK-4M-2 (Supercharger) at 9:30 a.m. for Bolling Field. The weather was quite foggy.
Two hours later a radio message was received from Bolling Field requesting in- formation on these two officers. Shortly after this message a telegram came in from Eeathsville, Va. , stating that a a lane had crashed and burned and both oc- cupants were dead. The field was very apprehensive and immediately sent offi- cers to investigate. Shortly thereafter they sent back the sad information that Lieuts. Osterman and Johnson were the ones who had crashed and that their bodies were burned beyond recognition.
It seems that Lieuts. Osterman and Johnson were off their course and tempo- rarily lost, and so decided to find a field, land, and ascertain their where- abouts . They circled low over one field and waved to a farmer, then proceeded
to another and were circling it at about 150 feet, when evidently they stalled
and fell off into a start cf a spin. They crashed nose first and burst into
flames instantly. When found, both were in their cockpits.
Those two officers were high type high type young men and had gained the respect and admiration of the whole Group in the short period they were here. A toast to them - "They died with their chutes on in line of their devoted duty." Words cannot express the deep regret felt by the whole Group, for the loss of two such fine young officers as Lieuts. Osterman and Johnston.
Lieut. Bean Vance Johnston, Air Reserve, was born December. 13, 1902. He graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1925 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. Enlisting as a Flying Cadet on October 18, 1927, he entered the Primary Flying School at Brooks Field with a spirit and determination such as not many men possess. Ilis classmates say that the harder the job, the more energy and determination Lieut. Johnson exerted to make it a success. His dauntless courage and cheerfulness won him the respect and sincere friendship of all his classmates and instructors. Graduating from Brooks Field in June, 1928, he continued his training at the Advanced Flying School, Kelly Field, where he made many mere close friends. Ho intended making the Army his career, so upon graduation from Kelly Field he entered upon a tour of active duty, ex- pecting to take the examination for a commission in the Regular Army at the first opportunity. The day he graduated he was married to a San Antonio girl, and after a honeymoon of two weeks he reported at Langley Field, Va. , with his young bride. Assigned to the 49th Bombardment Squadron, Li out . Johnston imme- diately took great interest in his work. The young couple were very happy and ms.de many new friends in a short time. Mrs. Johnston, broken-hearted, left for San Antonio two days after her husband’s death, taking his remains back to her home where he was buried. Lieut. Walter R. Agee, a classmate of Lieut. Johnston's, escorted the body to San Antonio.
Lieut. Harry James Osterman, Air Reserve, was born on November 29, 1903, at McKeesport, Pa. Leaving the University of Pittsburgh after his second year, he went to Florida and was actively engaged in the real estate business in St. Petersburg. Later he was manager of the North and South Carolina territory of the Kalamazoo Looseleaf Binder Oorp. , with offices in Charlotte, N.C. While he was working in this capacity he took the examination for appointment as a flying cadet, passed, and entered the primary Flying School at Brooks Field in October, 1927. A year later he graduated from the Advanced Flying School at Kelly Field. He was very popular and well liked by all his classmates, being cheerful and optimistic during those herd months of training. Upon graduating, he had intended entering commercial aviation, but changed his plans at the last moment and accepted active duty as a Reserve Officer becai?se of the valuable training and experience to be gained with a tactical organization. He joined the Group on November 14th and was assigned to the 49th Bombardment Squadron. Despite the short time he was with us, he made many friends and was well liked and respected by all who came in contact with him. A clean living man and 9 friend .to all mankind was Lieut. Osterman. The whole Service as well as the 2nd Bombardment Group regret the loss of such a mar, and his many friends mourn his passing from this world. Lieut. Osterman was unmarried. His remains
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wore taken to the home of his mother at McKeesport, Pa., "by Lieut. Cassius H. Thomas .
A very impressive memorial service was held at the Post Chapel for Lieuts. Osterman and Johnston, Lieut .-Colonel W.K. Boyd, the Chaplain, officiating.
o0o-~ ~
DEPARTMENT COMMANDER PLEASED WITH INSPECTION OP FRANCE FIELD
Major-General Malin Craig recently made his annual tactical inspection of Prance Field, Panama Canal Zone , and from all indications he seemed to he very veil pleased with the personnel and equipment thereat. The following letter of commendation was received hy the Commanding Officer concerning this inspection:
"Subject: Commendation as a result of Annual Inspection.
To: Lt. Col. A.G. Fisher, A.C., Commanding Officer, Prance Field, C.Z.
1. I desire to communicate to you, and through you to the members of your command, an expression of my commendation of the high standards of discipline, morale and training that prevail in your Post, as disclosed by my inspection of December 6, 1928.
2. Hie general police and sanitation of the post are most creditable; the condition of your storerooms, in the orderly arrangements of property, cleanli- ness, and efficient methods employed for the care and protection of supplies, compares most favorably with that of any which has come under my observation, add the condition of the barracks and messes, including the preparation of food, reflects great credit upon your organization commanders. This could only have been accomplished by wise planning and energy on your part, and intelligent and efficient execution by your subordinates.
3. I find it is difficult to select particular individuals for special mention, but without in any way detracting from the credit due to others, I desire to -call particular attention to the superior accomplishment of Captain Arthur F. Simonin, as regards his organization barracks and mess, and of 1st Lieut. Don L. Hutchins on his administration of the Assembly and Repair Section of the Panama Air Depot.
4. A copy of this letter will be filed by these headquarters with your next efficiency renort. An extract copy of this letter should be furnished by you to Captain Arthur E. Simonin and 1st Lieut. Don L. Hutchins, for enclosure with their next Efficiency Reports.
MALM CRAIG,
Major General, U.S. Army,
Commanding. "
oOo
C-2 TRANSPORT PLANE FERRIED TO PANAMA
The tri-motored Fokker Transport successfully completed its long journey from Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, by arrival at France Field, Panama, at 3:55 p.m. January 16th. The big plane, which was piloted by Major Paul T. Bock, 1st Lts. George C. McDonald and Dwight J. Canfield, Air Corps, left Wright Field on the morning of January 9th. A heavy fog and rain necessitated a forced landing at Louisville, and a continuation of this weather compelled the airmen to remain az that place for several days before they were able to resume their journey. The flight from Louisville to Panama was accomplished without incident, stops being made at Miami, Florida; Havana, Cuba, and Managua, Nicaragua.
This long flight marked the first attempt of the Army Air Corps to ferry an aimlane from the United States to a foreign possession. The three pilots are on duty at France Field. The two junior officers proceeded from their home sta- tion to Dayton via boat and rail, secured the transport plane assigned to Finance Field, and were joined on their aerial voyage by Major Bock, who was north cn leave of absence. The flight involved a distance of approximately 2900 mi-.es.
No report has yet been received of the actual flying time. The successful ter- mination of this unusual ferrying mission by the Air Corps may pave the way ±or similar projects in the future. The transport plane is the same type as thao which was used in the non-stop flight from Oakland, Calif. , to Honolulu, Hawaii, in May, 1927, by Lieuts. Maitland and Kegenberger, and in the recent successful refueling flight of over 150 hours.
