BYRD'S POLAR FLIGHT

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 4, 6 January 1930, Page 9

BYRD'S POLAR FLIGHT

FAR NORTH TO FAR SOUTH MANY VICISSITUDES United Press Association—By Electric Telecraph—Copyright. (By Eussol Owen.—Special to "Now York Times.") LITTLE AMERICA (Antarctica), 10th-November. The Ford 'plane which Commander Byrd is using on his South Polar flight was brought here safely only with tho greatest of care and some good .luck. No metal 'plane uas probably been through so many vicissitudes, and survived. It has flown under all sorts of conditions as far north as latitude 60, has been transported over salt water through tho tropics, dropped several feet to a dock, landed in pieces on a crumbling Barrier, from which parts were rescued with difficulty, drawn to camp with dog teams, buried in a snoiv igloo during a severe Antarctic winter, and emerged from it all in perfect condition. The 'plane came out of the factory in March, 1928, when Floyd Bennett, Commander Byrd'a companion on his North Polar flight, who was to have been his pilot on this flighty was still alive and in charge of aviation. After it was tested it was flown by Bennett and Bernt Balehen to Canada by way of St. Paul, Winnipeg, Le Pas, and then Keindeer Lake and Racket, a Hudson Bay trading post far up in the northern wilderness. There it was flown on skis and tested sometimes in temperatures of 50 below zero. ■ , BENNETT AND BAtOHEN. On this flight the 'plane mixed up with the gold rush to Keindeer Lake, which was at its height at that time. Bennett and Balehen met a number of men in Lo Pas who were anxious to get to Eoindeer Lake quickly, a journey which was ordinarily made by dog sledge while snow was on the ground. They were flown up as passengers, and both Bennett and Balehen staked claims. After the tests, on skis were completed, they came,back, and Le Pas again put on wheels, and the 'plane was flown back to Detroit. The 'plane was then exhibited in the Detroit aviation show, the national show of that year, and while it was there Bennett and Balehen flew in another Ford to the rescue of the German tlycrs, who had landed at Greonloy Island, in the Belle Isle Straits. On tho way up both flyers were- ill, and Bennett became too ill at Murray Bay to continue. He was taken to Quebec, and died there of pneumonia. His loss was a severe blow to Commander Byrd, for he had not only been a tower of strength in the preparations for the flight, but he was also, perhaps, the closest friend of the commander. They had been companions on many dangerous flights together. NAMED AFTER BENNETT. Bennett, whom everyone liked, was buried in Arlington, and. the big Ford which he was to have flown was named after him. His name is painted ; in largo letters on the front part of the 'fuselage.. - Tho 'plane was first equipped with three engines of 220 horse-power, such as were used on the commander's trans-Atlantic flight and the North Polar flight, although of a- later design, and such as Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh and Clarence -D. Chamberlain used. Bui it was found after load tests that to carry a heavy load to tho altitude necessary to cross the Queen Maud Mountains more horse-power was needed. So a heavier engine of 550 horsepower was put in the nose, and in tests at Mitchell Field it was found that this extra power gave the neces-' sary added lift. After the 'plane has been thoroughly tested it was flown to Norfolk, Va". ( with the other 'planss of the expedition, and the wing tips removed. They and all other parts were thoroughly sprayed to prevent corrosion during the long trip to the Barrier. It was then hoisted aboard the whaler C. A. Larsen, and on the trip to Saa Pedro, Cal., where Commander Byrd went aboard, the 'plane was • disassembled and crated and covered with tarpaulin. That was blistering work, and tho pilots and mechanics who have worked on it have done so when the metal wan almost too hot to touch and when it was so cold that it seared the fingers Every condition in handling the Ford had. been extreme. LANDED AT WELLINGTON. It was landed on the wharf at Wellington, New Zealand, and through miscalculation tho huge crate containing the fuselage, with the centre motor in place, was dropped on its side several feet. The pilots watching the job held their breath for fear something had broken, but it stood the strain well. It was then loaded into tne hold of the supply steamer Eleanor Boiling, where it remained until it reached the Ice Barrier. Getting it ashore was another difficult problem. It could not be landed on the bay ice, as nad been done with the Fairc'hild 'plane, because the ice was getting mushy. So when tho Eleanor Boiling hauled up alongside the M.cc dock at the foot of the Barrier the engines were first; taken ashore on tho ice dock when it broke. By fast work and good fortune the centre section was hoisted on board again without damage. Then the Eleanor Boiling ran along* side tho Barrier, which at that point was level with the bridge, and tho fuselage was taken from its crate. At tho first pull a snatch block broke, but did no damage. The 'plane was lifted to 'the top of the Barrier and rested on the edge for a time while ,skis were lashed under it and bumped up and down gently, a bumping which might havo accelerated the breaking off of the Barrier's edge a few hours later. ON THE BARRIER. It was touch and go, but a chance which had to be takon, and finally tho big frame was hauled back from tho water's edge and put in a position of safety. From there it was hauled to camp by fifty dogs, five miles along tho tops of tho Barrier. Then it was buried in a snow-house. Not a bolt had been lost. Fuel from the fuselage tank can bo pumped to tho wing tanks by hand, and if a leak should develop in any_ of these tanks on the flight the gasoline can be drained back into the fuselage tank and again pumped up to a tank which is sound. ' Tho fuselage tank is also fitted with a dump valvo, built and installed down here so that in case of a forced landing or failure of one of the motors a large part of the gasoline can b« dropped. Tho Floyd Bennett is an imposing 'plane. Its duralumin wing has a span of about 74ft. There are five gaso-

