COAST TO COAST IN 48 HOURS

[Music] [Music] bye gentlemen and friends of aviation who are witnessing this motion picture travel by train an airplane from california to the east or from the east to california is the modern achievement in transportation to save time see america first and to enjoy the real fun of flying i recommend it to you and i am sure colonel lindbergh who is chairman of our technical committee and mr cm key is one of america's pioneers in airplane transportation who are sitting here with me also recommended to you incidentally you'll see colonel lindbergh in this picture making one of his regular inspection trips over the route which he helped to select for this great rail airline and now just picture yourself taking this rail and air journey to california starting any day of the year at six o'clock in the evening from the city of new york in the heart of new york a great railroad station is the beginning of your transcontinental rail and air journey from coast to coast here at any one of the windows we buy our tickets to california as simply as we would ordinarily buy just the rail ticket alone then at the gateway to the train friends see us all there's a new kind of spirit in the air each day when this train departs it's like those moments before a smart deluxe liner set sail for paris and the riviera and at exactly 6 5 p.m the airway limited first and only train of its kind in the world with a direct airline connection pulls out with its air-minded guests [Applause] [Music] from new york to columbus ohio dinner bedtime breakfast learning and then a few minutes later the airway limited pulls into port columbus where our first day is flying will begin at each of these air terminals we find unexpected comforts and conveniences beautifully appointed restrooms and courteous attendants who look after our traveling needs here at port columbus our baggage is weighed 30 pounds is the allowance it is 8 15 in the morning now time to take off the big tri-motor all-metal plane is ready and waiting equipped like a pullman car its roomy cabin is well lighted and heated in winter time seated in our comfortable chairs we are all set now to see america best [Music] the field rushes by then all is flowing smoothness the city columbus ohio quickly passes under us with a majestic skyscraper serving notice on air travelers that other cities beside new york have their symbols of america reaching upwards and now ahead of us we can see the drain on which we left new york it remains ahead of us for only a moment or two [Music] we are on our first hop to indianapolis 180 miles to the west less than two hours by air the courier is looking after our comfort souvenir maps are spread before you you begin to look for familiar landmarks arriving at the air budget indianapolis and at this same time at every airport along the route the teletype system reports the news on our progress here at the general office they read the flash of our arrival so through the day mile after mile our plane is watched reported on prepared for at our next stop which now will be saint louis 232 miles away two hours later nearing st louis we see the missouri and mississippi rivers joining into one then a long smooth glide to the landing to another 15-minute pause in our journey westward we are taking this trip in the as a matter of fact it is eight below zero as most of these scenes are made but modern air travel is a year-round accomplished fact and airliners nowadays are as snug and comfortable as your own private yacht here at st louis you step out again for a stroll around while the motors are being inspected and additional fuel is put aboard these motors incidentally are looked after as carefully as a fine watch and after being in use for a specified number of hours each motor is completely overhauled by a core of experts working under the supervision of colonel lindberg as technical adviser to the airline colonel lindbergh has instilled his own insistence upon perfect motor performance overhauling and frequent replacements which from his experience is the way to safety and flying [Music] [Music] so st louis to kansas city missouri 227 miles you'll be there in two hours and 29 minutes in the meantime stroll to the forward cockpit of your plane and take a look at the pilot's weather report an army of trained observers compile these records making observations daily and hourly over the entire line here an observer is following the course of a gas-filled balloon to determine wind direction and velocity at varying altitude these and other hourly observations are condensed into reports which your pilots receive each time the plane lands and now aboard our plane a dainty and satisfying luncheon is served along 5 000 feet in the air at a speed of more than 100 miles per hour we'll travel at least 90 miles before we even arrive at dessert air travel you soon learn is like ocean travel when it comes to stimulating a healthy appetite we are now passing over kansas city we come into land at its convenient airport then on to wichita kansas 173 miles as the crow flies westbound plane