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V-5859 , A, C •
STATE CE OKLAHOMA HONORS "QUESTION MARK" PILOT
The War Department 'has been informed that the Chamber of Commerce of the State of Oklahoma memoralized the Pause of Representatives and the Senate of the State of Oklahoma to pass a joint resolution "honoring and commending Ca.pt. Ira C. Eaker, Air Corps, United States Army,- and his intrepidity and ability evidenced a.s chief pilot of the United States Army Endurance Plight ’QUESTION PARK'. The resolution continues "NOW, therefore, be it resolved by the Joint Assembly of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that the State of Oklahoma extend to and does hereby transmit its heartfelt congratulations', appreciation and best wishes, to Captain Ira C. Eaker for the distinguished service he has rendered to the Army and to aviation, and the honors he has brought to himself, his Alma Mater and the State of Oklahoma,"
In addition to this resolution, the Chamber of Commerce of the State of Oklahoma has entrusted into its hands the designing of and awarding to Captain
Eaker of the Soartan Distinguished Service Medal which is an annual award for
the Oklahoman or Oklahomans who distinguish themselves from a national stand- point in aviation. Captain Eaker has been informed that the Senate end the
House are preparing to receive him. jointly at Oklahoma City at Such time as he
conveniently can visit the city.
Captain Eaker was appointed in the Army from Oklahoma, is a citizen of Durant, Oklahoma, and an alumnus of the Southeastern State Teachers’ College of that State .
0O0
LIEUT. DOOLITTLE FLIES THROUC-H SNOWSTORM
Lieut'. "Jimmy" Doolittle made his appearance in the Gugenheim Fund Vought Corsair the other afternoon at Mitchel Field, New York, in a blinding snowstorm, having come in from Buffalo through snowstorms most of the way. The News Letter Correspondent states that James hit his destination rivht on the head, as is usual with this sterling pilot .
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NET CADETS APPOINTED FOR MARCH CLASS
Two new classes of flying cadets will start training on March 1st next at the Primary Flying Schools of the Array Air Corps at Brooks Field, San Antonio, Texas, and March Field, Riverside, Calif,
Of the 195 designated for the course, 90 are scheduled for assignment at Brooks Field and 105 at March Field. Of the selected men, 16 are non-commis- sioned officers and privates of the Regular Army, 74 are officers or enlisted men of the National Guard, and the remaining 105 come from civil life. Two non- commissioned officers and 11 privates of the men designated front the Regular Army are now members of the Air Corps while two privates belong to the Field Artillery and one to the Signal Corps. Approximately 20% of the 74 Cadets ap- pointed from the National Guard are college graduates, while all of the 105 men designated from civil life are college graduates.
Due to the limited accommodations now available at the two Primary Flying Schools, it was necessary for. the Air Corps to adopt a policy with respect to the appointment of Flying Cadets, whereby preference is. given, first, to enlist- ed men of the Air Corps, Regular Army; second, to other enlisted men of the Reg- ular Army; third, to officers and enlisted men of the National Guard assigned to Air Corps units; fourth, to other officers and enlisted men of the National Guard; fifth, to graduates of Air Corps Reserve Officers' Training Camps;sixth, to college graduates of Reserve Officers' Training Corps Units of other branches of the Army; seventh, to students of Air Corps Reserve Officers' Training Corps units who have completed their junior year; eighth, to graduates of recognized colleges and universities; ninth, to students in good standing of recognized universities who have completed their sophomore year; tenth, 'all' others.
In toe matter of the number of Flying Cadets appointed from the various States, California leads with 17, the States of Texas and Washington following with 15 and 12, respectively. Seattle, Washington, and Washington, D .C . are each sending five Cadets from civil life to the Primary Schools , those from the western State going to March-Field and those from the Capital City to Brooks
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Field.
Air Corps enlisted men ordered to proceed to Brooks Field and report to the Commandant of the Primary Flying School not later than February 28th next are
Staff Sergeant Roy F. Hamblin, 52& School Squadron, Brooks Field, Texas.
Staff Sergeant James E. Kunton, 21st Airship Group, Scott Field, 111.
Private Emory D. Campbell, _ 99th Observation Squadron, Mitchel Field, N.Y.
Private Garrett A. Hayes, Air Corps Detachment, Bolling Field, D.C.
Private John T. Foster, Air Corps Tactical School Det. , Langley Field, Va.
Private Harold S. Show alter, 19th Airship Company, Langley Field, Va.
Private Curtis E. Smith, Jr., 22nd Observation Sqdn. , Maxwell Field, Ala.
Private Albert L. Dillon, Air Corps Technical School Det. , Gnanute Field.
Private George V. Frieburger, 57th Service SqU£i&s.*on, Selfridge Field, Mich.
Private Clyde R. Crave r , 11th School Group, Brooks Field, Texas.
private George P. Hammond, 62nd Service Squadron, Brooks Field, Texas.
Private George L. Houle, 46th School Squadron, Brooks Field, Texas.
The only enlisted man outside of the Air Corps to go to Brooks Field is Private Fannill Rucker, Jr., Battery B, 16th Field Artillery, Fort Myer , Va,
Enlisted men who will, attend as students at the Primary Flying School at March Field, commencing March 1st next, are
Private Corbitt Bishop, 7th Bombardment Group Kqrs., Rockwell Field, Calif.
Private Tracy H. Dorsett , 27th Signal Service Company, Seattle, Wash.
private Alfred C. Stiles, 10th Field-Artillery, Fort Lewis, Washington.
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HEW TYPES OF AIRPLANES TO BE TESTED AT WRIGHT FIELD
The Fokker Super Universal Monoplane, powered by a Pratt-Whitney "Wasp" engine, was recently flown to Wright Field for examination and performance tests to determine its suitability for photographic purposes. The airplane is now being inspected by the various engineering branches under the Experimental •Engineering Section preparatory to performance' tests.
A new Consolidated "Courier" airplane, equipped with a Wright "Whirlwind" engine and n ew type venturi cowling, recently arrived at the Materiel Division for examination and tests. The airplane is now undergoing divisional inspec- tion, upon completion of which performance tests will be conducted.
oOo
RESERVE OFFICERS REQUIRED TO PRESENT IDENTIFICATION PAPERS
It appears that A.ir Corps Reserve officers have visited Army flying fields for the purpose of making flights and v/ere denied permission to do so because they did not possess the necessary identification papers, paragraph 51, Army Regulations 95-15, provides:
"51. IDENTIFICATION OF OFFICERS APPLYING FOR FLIGHTS.- Reserve officers on an inactive status who make application for participation in aerial flights in Army aircraft will be required to establish their identity with the follow- ing documentary evidence;
a. Official identification card.
b. Certificate showing that the applicant is a member of the Air Corps Reserve in good standing.
c. Statement showing his aeronautical rating.
d. pilot book properly posted and attested to date showing the amount of flying done by the officer for at least the preceding three' months.
e. Application for the documents mentioned in a, b, c, and d above will be made by officers to their corps area commander, who will supply the documents
if available, or will take the necessary action to have them furnished to the applicant. oOo
STATUS OF THE 99th OBSERVATION SQUADRON
The new arrival among the Air Corps units at Mitchel Field, N.Y. , the 99th Observation Squadron, is now going full blast under the leadership of Captain Francis M. Brady. Several officers have already been assigned to the new organ- ization, among them being 1st Lieut. Paul H. Prentiss, and several of the newrly arrived 2nd Lieutenants from Kelly Field. The organization is quartered in the old barracks of the 61st Service Squadron, vacated by the latter outfit when they moved into their new brick quarters.
