ALASKA BY AIR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 154, 1 July 1940, Page 4

ALASKA BY AIR.

BIG FLYING BOATS.

SUB-ARCTIC ENTERPRISE. PAN-AMERICAN REACHES OUT. (By ALICE ROGERS HAGER.) • NEW VOIIK, April 12.. The aeroplane, has at last come into own in Alaska and, with a thoroughly routed Federal Government in Washington {riving the help that Alankans have i'ci'ii asking for years, the days of rugged pioneering ill the air in the last American frontier are drawing , to an end. So ,«:n\ Big loe C'rosason, most fammin of the. territory's spectacular pilots, who it-: here "out«ide.'' making arrangement--* for the beginning of a 'plane service between Seattle and Jutiea. the la<«t link in the chain that will bind the outermost rim of that frontier—the storied little city of Nome—to the aerial chain with tile States, and bring it within 4S hours' flying time of New York.

Ii is hoped now by Pan-American Airways, parent- company of Pacific-Alaska Airways which will operate the new nervice. to have that link in place by .May l.">. Everything is ready except linal approval by the civil aeronautics authority in Washington, where hearings are now being held.

Two of the Pacilie-Alaska pilots have l>een at company training headquarters in Miami for more than a year, going through the course given thore, Miul preparations have been made to transfer a Sikoreky S-42 flyinj; boat. with a capacity of 2;> passengers, to Seattle when the great day comes. Up in the territory, the C.A.A. is rapidly [tutting in radio rangre of the latest ultra-high frequency type, improving ground stations for better broadcasting iif weather information, and beginning to work at the much-needed bettering of lauding fields. Defence and Commerce. Alaskans don't fool themselves, however, even if they are grateful for what is happening. They know that only a world situation that has made the United States acutely conscious of its vulnerability at certain strategic points where its defence should be the strongest, lias brought about the willingness of Congress to spend money in a territorial outpost that for several generations was represented in the minds of most legislators as a lonely wilderness of sourdoughs and howling blizzards. But they know that their position is a key to much of the national safety, so they are pretty philosophical about it.

C'rosson in New York is a very different figure from C'rosson at home in Alaska. If you met him here you would ! probably be struck by his ruggedncas, but there are a lot of good athletes in New York business offices. Seen in liisi own background he becomes a genial, confident personality, quiet, but with a Sreat sense of fun, called by his first name by everybody from schoolboys to grizzled prospectors, respected for his intimate knowledge of wind and weather and all the land "back of beyond"—and for his courage that has made him the : outstanding mercy flyer of the territory. loud hear hair-raising stories of his daring, but he'd never tell them to you. He. i» the logical successor of Carl Btn EUeleen, who etarted the flying game inl V£* up there, and who was Joe's best friend until he crashed in trying to help out a stranded ship. * p New Two-Mile Army Field. But Crosson isn't looking back now— !!t? ?° klng ahead - He told me to-day: Alaska has picked up in a business way this past year, and the new flying «} fi, fc* * re * v° min * in have k*n one of the biggest helps. Mining i 9 benefit mg from the increase in the price of gold and the introduction of new methods that are making it profitable to work low grade streams. Forty Mi! e and kayukuk, which date back to the KUm FaiVnnf' art ' ~ ,oomin* . «"d the whole tan banks area is especially active There are about thirty 'planes working out o Fairbanks, our own scheduled" service and the rest charter flyers. Probablv there are 150 or more ships in the whole Nea n r7 a n ith e J ? ea8 * that ™«ny pHot \VVvO.t ar^ r beln e 1»« commercially. Zn I *25 per cent in passenger business on the Juneau-Fairbanls alreadt "ZZ fieW at hae a real job. They sent up four old typo ! radio range unite a year ago, but fouml ' they weren't good now they are metalling the new type that ?s being used on the domestic airlines f*r* h rV With that «q»iP»nent w " expect that our magnetic storma will give us very little trouble and that we II be able to operate much closer to schedule than in the past. The CA A took over eix ground stations for weather reporting and ie improving and operating them, and it is taking over eome of the duties of the signal corps i weather stations. It ie able to give a ! much better service since it is usins* I better frequencies and id reporting f f>r ! flying entirely, instead of just for°anv- ; body who wanted to know what the day was going to be like.

"The weather bureau has also increased the number of ite stations and is working at Nome, Fairbanks, Anohorage, Juneau and Ketchikan, with others planned. The radio ranges, which will mean we can fly the beams as they do down here, are in at Fairbanks, at Ruby, at Nome and Anchorage, and Juneau is going in this summer, with a new one also at Ketohikan.

"Our first airmail contract, from Juneau to Fairbanks, awarded by the Post Office Department last year, is a great help ; but we need more of them. In the winter time, we still fly the star route contracts, which means carrying all claeeee of mail. We need air mail ones for all the principal routes, supplemented by winter star route ones for second and third class matter that is carried by the boats on the rivers in the summer time. Because the 'planee are the only winter form of transportation. 'Plane operators are still not making money, but the C.A.A. Ie going to straighten out a lot of our t angles before long on operating rights, and that will put us on a more business-like basis.

However, there will be plenty of tough flying to be done when the weather gets down to 69 below zero, I mid the Alaskan pilots will still be a breed that is capable of incredible feats of skill and daring.—(N.AJJ.A.)