Butler High School - Magnet Yearbook (Butler, PA)

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JJlSL IfilcuptsL ——— Off to Honolulu Robert Crissman They had lunched with a group of fellow radio and newspaper men in San Francisco that day in December, 1935; and as they bade them farewell a short time later amid the crowd gathered at the water's edge at Alameda Airport, they thrilled in excited anticipation at the remark, Luncheon in California today; breakfast tomorrow in Honolulu. Their penchant for adventure had taken them into many strange places, but today they knew they were about to undertake the most momentous adventure of a lifetime, trail blazing across the Pacific. They would be the first persons not employed by the Pan-American Airway system, to fly across the Pacific in the Clipper ship, for they were to be included among the twelve who made up the flight personnel of the Philippine Clipper, which even now was being tuned up for her hop-off on the second airmail flight across the ocean, bound for the Orient. Radio men, they were to test the long-range dependability of portable, light-weight, short-wave equipment recently developed. Boarding the ship through a hatch in the after section, they found that most of the seats and beautiful furnishings had been removed. Mail sacks and parcels filled several compartments, and the ship had been lightened as much as possible to carry extra gasoline. The crew were donning white overalls and fur-lined Hying suits. The radio men were to envy the crew their comfort before the flight was over, for with the coming of night and higher altitudes, there came a chill that neither hot soup or coffee could dispel. Stripping the ship of all non-essentials for this experimental fight had included part of the heating apparatus. From outside, one could hear the Captain on the bridge receiving last-minute weather and other information. It was just past three o’clock when the out-board motors coughed and came to life. For a moment the ship seemed stationary, all four motors idling. 1 hen the whirr of the motors rose to a higher pitch and they were in the air. The take-off fully loaded (51,000 pounds) had required forty-five seconds. Captain Tilton slowly lifted the huge ship to an altitude of eight thousand feet and it melted into the atmosphere as the silvery metal of the Clipper merged with the misty grey of the clouds. Oft Point Bonita, they passed out to sea. not to sight land again until they reach Honolulu, 2,400 miles away. Night came swiftly. The rays of the setting sun broke through the clouds to etch the Clipper in red gold against the grayness of the sky for one fleeting moment of glory. Then the sun sank rapidly and they soared still higher, into the black void between the sea and sky. with only the song of the purring motors for comfort. Their first broadcast from the Clipper brought further thrills. 1 he ship’s antenna was released by the Communications Officer and the microphone set up in the roomy lounge. All was in readiness for the broadcast and they were told to stand by. Immediately their call was answered from Point Reyes, and they were on the air, 381 miles from Alameda and Hying 8,000 feet above the black waters of the Pacific. The broadcast lasted fourteen minutes, with Point Reyes reporting excellent reception. Two hours were to elapse before they should go on the air again and so they were given permission to reconnoitre the ship. They decided to visit first the cabin of the engineering officers, throne room of the God of Gadgets.” as it is called. Here is the pulsing heart of the Clipper ship. There was no room for visitors here, but they knelt for a while, watching fascinated, as the two Page Twenty-four

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jCite iary Q Bali In Balithe whole life of the people is centered in beauty. Their pagodas, rice fields, and ( mountains v re symbolic of mystic beauty. Fragrant flov fers under trees that reach to heaven briivg the peace of cool waters after thirstj Sd here the world, like the Balinese, lowers in her hair.

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-—---------- — JPul 71 laqwL — 1 engineers read dial after dial and made notations. Any change on the ship's operations was recorded here. Opening a door and ascending a short ladder, they came to the flying bridge. A window was open and it was cold and inky black, but the instrument panel silhouetted two men sitting comfortably with arms folded. They were Captain Tilton on watch, in command, and Captain Ralph Dahlstorm, First Officer, who, with his hands in his lap, was piloting the Philippine Clipper on its 2,400-mile flight above the black Pacific! Dahlstorm smiled and pointed to a replica of a plane on the dial. We are using the automatic pilot,” he shouted. The Sperry mechanism, modern miracle of aeronautical engineering, was flying the Clipper across the Pacific, even though she carried a crew of nine men. The explorers returned to the lounge, past an officer busy at his radio, and the navigator’s compartment, where throughout the night two men studied the stars and charted the ship's course. During the inspection, the ship had been climbing and was now at 11,000 feet, with the clouds below, giving oft a reflected silvery light from the full moon riding high in the heavens. It was 8:15 P. M. and they had been on their way five hours when they overtook the S. S. Maunales. Evidently the steamer was unaware of their proximity, and no greetings were exchanged as the two ships passed in the night. The Maunales was soon forgotten, however, in the beauty of the night, as they watched the navigators take a celestial reading. But at the same time they were chilled to the bone as the cold, biting wind sucked through the opening. 1'hey commandeered all the sweaters and overcoats, to no avail: and in desperation finally burrowed under the canvas mail sacks. Gradually warmth and drowziness prevailed, and for five precious hours they slept on the deep— among mail bags. Daylight was not far off when they awoke. Outside it was clearing, warm pink rays of the still invisible sun peering over the blood-red horizon. The sunrise was magnificent, the colors almost eluding description as the first rays changed from palest pink to deepening gold until the sun itself burst forth in blinding brilliance. Captain Tilton passed through the bridge, and told them they should soon be sighting Maura Key, rearing up 1,385 feet on the island of Hawaii. All eyes peered ahead. They could see nothing but clouds and more clouds. At 10.08. Pacific time, Captain 1 ilton spoke again. 1 here s Maura Key just west of south of us.” The crew sighted it immediately, and from the bridge came the signal that the land fall had been made. To unpracticed eyes the island seemed only a slightly darker haze among the billowy clouds. Maura Key lay ahead, but only the experienced eye of real air mariners could have recognized it as land. The long over-water jump was done, but Diamond Head lay nearly an hour away, an hour that seemed endless. Very shortly the ship began to descend to get below the clouds. As they came lower, it was dreary and moist, and the heat suddenly became oppressive. Then, just off to the right, across a stretch of foaming water, they sighted Honolulu, just twenty hours and fourteen minutes from the time they had left Alameda Airport. Both Captain Tilton and Captain Dahlstorm were at the controls now. Tilton, having landed there several time before, was explaining the course and pointing out the dangers. They flew low over the land and were surprised at the mountainous aspect of the islands. They could now make out people waving to them, and the sky to the right and left was filled with planes from the Navy base. Passing the naval station, they turned and began preparations for landing. Page Twenty-five