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V-5859 , A. C .
NEWSPAPER EDITORIAL COMMENT ON ENDURANCE ELIGTfp
The recent achievement of the. Army Air Corps in smashing all endurance records for both he - > v i e r -t ban -a i r and lighter-than~air craft through the. re- fueling flight of the trl-asotorpd Eokker Transport "Question Mark", has occa- sioned considerable editorial comment by the Press of the country. Most of .these editorials vision the rapid rise of commercial aviation in the near future and touch on the possibility of o non-stop world flight through the ■ refueling process .
The New York TIMES states that;
"The new year has begun with an achievement in aviation that tempts one to predict a year of prodigies in 1929. The "Question Mark" has been answered with a chorus of plaudits and forecasts by experts, when the name of that airplane is mentioned, everybody will recall the exploit of the five Army of- ficers who stayed up in the air for six and a quarter days and traveled more than 11,000 miles. The United States has once more shown the way. Our Army men have often made records in the air for skill and endurance . What does not aviation owe to them?"
Pointing out that America now has achieved the greatest air victory in the history of aviation, the Cincinnati ENQUIRER asserts that:
"The wonderful performance of the Army monoplane Question Mark has won the interest not only of the roan in the street but that of the world of science in an unusual degree. New aerial problems have keen demonstrated and solved; every world record has teen shattered; the endurance of men and mechanism takes on extended limitations. The flight and feats of the Question Mark open up strange vistas of imaginative speculation. It now becomes a 'question mark' as to what possibilities in heavier -than -air navigation remain to defy the genius, courage and skill of men."
The New York EVENING- POST states that a new chapter in the history of aviation has been made by the endurance flight and that no more convincing proof of the reliability of airplane engines coulji be offered than the spectacle of this plane flying on hour after hour. It sees no .justification, however, for comparing the record of the Question Mark with those of heavier-than-air or lighter -than -air machines which have not been refueled and remarks that' when airplanes regularly cross the ocean or circle the globe they will have to do so under their own power and. on the fuel with which they set out. In conclusion, it says;
"We believe that this day will arrive. .The flight of the Question Mark has brought that day nearer, not because it has stayed in the air longer than has any other plane but because it has demonstrated that airplane motors may be made so thoroughly reliable that planes can fly for an almost indefinite time once they are built to carry the fuel necessary to sustain such flights."
Asserting that the flight developed into a comparative test of the en- durance of the men and the endurance of the machine, with the men coming down with the laurels of victory, the Cleveland PLAIN" 'DEALER states tnat the five men of the Question Mark merit all the congratulations they are receiving.
"Their achievement was more important than a mere stunt. It has been a great benefit to commercial aviation, a greater practical benefit than the picturesque and risky adventures of the ocean flyers."
"The flight was a wonderful achievement for the human organism", says the Chicago NEWS, and after speculating on the future possibilities for transcon- tinental and transoceanic flights, concludes with the statement:
"But no new triumph for man or machine in the art of aviation causes much astonishment among the experts who realize how great are the yet undiscovered possibilities of mechanical flying."
According to the Buffalo EXPRESS:
"When airplane motors run continuously for nearly seven days under all conditions of flight one is forced to realize that inventors and engineers have given the airplane an amazing degree of airworthiness . Before long the airman's dream of a non-stop flight around the world may become a. reality."
The Washington STAR considers the flight of the Question Mark as an impe- tus to a project for a non-stop trip around the world.
The Omaha BEE , after pointing out that a remarkable feature of the per- formance is that it was the machine . that cracked and not the men goes on to say that several things have been determined by the experiment. One is the
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practical success of refueling airplanes while in flight. This had been done before but never on the scale here proposed. What further and greater flights this makes possible is beyond. con juncture , Tor immediate application it will make non-stop transcontinental flights comparatively simple. If food and fuel can be taken on .while flying, mail and freight may be loaded and discharged also. The possibilities in this way may be greatly extended.
Predicting that the brilliant exploit will have the sure effect of deepen- ing popular confidence in the element of safety in air travel, and particularly in the constantly increasing efficiency and reliability of airplane mechanism, the Syracuse HERALD states that;
"This record breaking trial of the Arqy airplane must be viewed as a tre- mendous advertisement of the utility of air transportation, not alone for the service of passengers who are ready to ’take the risk, but in a much larger measure for the rapid carriage of light and valuable merchandise."
The OHIO STATE JOURNAL states that;
"The demonstrated ability of a crew of five men to keep a plane in the air for that long period of time is valuable, and the time test of the motors is of the highest mechanical importance. * * As the test affected man and ma- chine, the endurance trial brought rich results, providing valuable informa- tion in a field where only a few tests had been made and where additional know- ledge was needed for the future. It is to the credit of the Army flyers that they planned the endurance test and carried it to a successful conclusion.
They had the vision to see, the ability to plan, the courage to undertake and the skill to accomplish. They have served the nation well and have won world credit for their branch of the service . * * * Thus far man has constructed fine motors, but they haye their limitations, and the results at Los Angeles have indicated about where that limit is to be found . But the limit of the flyers' courage and skill remains to be determined."
In the opinion of the Albany EVENING NEWS, while the flight may have no marked immediate benefit, it does show the further possibilities of aviation and it gives more and more confidence in flying.
"The feat of Major Spatz and his four companions was not a ' stunt ' , "says the Detroit TREE PRESS, and it goes on to say;
"The engines with which their plane was equipped were the same make as those which took Colonel Lindbergh and other American flyers across the Atlan- tic; and one of the purposes of this test was to discover just how long they would function. Other purposes concerned the practicability of refueling planes in the a.ir and the reaction of the personnel to prolonged exposure amon
the clouds. Valuable facts have been learned from the flight which can be
put to good use in both military and civil aviation."
The Indianapolis 3TAR. observes that;
"The readiness with which the human, mechanism adapts itself to conditions has been deomon stated by the crew of the Question Mark. The motors had roared steadily more than six days and the flyers had taken their rest to the accom- pany men t of that terrific din."
The comment of the Richmond NEWS -LEADER is along the same line, agreeing
that ;
"A man who has to listen for days to the unbroken roar of airplane motors
is entitled to all the distinction he gets by breaking a record."
Declaring that the Army and its Fokker monoplane have registered a per- formance that five years ago would have seemed a miracle, the Kansas City STAR asserts that the -
"Question Mark has demonstrated two things - the uncanny mechanical per- fection of the modern aviation engine and the accuracy of control of planes in the air that made the repeated refuelings possible. Consider the ingenuity and precision embodied in motors, that can run at high speed for a week without stopoing. Consider, too, the skill of the pilots and the reliability of con- trols that permit one plane to fly for minutes at a time immediately over an- other plane with sueed so delicately adjusted that a gasoline flowline is not disturbed. Now we may look forward to the day when an airplane may circle the globe without stopping - although such a performance would be rather in the nature of a stunt than of practical value. The real importance of the voyage of the Question Mark, for the present at least, must be in demonstrating in spectacular fashion the advance toward absolute reliability of the modern air- plane and the possibility of speeding up long distance flights under heavy loads through refueling while in the air."
