[1928 Aviation Achievements]

there he is the calm good-looking fellow in the center after returning from Paris and after huge receptions in Washington New York and St Louis he launched a nationwide tour taking him to 82 cities in all 48 states as at this air show in Los Angeles massive crowds turned out to get a glimpse of our new national hero Lindbergh's feet was sparking A Renewed interest in aviation why already there was Nostalgia for this 1910 vintage plane foreign performed for the crowd others were dreaming of new records to be broken everyone from aircraft designers to businessmen were coming up with ideas for new planes and New Uses aircraft development had been flagging until Lindbergh came along now it was booming as 1927 turned into 28 there was growing enthusiasm for flying now the airplane would get you there faster and the first regularly scheduled passenger planes were in service but the biggest Aviation used was the breaking of Records tri-motored [ __ ] the question mark was staying in the air continuously for almost a week [Applause] [Music] over in England the British were unveiling their experimental plane the inflexible the largest land-based plane built up to that time the race was on for the largest craft to carry passengers and cargo [Music] all but the inflexible was dwarfed in 1929 by this huge Garnier amphibious plane 12 Motors 169 passengers despite their looks planes like these were making regular Air Service possible now came the rigid frame Airship the dirigible the largest of these in 1928 the German Gruff Zeppelin 772 feet long 100 feet in diameter she took her maiden flight September 18th Dr Hugo echner was the commander and the Builder in October the graph of Zeppelin left Germany carrying a crew of 40 and 20 passengers plus male crossing the Atlantic in four days arriving at Lakehurst New Jersey and suddenly we all had the Zeppelin fever it was like Lindbergh all over again New York ticker tape parades 20 000 A Day visiting Lakehurst to see the ship and now came the big Aviation news of 1928. a young woman immediate Earhart 31 years old a seven-year veteran pilot on June 17 she took off in a soccer monoplane from Newfoundland with a pilot and a mechanic and 20 hours and 40 minutes later there they were in Wales and Amelia became the first one to fly the Atlantic Lady Lindy some called her and as usual there were ticker tape parades in New York festivities and cities right across the country America fell in love with Amelia Earhart she was unassuming but she was a striking personality and she was going to set many more Aviation records over the next nine years foreign by now the United States was supplying warplanes to Obregon though there was considerable wrangling among Mexico's Myriad political factions obregon's revolutionary party continued to hold power the fact of American military aid was a bit curious American Mexican relations had improved since 1927 in spite of the fact that obregon's government was quite socialistic by our standards agrarian reforms and the constant threat to nationalize American oil companies that looks strange and threatening to us still there was enough Good Feeling for us to let Obregon have fighter planes foreign [Music] nine days and 20 hours the same Airship that had made the Atlantic crossing a year before it seemed as if the enthusiasm might slack off ah but no as the Groff moored at Lakehurst New Jersey it was Zeppelin fever all over again [Music] it was an amazing thrilling glorious excuse and I think all the passengers were unanimous and feeling as I did but the actual taking of this trip was far beyond anything that we possibly hoped to experience was it the overwhelming size of that Airship it did seem to be a kind of symbol of modern technology it was a modern Miracle indeed it was now do you as postmaster of the graph supplement I'm giving three letters which I would greatly appreciate your giving to the movie tone news crews in Berlin Tokyo and Seattle if you will give these letters to them as soon as you get to the field we'll be very very much obliged to you soon a huge hydrogen tank to replenish the ship's gas cells Dr Hugo echner commander of the golf Zeppelin speaks for the movie tone camera [Applause] lindberg's presence quickly helped Inspire wide interest in air travel the new symbol of the new era and inevitably as a part of all this we had to have a first marriage up there in the air [Music] [Music] thank you coming to Earth [Music]