THE BOATS CREW

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22935, 13 January 1938, Page 13

THE BOATS CREW

SEVEN MEN ON BO All D NOTABLE COMMANDER CAPTAIN MUSICK'S CAREER Great achievements in the sphere of aviation stand to the credit of Captain Edwin C. Musick, who is again commanding the Samoan Clipper. Ho has spent over 12,000 hours in the air and has the proud record of never having had a serious accident nor having lost a single passenger in more than 1,000,000 miles of flying. In addition to Captain Musick, the crew of the Samoan Clipper on her present flight is as follows: —Captain C. Sellers, travelling as first officer; Mr. H. Brunk, second officer; Mr. F. J. Mac Lean, navigator; Mr. T. D. Findley, radio operator; Mr. J. Stickrod, engineer; Mr. J. A. Brooks, flight mechanic. Outstanding Reputation Captain Musick commanded the Clipper on her pioneer survey flight to New Zealand last March and he was again in command on the second survey about a fortnight ago, when the return flight to Honolulu marked the inauguration of the commercial service. He is a man quiet in speech and in manner and he has already made many friends in Auckland. Nearly a quarter of a century of service in commercial aviation stands to the credit of Captain Musick. He commenced flying at Los Angeles in 19i;j and during the war years he trained countless American fliers. Later he joined one of the first commercial air lines in the United States, the Aeromarine Flying Service, but with the formation of Pan American Airways in. 1925, he became one of its first pilots. Captain Musick soon gained an outstanding reputation as an ocean flier, and was chosen to pioneer most of the ocean routes which are now operated commercially by his company. In 1935 he was awarded the Harmon Trophy for his work on the North Pacific service and for his flights from San Francisco to' Honolulu. Plans lor Future Service The present round trip is expected to be Captain Musick's last on the New Zealand service for some time. On the previous trip ho had with him Captain "VV. D. Culbertson and on the present trip he is accompanied by Captain Sellers. These two pilots are expected to command the Samoan Clipper on alternate flights in the future. Captain Sellers, who has made his home at Manila for the last few years, has had extensive experience on the Pan American service to the Orient. Apart from Captain Musick, only two members of the present crew of the Clipper have taken part in either of the previous flights. These are the engineer, Mr. Stickrod, who has made both trips, and the radio operator, Mr. Findley, who was a member of the crew on the flying-boat's last visit. SEARCHING FACILITIES VICINITY OF PAGO PAGO VERY POOR EQUIPMENT (Received January 12, 5.5 p.m.) WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 Naval officials described the searching facilities in the vicinity of Pago Pago as very poor. They said the naval base was equipped with a single utility seaplane, the mine-sweeper Tanager and an old coal-burning tender, the Avocet. which participated in the search foi Mrs. Putnam. Honolulu was the nearest fullyequipped station but it would be impossible to conduct an air search from there owing to the distance.

IMMENSE INTEREST AUCKLAND'S CONCERN TELEPHONE LINES BUSY The widespread interest taken in the flight of the Samoan Clipper was shown in an unmistakable manner at the Pan American Airways base at Mechanics' Bay all day yesterday. The company's officers were kept exceptionally busy answering telephone ca'ls from interested persons attempting to find out if the Clipper had left, and when uncertainty grew about her fate the rush was doubled. A number of Aucklanders even went down to the bay to watch her come in, and after it was known that she had been forced down the calls continued from persons wanting to know if the crew was safe. The Herald was also besieged with inquiries after it had been announced that the Clipper had been forced to turn back.