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V-5859.A.C.
"What seems to interest aeronautical men especially", observes the Kalamazoo GAZETTE,
* "Is the fact that the Question Mark was refueled 37 times during the
long grind. Not only gasoline, but oil, food and all manner of supplies were carried up to the roaring monoplane and transferred without the slightest mishap . "
Believing that the 150-hour flight of the Question Mark, viewed from any angle, ranks as one of the greatest achievements in aviation history, the Philadelphia PUBLIC LEDGER points out that:
"The outstanding feature of this achievement is, of course, its demon- stration that refueling and the transfer of supplies to an airplane from an- other craft are practicable while both are flying under virtually every con- dition that aviation encouters. Scarcely less significant is its proof that human endurance is greater than that of motors. The results of its flight and of subsequent examinations of equipment should lead to the elimination of motor weaknesses which forced the Question Mark down, and thus made still greater records possible. Aviation in ,,/imerica is greatly indebted to the Army flyers, whose other notable achievements, including the Round -the -World Plight, the Hawaiian, South American and Dawn to Dusk Plights and the Model Airway from which the Air Mail developed. The addition to this list of the remarkable performance of the Question Mark and its crew of five marks another great con- tribution which not only promises to benefit aviation as an industry but should increase public interest and confidence in aeronautics."
The Lexington LEADER contends that one of the spectacular features of the flight, aside from the refueling, was the work of the mechanics who made all repairs in flight, who changed spark plugs, stopped the propeller of one of the motors and repaired it, and have gone about their tasks in a routine man- ner and with as much indifference as though under the roof of a garage.
The CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR recalls the records made by the early air- plane less than 25 years ago, cites several present day records and winds up by saying:
"Just think and marvel."
"Aviation today is making its debut in the world as an arm of commerce, as a new and faster means of transported ion . The successful accomplishment of record undertakings such as that of the Question Mark serves the valuable purpose of bringing forcefully to public attention the remarkable state of perfection of the modern airplane and its engine; for who would net be willing bo travel in a vehicle of the proved reliability of the three engined Army Air Transport? * * * Henry Ford recently said that what aviation needs most today is motors. Thus, remarkable as was the performance of the Question Mark, before we can look for great reductions in the cost of flying and the fares charged for air transportation, there will have to be better motors still.
Then will aviation compete more closely with the railroad and the steamship."
The Montgomery ADVERTISER believes that:
"In time it is not unlikely that it will be a common practice to refuel f lanes in flight on commercial lines."
Recognizing the superiority of the human element, the Chattanooga TIMES asserts that:
"Machinery has been driven to its limits. Friction, strain, vibration and the heat of exploding gas had done their work. The flight was over, with man still tthe master of the thing he had created. But what a record has been achieved'. And what vistas of imaginative speculation the achievement opens
up r. "
The Indianapolis NEWS states that the Air Corps completed an experiment which adds much to its reputation as a pioneer in extending the field of air- plane usefulness and that it has brought new possibilities to military and commercial aviation.
"The aerial tanker soom may become a familiar sight", says the San Antonio EXPRESS,
"And other devices also may be employed to supply planes with fuel while in flight ."
"The achievement of the Question Mark", according to the Charlotte OBSERVER,
"Was a distinct and valuable contribution to the cause of aviation and not in the same class with some suicidal attempts that have been made in the last year to do impossible stunts that would have been of little or no value to
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mankind even if they had heen successful."
Making the observation that no human being had ever before remained aloft so long, whether in an airplane or a dirigible or, so far as known, in a free balloon, the St. Louis GLOBE DEMOCRAT says that the possibilities this demon- stration opened are accurately outlined.
"With aerial 'filling stations' at convenient distances, flight can be almost indefinitely extended on ocean as well as on land, for refueling planes
can rise from plane carrying ships. Descents for gas can be minimized, which
relatively are often more costly than stops by railroad trains. Planes can fly with a minimum supply of gas, to be replenished later, and so carry greater revenue loads."
"It was not so much than a plane, the work of man, stayed in the air more than seven days without ever touching wheels to earth or even approaching the ground, " remarks the Harrisburg TELEGRAPH,
"But the human skill and ingenuity could so contrive and operate a machine that would perform with the perfection of the Question Mark."
The Youngstown VINDICATOR says:
■ "It was a flight every American can be proud of. Several days ago the
Germans, whose record Major Spatz and his men set out to beat, spoke of the
achievement as 'stupendous", and there is no question that the courage and en- durance required for such a feat sets a new standard for all the flyers' countrymen."
"These American pilots and American motors have achieved results which re- dound to the advantage of aeronautics in an inspirational way", is how the Trenton EVENING TIMES puts it .
According to the Cincinnati TIMES-STAR,
"What this epbch making test seems to demonstrate is the possibility of sustained non-stop flights clean about the earth provided subsidiary, gasoline freighted machines are in readiness at proper intervals. It would take long planning and elaborate equipment to assure such a venture. Yet it may be attempted."
In the opinion of the Birmingham NEWS,
"If there were fuel ships scattered through the Atlantic and Pacific carry- ing tons of gas to supply planes, these convenient deep sea filling stations would cause transoceanic air touring to increase by leaps and bounds."
The Providence JOURNAL points out -
"That the successful test has stimulated at least two announcements of proposed non-stop around -the -world flights with the refueling of the planes in the air. The flight is considered fair proof of the possibilities of the air- plane for long distance overland flights."
The Flint DAILY JOURNAL sees in the flight of the Question Mark several future oossibilities, viz;
" In military use planes can go aloft with large cargoes of bombs and small gasoline supply, the pilots depending on refueling in the sir. In com- mercial flying greater cargoes can be carried and stops can be eliminated."
"The flight of the Question Mark proved conclusively that it is practicable and comparatively easy to refuel airplanes in flight", says the Washington POST.
"It will not be long before the crude refueling system by which it was kept aloft will have been refined, and then s\ich projects as a non-stop flight around the world will be practicable. It is not likely, of course, that there will ever be need for such a flight, but refueling and transfer of supplies in flight will make possible the carrying of greater pay loads, cut the time of long distance flights and lengthen the life of planed by decreasing the wear imposed by frequent take-offs. It is in connection with saving time and increas- ing pay loads that refueling will be of importance."
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CONGRATULATIONS TO CAPTAIN L.D. SEYMOUR
The News Letter notes with pleasure that Captain Lester D. Seymour, former- ly Chief Engineer and Assistant General Manager of the National Air Transport, Chicago, has been advanced to fill the position of General Manager vacated by Colonel Paul Henderson, who continues with the Comoany as active Vice President.
Caotain Seymour, Air Corps Reserve, a graduate of Syracuse University, en- listed in the Air Corps during the war and served as aircraft maintenance of f i-
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cer overseas. Upon his return to the United States he was honorably discharged from the service upon his own request, hut remained with, the Air Corps in the capacity of civilian aeronautical engineer in the Information Division until he accepted a position as Chief Engineer of the National Air Transport. Capt . Seymour's pet hobby was that of devising new radio circuits, in the days before the advent of the electric set and the screen grid tube, and several of them were particularly good. We suppose he has no time now for winding coils and soldering buss bar joints.