lino tanks in the wing, holding altogether 620 gallons, and a fuselage tank holding 130 gallons. There have been a few minor changes made in the fuel lines,, and a waterglass gauge which shows at a glance the mount of fuel in the wing tanks has been installed just above the pilot's head. The ski-runners were made in Canada. They are 31 inches wide and 10ft long. The pedestals of duralumin were made in the Ford plant. The oil tanks aro lagged with asbestos and covered with fabric and "dope" to protect them from the cold, and the motors are fitted with shutters which can be controlled from the cockpit. A canvas floor has been laid over tho duralumin, slippery from snow and ice, to prevent tboso inside from falling when moving around in the 'plane. SPECIAL EQUIPMENT. The cockpit is tho usual large cockpit of a ]Tord 'plane, with instruments on a board in front of the pilot and dual control. A door leads into tho fuselage cabin, and just in the back of it -is the extra tank, strapped to the floor by metal bands. This fills only half of the cabin space at this point, and alongside of it wiii be placed most of the emcregency equipment taken on the flight—feed, tent, cooker; and clothes. The sleeping bags will be lashed under the roof, for the cabin is about 7ft high. Behind the tank is a strong table, where Commander Byrd can work on his observations, and on which ,he can climb to take sights through thp sliding hatch in the roof. In the back of that will be tho surveying camera und equipment, with holes on either side of the fuselage, through which oblique pictures may be made of the terrain. In tho back of this and. against the partition separating the cabin from tho baggage compartment in the tail of the 'plane is the radio key, where the operator will send and receive messages when he is not operating a moving picture camera or filling the fuselage tank with gasoline from the extra cans. Just behind the partition is the antenna reel and the photographic viewfinder, which is also a range-finder. The actual range-finder is in a hole in the floor between the commander's table and the surveying camera. In the baggage compartment, also, will be carried the sled skis and such other material as has bulk, but not much weight. The 'plane weighs empty about G7OO Ib, and when loaded for the flight will weigh about 14,5001b. It has a normal cruising or most efficient speed of 100 miles an hour, and a maximum speed of 130 miles an hour.

t Copyrighted 1928 by 'New lor* Tlmei" Company and "St. Louis Post-Dispitch." All rights for publication referred throughout the world.]