calling radio ground station at wichita t-a-t maddox radio ground station at wichita answering westbound plane westbound lane reporting position we are now passing over granville okay on your position are you on time go ahead please we are applying exactly on schedule will arrive wichita on time what is the surface wind at wichita the surface wind at wichita is east southeast 8 miles per hour oh say bill lindbergh's on the line he ought to be passing your ship about now lindbergh is making an inspection trip of the line today all right we'll watch for him good news about lindbergh we'll be looking for him okay goodbye hey joe they're making pictures up here today we're in the movies now boy so long this radio communication is one of the greatest factors of safety in modern air travel and now colonel lindbergh on a coast-to-coast inspection of the line passes our ship in mid-air he throttles down to look things over that's the colonel's office he's riding in you're seeing colonel lindbergh on the job at work and now we are coming to wichita where there are so many airplane factories the words fly away wichita will soon be almost as well known as fob detroit then on the last lap of our first days flying we see what smart western farmers plant for farm relief a swarm of oil derricks cover the landscape we are in oklahoma now we have traveled almost a thousand miles by air and as the sun sinks down into the west an aerocar whisks us to town where an appetizing dinner awaits [Music] now again it is night time and you are asleep aboard the santa fe railway morning pioneers in clovis new mexico where another plane with new pilots and a new kind of countryside await our second days flying [Music] today the rugged west will unroll beneath you but though there be rocks and deserts and mighty mountains everywhere to your untrained eyes your pilots know this route as you know your way home and they know that within easy gliding distance there is always a landing field to be used if necessary [Music] 191 miles of scenic beauty we arrive at the city of albuquerque new mexico you're in indian country now and awaiting you at the airport is a delegate 100 americans keenly interested in air travel and air travelers they gathered here to sell you some of their native handiwork [Music] and after you have attended to your shopping while the ship is being refueled and inspected chief tippecanoe of the local tribe brings in future young brave for a look at white man's latest surprise and papua's two are included in this personally conducted tour and if you should ask the chief what the indian name for airplane is he will tell you [Music] which means wagon like a bird [Music] [Music] so leaving albuquerque on a 240 mile hop to winslow arizona we fly over the mesa giganti then on through a bank of silvery clouds round the tops of the san mateo mountains now certainly you are coming to country worth writing home about next the painted desert swims into view with colors of violet amber and rose to the north the forests of arizona to the south the apache indians favorite hunting grounds here also was the hunting ground of billy the kid that famous bandit of the wild and wooly west your next stop will be kingman arizona 186 miles on the map just an hour and a half to you on one of the many souvenir postcards of your trip is a picture of the famous meteor crater we are coming to it now a mighty hole three miles in circumference which scientists tell us was made by a falling star the bottom we can see the huts of the geologists who are digging down to the treasures which they say this meteor contains then with the sunless that thrills great chasms and canyons flash into views of ruggedness and the beauty which only air travelers are privileged to see this is the famous lee's canyon you've heard about a pair of binoculars brings into view its giant fingers of very colored stone like a mighty pipe organ in a cathedral of the gods [Music] we're leaving kingman arizona now for the last half of our trip from coast to coast 300 miles to the city of los angeles we will have crossed the country in less than 48 hours passing over the colorado river which forms the dividing line of three states in the bend of this river we can see a part of arizona nevada and california [Music] an avast stretch of desert lies before us the devil's collar button in the mojave desert of california death valley lies 60 miles to the north these are the lands over which the pioneers struggled in their covered wagons where once it took weeks and months to cross this vast expanse we are now winging our way across a little more than an hour's comfortable [Music] flight you're nearing los angeles now but a great range of mountains separates you from your first glimpse of the pacific ocean passing over the last of these mountains you see the famous observatory on top of mount wilson next you will see orange grove then sunset on the pacific and the city of los angeles you are nearing the end of your trip and so [Music] plane from new york and the east arriving 420 on time [Music] oh the same way [Music] you