Our best wishes are extended to Capt. Seymour in his new position and we hope the National Air Transport under his mangem.ent will enjoy an uninterrupted era of prosperity.
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COLO I'd AN GOVERNMENT THANKS THE AIK COUPS
Lieut. Eenjamin Mendez, of the Colombian Air Force, left France Field, panama Canal Zone, for his home field on December 27th last, after having been delayed at this field for three weeks, during which time his plane, a Falcon single pontoon seaplane, was given a complete overhaul. The damaged fuselage, wings and pontoon were repaired, the motor completely overhauled and the plane assembled and tested. When Lieut. Mendez left France Field the plane was in excellent condition. The following telegram was received from the Colombian Government upon Lieut. Mendez' arrival at his home station:
"Minister of Uar sincerely appreciates information of accident suffered by Lieutenant Mendez in that port and thanks you for your generous assistance and reception also privilege of France Field. 11
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FRANCE FIELD PISTOL TEAM WINS FIRST HONORS
The France Field Pistol Team, consisting of 1st Lieut. H. G . Crocker, A . C . , Master Sergeants S.L. Sorenson, F.E. Haney, W.D. Lucy, Staff Sergeant L. Leocruatra and Private S. Sislock, competed in the Panama. Canal Department Small Arms Competition at Fort Clayton, C.Z., during the period December 17th to 21st, inclusive, and returned to their station with the honors, having taken first place in the team match and two gold medals for individuals. The team average was 461.6.
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NEW ROMPING PLANE FOR AIR CORPS
The Air Corps accepted delivery of the first of a new series of 35 bombing planes manufactured by the Keystone Aircraft Corporation of Dristol , Pa. This huge craft is powered with twin Pratt & Vb.Itnoy "Hornet" engines of 525 h.p. each. The "Panther," as it is called, has a wing spread of 75 feet and carries a load of 2200 lbs. It Is equipped with, five machine guns for protection against enemy planes and is manned by a crow of five men. The most recent de- velopment in armament equipment is one of the outstanding, features of this new plane. It is also equipped with radio receiving and sending sets, navigating and landing lights, parachute flares and the latest type of navigating instru- ments, The craft weighs 6% tons and has a high speed of about 125 m.p.h. It can remain aloft for more than six hours at a speed of more than 100 miles an hour.
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CALIFORNIA EXECUTIVE COMMENDS AIR C0PP3 FLYERS
Governor C .C . Young, of California, recently addressed a communication to the Commanding Officer of Crissy Field, Presidio of San Francisco, Calif., com- mending the services of Lieut. Jos. R. Hargrove, Air. Reserve, who flew over the mountains north of Clear Lake to discover the whereabouts of four students from the University of California who were lost in the snow. The letter is as follows :
"Please accept my sincere thanks ard appreciation for the splendid coopera- tion rendered in locating the twin "missing couples in the mountains of Lake County. I have just learned this morning that they have been found, a little
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hungry, hut otherwise none the worse for wear from their experience,
I also learned that it was due chiefly to the efforts of Lieut, Hargrove, who piloted one of the two Army planes, yesterday, that their trail was discover- ed which speedily led to their being found.
The promptness with which you responded to my request for help very pro- bably saved the lives of these young people, and I bespeak the gratitude of their many friends and relatives for the invaluable service rendered by your pilots'. 11
0O0
ROCXVELL FIELD'S PART III THE FLIGHT OF THE "QUESTION MARK" .
By the News Letter Correspondent
Once again Rockwell Field cones into its own, and on New Year's Day, 1929; in fact, a few days prior to it, were the busiest the field has known since the cessation of war activities. The holiday season - Christmas and New Year - was observed by the officers, enlisted personnel and civilian personnel of the Rockwell Air Depot in carrying out many duties incident to the endurance- refueling flight of the Question Hark. Working day and night, the mechanics of the Rockwell Air Depot put the finishing touches to the plane and motors . The take-off was on New Year's day at the Metropolitan Airport , Van Nays, Calif.
For the purpose of minor repairs to the motors during the flight, "cat- walks" were built to the two wing motors, and on these "cat-walks" Sergeant Hooe was scheduled to go in the event of motor trouble. In case of a stop, it was planned to nose up the plane to slow down the propeller of the engine which 'was mis-performing and throw a heavy rubber shod hook around the propeller to hold it still. Sergeant Hooe was to wear a parachute and lineman's safety belt, go out to the motor, hook on to it with his belt so that he could use both hands to work with, and replace sparkplugs, valve springs, or anything else which might be necessary. A special tool kit was also carried in the Question Mark for mid-air repairs only. In addition to the above, many other repairs and changes were made to the plane, as well as to the refueling planes, to insure the project being carried out successfully.
A hot New Year's day dinner was transferred to Major Spatz and his crew of the Fokker Transport. Ground-crews and refueling teams stood by at the three stations.
A more fitting way to obs-erve the beginning of a New Year could not be devised. The success of the Question Mark means another undisputed honor for the Air Corps of the United States Army.
0O0
AIR TRAINING FOR VEST POINT CADETS
Tentative plans of the Air Corps contemplate the use of five primary train- ing planes with ten instructors from the Air Corps Training Center, Duncan Field, Texas, for the purpose of giving 250 Cadets of the United States Military Academy training at Langley Field, Va. , from June 17 to July 3, 1929, inclusive. Other airplanes from nearby stations will be available to assist in this wPrk.
The class will be divided into three sections of approximately 80 Cadets per section. It is proposed to give each cadet three hours of aerial instruc- tion.
oOo
CIVIL AVIATION IN ENGLAND
Sir Phillip Sassoon, British Under Secretary for Air, recently reported that the number of passenger airplanes which have current certificates of air- worthiness, are owned by British companies and are operated in or from- Great Britain on air transport work, taxi work or pleasure flights, is 52. He fur- ther stated that 109,569 passengers were reported as carried by these companies in England or between England and the continent in 1927, the average for three years being 95,316, There are in England 35 licensed civil airdromes and, in addition, 43 Royal Air Force airdromes available in an emergency.
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NOTES FROM AIR CORPS FIELDS - — 0O0- —
Camp Nichols, Rizal, P.I., Dec. 6, 1328.
Plight 11 Blf , 2nd Observation Squadron: Practice bombing was the main issue for the past month with reference to the Tactical Training Schedule of 1928-29 . Staff Sgts. Wedeman and King claim to he the .most accurate aerial score keepers in the Air Corps. From past experience, they should he.
DH No . 32093 just went through the mill and came out looking like a new limousine. She was remodeled to enter the field of tow target ferrying.
Hess, the golfer, is right on the joh. He made the circuit last week in 120 strokes. Think it was the fault of his "Shorts”. They exposed too much freckled knee .
Headquarters, 4th Composite Croup: Capt. Charles A. pursley made his first cross-country flight to neighboring islands- since his arrival in the Philippine. He flew a Martin Eomber to the Mindoro Sugar plantation, San Jose. He reports a very interesting flight and week end visit, puring this trip, Cant .pursley used four modes of transportation, namely; Airplane, motor car, railroad and horseback. On the next trip he expects to ride a carabao.
The purchase of a new Columbia Vivi-tonal phonograph and sixteen wicker chairs tends to liven up our day room and will be another reason "Why Boys Stay Home”.
Pvt. A. F. Long, popularly known as "Pop" wqs discharged last week. Of course, he re-enlisted the next day, for the outfit could not afford to lose their most popular cook.
Sgt . Richard Gleason arrived this week on the "Meigs" as replacement for Sgt . Worth.
The Headquarters Mess had. a very successful Thanksgiving dinner with several "Officers, non-coms, and their families attending.
Pvt. Kerr was relieved from his duties in the Camp Nichols Post Exchange. He will take the examination soon for a commission in the Regular Army.
Pvt. Ursin Leche, recently discharged from the Medical Corps at Sternberg General Hospital, re-enlisted in the Air Corps.
66th Service Squadron; Staff Sgt. Jasper E. Lindsey was on furlough the past month viewing the sights of China and Japan.
Staff Sgt. George S. Lane has been detailed to Camp John Hay as Mess Sergeant for the next six months.
Clark Field, Camp Stotscnburg, P.I., Dec. 6,1928 :
2nd Observation Squadron; Communications practice with Fort McKinley, continued throughout the month of November, varied with Army -Navy Communication problems, cross-country flights and special missions.
Brig. -General Hatch, commanding the Harbor Defenses, made his first air- plane flight from this station during the month. The General expressed his enjoyment and gives promise of becoming an enthusiast.
The Navy planes attached to the "Jason", with station at Olongopo, threw a party for officers from this station early in November. We went by air and can make no criticism of the welcome afforded - barbecued pig and what goes with it. Oh Boyl Bailerinas and everything!
The fun of the month was concentrated in the 2nd Annual Kindley Kids Kar- nival, held Thanksgiving eve at the Corregidor Club. All the lads, lassies and infants in arms (with their nursing bottles) attended. We had the Ambas- sador Orchestra from one of the President boats, and those boys could play.
Our Tnanksgiving celebration was combined with Organization Day. Every one attended the noonday feast and no one left hungry. In the afternoon the squadron gathered at the patio, where an orchestra and San Miguel combined to furnish entertainment.
This squadron claims the honor of being the first to meet Capt. Cave- Brown-Cave and the rest of the British Far Eastern Flight when they arrived from Hong'. Kong. Manila was thrown wide open to them and their week with us in the Islands was filled with activities. The officers of the 4th Composite Group, Air Corps, gave a luncheon for the British Flyers at the Army & Navy Club, November 10th.
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Oar fleet, until now consisting1 of the "Marjorie" and the "Osprey", has heen augmented. Lieut. Dairidson purchased a Lanca. It has everything in it but the squadron stove, le are still awaiting the launching.
Tie lost Sgt . Major Krogstad during the month by transfer to the 28th Bom- bardment Squadron. Cpl. Gibbs has stepped into his shoes.
Athletics have come so far to the front that they are going to warrant lots of space in the next hews Letter.
Oh, Yes - the typhoon. We had a real one in November and portions of roof- ing, chimneys, screening, etc., sailed out over the China Sea. But it was a lot of fun.
r :t» . .i : . / ‘i ;* y , . - ••• .
Snd Bombardment Group, Langley Field, Va. , January 14th .
This month the Group has suffered severe losses in its officer personnel, both by deaths and transfers, - a most unlucky beginning for the new year.
Lieut. Ward J. Davies, of the 20th Bombardment Squadron, departed with his family for Kelly Field, last week. He will take the instructors1 course and then proceed to March Field, Cal., reporting on the 5th of March. "Good-bye, Skipper, and good luck".
Lieut. Dale D . Fisher, 96th Bombardment Squadron, also left us last week for Kelly Field, but he, too, departed with a "family". However, his family consisted cf only one, his young bride, formerly Miss Frances Major, of Wash- ington. The young couple were married in Washington during the Christmas Holidays. • Best wishes to the bride and groom from the entire Group. "Happy landings, Dale, and remember Dodd Hall Days!"
Lieut. Osca.r P. Hebert , A. C . , 96th Bombardment Squadron, was discharged from the service on December 26,1928.
Orders came in4, the other day for the transfer of Capt . Ernest Clark, A. C . , commanding officer of the 59th Service Squadron to Bolling Field, effective March 5th. Five. 'officers gone in two weeks' timet At this rate the non-coms of the Group will have to be prepared to_ take command.
Seven of our LB-5As are still out of commission awaiting their new tails, so the Group is still flying 0-lls , A-3s and AT -5s borrowed from the A.C.T.S. However, two LB-5As have been returned and are being flown to the limit.
San Antonio Air Depnt, Duncan Field, San Antonio , Texas, Jan.4,1929 .
The annual Christmas Entertainment at the San Antonio Air Depot, for the children under ten years old of the Duncan Field personnel, was held in the Post Recreational Hall, under 'the auspices of the Duncan Field Civilian Club, on Saturday afternoon, December 22nd. True to his regular custom, Santa Claus paid us a special visit by airplane for this occasion, and this Christmas he added another modern touch by floating down from the skies in a parachute. Furthermore, as this was the first parachute jump made by Lieut. Norman D.
Brophy (we mean Santa Claus) , a memorable thrill was given to the festivities. Santa came down neatly, with the nonchalance of an old hand at the game and found 400 children breathlessly awaiting him. Capt. Otto G. Trunk made a very jolly and efficient double fdr Santa at the Christmas tree, with snow white whiskers and hair, topped by helmet and goggles (although to the children, of course, it was the same Santa); and there were delightful presents and candy for all the little ones.
The New Years' Holiday passed quietly at this Post. On New Year's Day Lieut . -Colonel and Mrs. Mars were at home to the officers and ladies of the Depot from 11:00 o'clock to 12:00 noon.
Notification was received of the promotion of 1st Lieut. Frederic B. Wieners, A. C . , of this Depot, to the grade of Captain, A.C., with rank from November 17, 1928. The congratulations of the personnel of this Depot are extended to him.
On January 1st, Capt. Lewis B. Massie , Quartermaster Corps, who has been at his home awaiting retirement since Sept. 1st, was retired from active ser- vice, at San Antonio, upon his own application, after more than thirty years' service. Capt. Massie is residing at the present time in San Antonio, and has the sincere wishes of his n&ny friends in this vicinity in his well earned retirement.
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Rockwell Field, Coronado, Cal., Jan, 3rd .
The 95th Pursuit Squadron, 11th Bombardment Squadron and Headquarters,
7th Bombardment Group, observed their first Christmas at Rockwell Field. Elab- orate turkey dinners, with all the trimmings, were served in the squadron mess halls, at which the officers and their families were guests. Following the feasts varied forms of entertainment were presented.
To a great many of the men, Christmas without snow, was a distinct novelty. However, that mythical bewhiskered gentleman "Santa Claus" must have swapped his reindeer and sleigh for more "California" methods of transportation, be- cause no one on Rockwell Field was forgotten when the gifts were distributed.
The enlisted men were not dismayed by the lack of fire places - "G.I." socks by the dozens decorated the gas heaters in the tents, and the owners were not disappointed when they rolled out long before revielle on Christmas morning.
Six applicants appeared at Rockwell Field, December 17-22, 192S, and were examined by the Board authorized to conduct examinations for appointment in the Regular Army, Air Corps. The applicants who took the examination were second Lieutenants, Air Corps Reserve, on a yearrs active duty at Rockwell Fiel
Eleven applicants appeared at Rockwell Field, Dec. 11, 1928, for examina- tion as appointment as Flying Cadet.
Mr. Victor J. Myers, of the San Antonio Air Depot, reported at Rockwell Air Depot, during December, for purpose of instructing personnel at the Depot in methods used at San Antonio Depot in overhauling Wright Type "E" engine cylinders .
Lieut. Francis B. Valentine, Air Corps, Rost Athletic Officer, left this station, December 22, 1928, for four months' temporary duty at Wright Field, Ohio, for purpose of pursuing course in aerial navigation.
War Department orders were received assigning 1st Lieut. Charles E. Stafford, Quartermaster Corps, to Rockwell Field, as Assistant to the post Quartermaster, Capt . Honker.
Lieut, and Mrs. John If. Nissley, announce the arrival of a daughter, Beverly, on December 29, 1928, at Coronado, Cal.
Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas, January 16th .
General Italo Balbo , the Under Secretary of State for Air cf the Italian Government, with his staff, visited Kelly Field cn December 28th. All avail- able airplanes were on the line for inspection. The General was very much interested in the training system of the Air Corps Advanced Flying School.
The elusive wild game about these parts is being rapidly thinned out, due to the expert markmanship of the Kelly officers. Deer have been brought in by Major and Mrs. Tinker (one buck, but there is still some argument as to which shot proved fatal), Captain McDaniel, Captain Jervey, Lieuts. Weyland, Smith and Thompson. Turkeys and wild ducks have been brought in in great numbers by others .
The Air Corps Women's Club gave a cabaret at the Aviation Club on the evening of December 7th. The entertainment started at 8:00 P.M. and consisted of many numbers of well performed local talent. The Club was beautifully dec- orated with Spanish moss, streamers and balloons. A stage was constructed at one end of the room and was decorated with flowers and greens. A black curtain painted in blue to resenble a sky scene, added to the color of the setting. ; Tables were arranged about the hall where many dinner parties were gathered.
The club resembled the interior of a Hew York night club. Dancing was enjoyed between the acts. /
Lieut. Westside T. Larson, A.C., left December 23rd for the east to ferry a new Fokker transport to Kelly Field.
Lieut. Harold A. Wheaton, A.C., reported for duty at Kelly Field freed Langley Field on January 3d. ;
Lieuts. Thomas W. Blackburn and John M. McDonnell received orders for transfer to the Philippine Department, to sail from S&n Francisco on or about March 9, 1929.
Although Kelly Field did not win the Army League football championship, it placed four men on the All-Army Football League Team. The men from Kelly Field selected for this team were; Biginskik left guard, Hollowell, center; Mulynzak, quarterback; and McKinney, left back. The Kelly team made a wonder-
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ful showing this year, losing hit two games - one to Brooks Field a.nd the other to the champion 23rd Infantry, holding the latter to a 7-6 score'. A great deal of credit is due Lieut. Pat Booker, team coach. With nothing hut new material to work on, he whipped the team into such sha.pe that it was at all times a dan- gerous opponent. This year it proved a strong contender for the championship, hat with the same team next year, it is Believed that the championship of the Army League will come to Kelly Field.
Lieut . Harold S. George, A.C., spent a few days at Kelly Field recently as. the, guest of Lieut. B.S. Thompson, A.C.
Lieut. William S. Gravely, A.C., for the past two weeks enjoyed the dis- tinction of "being the ranking first lieutenant on the promotion list of the Army. However, he has lost this distinction and is now the ’’goat” Captain.
Maxwell Field, Montgomery, Ala . , January 15th .
The 22nd Observation Squadron, Fourth Photo Section, with Medical Detach- ment, less necessary guard and details, departed on December 3rd in trucks with full equipment on the annual field maneuver's. Camp was pitched on the banks of the Coosa River, seven miles east of Verbena, Ala. The troops returned from the maneuvers on the 8th.
Lieut s. DLL. Cote and Reuben Kyle, Jr., departed on December 13th in two 02-Hs for, Hew Orleans, La., for the purpose of ferrying Col. Williams and Maj . B. Molter, of the Reserves, over the State of Lousiana, in connection with Reserve Officers' Association activities.
On Dec. 19th, Major Carl Spatz, A .C., and Capt . Ira Eaker, A.C., landed in the "QTJS5TI0N MARK" Army airplane, which started its famous endurance teso on the Pacific Coast on the first of the year. Capt. Hoyt and Lieut. Quesada, who were in the refueling plane accompanying the "QUESTION MARK" on this trip, also stopoed en route .
Lieut. Leonard Flo, of the Reserves, landed at Maxwell Field on Dec. l?th from Jacksonville, Fla.,.en route to Little Rock, Ark. He was on his return trip from southern Florida to his home in Ann Arbor, Mich. He was forced so land in Florida on his attempted non-stop flight from Canada, to Cuba.
Lieuts. Byron A. Glover and Lindsay M. Baswell, Air Reserve, on a yearns active duty at Maxwell Field, spent Christmas in their home at Atlanta, Ga.
Lieuts. N.L. Cote and Reuben Kyle, Jr., spent the Christmas holidays with friends and relatives in Columbus, Ga,.
On the afternoon of Christmas Eve all children of the officers, enlistee men and civilian employees were entertained at the Officers' Club with a Christmas tree, Santa Claus distributing presents to all the kiddies. In tfcs evening the officers and their wives had Christmas Eve Dinner at the Officers' Club. After dinner those present were entertained by a minstrel, composed of Capt. Donald P. Muse, Capt. R.J. Platt, Lieuts. R-C. Wriston, M'.C. Woodbury and W.H. McArthur, with musical accompaniment s by Mrs. W-R. Weaver and Mrs. D.?. Muse. After the show, everybody gathered around the Christmas tree and pres- ents were distributed by Capt. Platt. Christmas afternnon, Major and Mrs. W.H. Weaver had open house and served tea to the officers and their wives calling during the afternoon.
San Antoni o Air Depot, Duncan Field, San Antonio, Texas, January 16, 1929 .
Lieut. Alfred J. Lyon, A.C., of the Air Corps Materiel Division, Wright Field, was a, visitor at this Depot from January 5th to 15th, on temporary duty supervising the initial operation of the new electrical heat treating furnace recently installed at this Depot. He left here for the Rockwell Air Depot on the same mission.
Lieut. Harry Weddington, A.C . , on duty with the Organized Reserves at I-rve Field, Dallas, Texas, paid a visit to this Depot on January 7th, accompanied by Lieut. Arthur J. Reinhart, Air Reserve, on active duty at Love Field. In civilian life, Lieut. Reinhart is Street Commissioner of the Dallas Municipal Government, and is an enthusiastic worker in the cause of aviation.
Among the recent visitors to this Depot were Lieut. Myron R. Wood, A. 2., of the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps, and Lieuts. Bushrod Hoppin ana Louis M. Merrick, of Bolling Field, accompanied by Captain Malcolm G. Grow,M.C. of the Fairfield Air Depot, and Sgt . Paul Payne , of Bolling Field, delivering
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one of the new Fokker C-2-A three engined, jobs on & Coast-to-Coast flight from the factory in Nevv Jersey to Rockwell Field, 'Cal. The plane was piloted by Lieut. Merrick, and they arrived here January loth, continuing their flight on the 12th. Lieut. Wood was greeted by a host of old friends here, he having been our former Depot Supply- Officer.
Lieut. Charles E. Branshaw, A.C., was assigned to this Depot, by transfer from Brooks Field, on January 13th. Lieut. Branshow is welcomed back into our midst. He was formerly on duty at this Depot (from July, 1921 to June, 1924), and was placed on duty in his old position, that of Chief. Engineer Officer. Conversely, the Depot regrets losing Lieut. Arthur ¥, Ve.naman, A.C., our pre- ceding Chief Engineer Officer -who was transferred to Brooks Field on January 13th. Lieut. Vanaman was a member of this command from January, 1925, and carries with him to his new post the best wishes of the personnel of the Depot.
During the month of December, 1928, the Engineering Department of the Depot turned out the following production in' overhaul and repair of airplanes and. engines:- Airplanes: 1 DH-4M-1, 6 DH-4M-2, 1- DH-4M-2p, 3 DH-4M-2T, 1 PT-1,
1 AT -4, 1 A-3, 2 02-H, 1 02-K, 1 02-M4, Total, 18 airplanes; Engines: 1 Liberty, 10 Wright E, 6 Aright J.-5, 6 Curtiss D-12, Total, 23 engines.
Langley Field, Hamnton, Va . , January- 23rd .
Air Cor-ps Tactical School: The per iod embracing January 2 to January 15, both dates inclusive, was devoted to Attack: Flying" Training under the direction of Capt. George C. Kenney, Air Corps. Durin thi s course the new type machine guns, which are installed in the. lower wings' of the Curt iss A-3 type airplane- s , are being used for the first time by students in the school. Student Observers are also receiving instructions and training on the flexible machine guns used in conjunction with the attack training.
The Second Bombardment Group has been using the Curtiss AT -5 and 0-11 air- planes of this organization in the foiencon of each day during the above period to carry on their regular training schedule as a' substitution for the LB-5 Bombers which are being reconditioned at this time.'
Inclement weather retarded flying operations to a certain extent during the above ueriod.
20th Bombardment Squadron: Between the first and middle of January, the §0th Squadron performed its usual operations. There was some deviation from the usual routine after the taking over of command by Captain George M. Palmer.
Captain Pa.lmer served in the Group once before. He is one of the best known of the "old timers". He commanded the Second Day Bombardment 0-roup at Kelly Field back in the days when this Group and the First Pursuit 0-roup were just about the whole Air Service. He is one of the most popular commanders in the Air Corps, because of his thorough knowledge of practical flying and the necessary airdrome organization connected with it. He is one of the few war time instructors who has not resigned.
Capt. Palmer, or "Jack", as he is universally known, recently reported to Langley Field upon completion of a long detail*. with the Minnesota National Guard.
The Chemical Warfare School at Fdgewood Arsenal claims another officer from the organization. Lieut. A. H. Johnson received orders to report to this school for a ten week period, starting February 11th.
During this period the Squadron lost another pilot, Lieut. Ward J. Davies, who was transferred to March Field, Calif, He will stop at Kelly Field, Texas, en route to attend the instructors' coarse now required before a pilot is in- trusted with discretionary power of determining "inherent flying ability" in students of the primary schools.
All men of the Squadron desire it to be recorded that Lieut. Davies was one of the most popular officers serving in. the 20th Squadron at Langley Field. Lieut. Davies acted in the capacity of Operations Officer, Adjutant and Supply Officer, and he demonstrated his great ability as a pilot.
Lieut. Martin is assigned to the Squadron for flying only]: having been transferred to the 59th Squadron for duty.
The following cross-country trips were performed by pilots of this Squad- ron: Lieut. Burnside to Pone Field and return; Lieut. Martin to Bolling Field; Captain Palmer, Lieut. Hammond and Lieut. Blaufuss (as pilot) had a rather eventful trip to New York in the Cr-2 Transport, bad weather preventing their expected return for several days.
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V-5859 , A.C .
Sgt. Sprakle was discharged and returned to his home at Punxsatawney , pa.
The Squadron grave him a rousing send-off at the Old Point dock, where he hoarded the boat for Baltimore.
59th Service Squadron: Capt . Ernest Clark has been sick in quarters since January 9, 1929. and 2nd Lieut , George R Geer assumed command.
2nd Lieut. Emery J. Martin, Air Reserve, was transferred to this organiza- tion on January 11th, from the 20th Bombardment Squadron.
Ninety-Sixth Bombardment Squad bon; Lieut. Hackman flew an AT -5 to Pine hurst, N.C . , on January 5th, returning on the 7th.
Lieut. Schmidt went to Norfolk to purchase equipment for the Squadron Basketball. Team.
Lieut. Agee accompanied Mrs. Dean Y. Johnston to San Antonie. He returned on January 13th .
Lieut. Beaton holds record for Tow Target Gunnery, and Lieut. Schmidt high score in the preliminaries.
The Squadron purchased three large clocks for use in the Barracks, Recre- ation Room and Operations Office, respectively. Mr . Sgt . Randle re -enlisted 6n the 4th. The Squadron School for Armament and Radio seems to be a huge success. This is due to Mr. Sgt. Budoff and Cpl. Mishmash.: From December 20th to Janu- ary 12th, the 96th Squadron had the only LB-5A in commission in the entire Group. The Squadron Progress Chart is rapidly nearing completion.
Nineteenth Airship Company: Our schedule of training for the year 1929 began January 4tb, when several test and training flights were made. An inten- sive program for the year has been drawn up, covering all phases of Lighter-than- Air work and which will have an important bearing on the future of Lighter-than- Air in the Army.
On the 8th of January, two demonstration flights were made for Coast Ar- tillery Officers in connection with future maneuvers of Airships with the Coast Artillery.
On the same day two photographic missions were made over Hampton Roads for the purpose of taking pictures of the Battle Fleet. Pictures were obtained of the Fleet lying at anchor and also .of the Destroyer Fleet moving cut to sea ir. formation .
On the 11th two reconnaissance missions over Western Shore of the Chesa- peake were carried out, these flights being also in the nature of training flights for aircraft crews.
On the 14th two flights for training of pilots and aircraft crews were made. Lieut. -Col. Jacob W.S. Wuest, Commanding Officer of Langley Field, uilot- ed the "TC-5-251,t on one of these flights.
During the next week it is contemplated making an extended reconnaissance flight to Washington, D.C., and a- coast patrol and training communication flight to Naval Air Station, Lake hurst , N.J.; also a flight to Aberdeen Proving Ground, former station of the 18th Airship Company, is being considered. If this flight is made, the ship will be housed over night in the airship hangar at Aberdeen and will possibly take part in maneuvers with the Ordnance Department.
The Corrroany Soccer Team, State Champions last year, are again out in front and are showing the Peninsula Soccer fans just bow the game should be played.
The Team has lost only one game this year, this due in part to absence of sev- eral of the mainstays of the