CONQUEST OF THE AIR

[Music] came with his first balloon Rosier land floated above Paris for 23 amazing minutes this first human Ascent was made with a hot air balloon early experimenters thought some in virt in Smoke made it possible for its guy and their reasoning LED them to traps in an airtight bag of paper or silk in an attempt to cause the bag to ascend it was not until later that experimenters realized that hot air and not smoke made the balloon rise hot air is lighter than the same volume of cold air and through the operation of the principal discovered by Archimedes in 232 b a balloon filled with hot air is capable of rising from the ground considerable burden the balloon continues to rise until the weight of the balloon and the air it contains is equal to the weight of the air it displaces bases in some balloons of this type fire was carried aoft on a platform suspended below the bag to replenish the supply of hot air in any case as the air in the balloon begins to cool it loses buoyancy and settles back to Earth in 1766 the English scientist Henry Cavendish had demonstrated the properties of the gas hydrogen was only about 115th as heavy as air first successful Ascent in a balloon filled with scent for 100 years hydrogen was used as the lifting gas during the development of lighter than aircraft although the use of hydrogen was less dangerous than carrying a fire Aloft to produce hot air its of Nature Made its use extremely hazardous but early aeronauts went ahead with great courage achieving remarkable records for distance and altitude despite the fact that their fragile craft were completely at the mercy of the Winds the first successful dirigible or steerable balloon was flown by Henry Gard on September 23rd 1852 using a steam engine for propulsion the development of derable balloons was slow during the next 45 years until 1898 when the Brazilian aeronaut Alberto Santos Dumont made the first gasoline power flight at [Music] Paris other experimenters followed his lead among them the German count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin who completed the first dirigible with a rigid framework in 1900 in 1911 Zeppelin began the operation of the first commercial airline carrying passengers between two German cities during the war which began in 1914 Germany put the Zeppelin to military use in bombing raids England and the United States although they had successfully operated small durables limited lighter than air construction mostly to non-rigid captive balloons anchored To The Ground by Steel cables these sausage balloons more properly called kite balloons were employed in observation service in the front lines for spotting artillery fire and for observing enemy troop movements following English the United States in 1916 began making a number of blimps or small non-rigid durables for military use it was in a Navy blimp that helium gas was first used as a lifting a 1921 as it is non-inflammable and almost as light as hydrogen helium was immediately adopted by the United States for use in all subsequent Army and Navy lighter than aircraft our Monopoly of this important gas is of great strategic importance and it has eliminated the fire hazard to American airships the longdistance possibilities in type of rigid derable were brought to the attention of the American public when the British R34 arrived D over Long Island after a transatlantic Voyage while the R34 drifted over the landing field an officer descended by Parachute to instruct the ground crew in the unfamiliar technique of hauling down the big Airship as we were to discover years the handling of big DED art difficult to master in 1923 the United States Navy La amican made dirigible the ZR1 at Lakehurst and christened it the shanoa a crew of American Navy men with German advisers took over its operation and the shanoa completed 2 years of service encountering a storm over Ohio the aluminum alloy framework of the Airship proved unequal to the strain of conflicting air currents which destroyed the shanoa a more successful record is that of the zr3 completed in 1924 at the Zeppelin plant at Fredick Haven Germany for the United States under command of Dr Hugo ekner the zr3 took off from Germany for a transatlantic flight non-stop to the na Air Station at Lakehurst New Jersey in 80 hours and 45 minutes the zr3 completed her historic Crossing Navy officials accepted the zr3 at Lakehurst and named her the Los Angeles of all the large United States durables the Los Angelus is the only one to end her active service by honorable [Music] retirement modern commercial use of the derable began with the German graph Zeppelin which crossed the Atlantic with 20 passengers in October 1928 Dr Hugo ekner veteran Airship Commander was in charge of the many subsequent flights of the graph Zeppelin which carried hundreds of passengers across both North and South Atlantic in the Autumn of 1929 the huge dirigible undertook a flight around the world completing the long journey in a few hours more than 21 days the United States Navy designed and built two gigantic durables which embodied a number of improvements in design the first of these ships the acon went into Commission in 1931 among the Innovations found in this Airship were a new truction and Provisions for carrying five scouting [Music] planes early in 1933 the akan sistership the mon made her maiden flight both of these Great American dribles were destroyed by accidents at sea but the casualties were very low because the use of helium as a lifting gas prevented explosion and fire on March 4th 1936 the great German Zeppelin Hindenberg was launched by the use of oil-fed diesel engines her designers avoided adding the fire risk of gasoline to the known Hazard of more than 7 million cubic feet of hydrogen gas the Hindenburg certainly merited the name airliner for she had every conceivable provision for the comfort of her passengers but the gas bags of the Hindenburg were filled with hydrogen 10 successful passenger Crossings of the Atlantic were completed in 1936 on May 6th 1937 asberg reached Lakehurst after that Year's First Crossing a mysterious explosion destroyed the great ship of the [Music] air [Music] The Roaring flames of hydrogen the Twisted skeleton of the giant airship in which 36 passengers Met Death these tragic symbols Mark the end at least for a time of lighter than air transportation many experts believe however that the Airship has certain advantages which will someday assure its place in aerial Transportation only time can tell what will be the fate of the rigid Airship which has been called man's boldest engineering [Music] [Applause] experiment the first living creature to fly existed millions of years ago a flying reptile the pterodactyl in time reptilian scales evolved into feathers and eventually came the development of the bird which is the inspiration for man's efforts toward True Flight the first man-made device that Rose into the air was the kite which reached a high degree of perfection in China many centuries before the beginning of our civilization in the 15th century the Magnificent artistic and mechanical Genius of Leonardo DaVinci produced the designs for several flying machines a model built from one of DaVinci's designs is part of the unrivaled aeronautical collection in our national [Music] museum but the first heavier than air device actually to rise in free flight was entirely different in design and appearance it was a toy helicopter made with feathers Sir George kayy of England was one of the first to Advocate the study of heavier than aircraft as a means for solving the mystery of True Flight the flying machine which Kaye designed was a helicopter a batlike device with steam-driven propellers mounted vertically to lift the machine from the ground following kayle's lead William Samuel Hansen in 1840 tried to finance the building of aircraft intended to connect the various parts of the British Empire Hansen's design called for a monoplane with a wingspan of 150 ft powered by a 30 horsepower steam [Music] engine after Hensen became discouraged his partner John Stringfellow built a model plane which in 1848 flew a distance of 120 ft this was the first successful demonstration of the principles of dynamic flight in Australia Lawrence Hargrave made an important contribution to aircraft design with the development of improved stability in the Box kite in 1889 ponor of Paris devised an ornithopter or bird winged flying machine which flew by flapping its wings up and down in the United States a patent was granted in 1889 to the maker of this weird model needless to say the machine didn't work the experimenters who most advanced The Art of Flight during this period were those who experimented with gliders of sufficient Siz to enable them to Coast on the air this glider constructed by aotto liliental of Germany in 1894 completed more than 2,000 successful Glides it is demonstrated here by Paul Edward Garber in charge of the aeronautical collection of the United States national museum lilan tall's gliders were controlled by Shifting the weight of the operator's body the end of the 19th Century saw the successful gliding experiments of octave shanut a distinguished American engineer shanut produced in his designs a new factor of stability and devised control servfaces for steering the glider shenut was also responsible for the introduction of truss construction which provides increased [Music] strength the first large power-driven model airplane was flown on May 6th 1896 built by the American scientist Samuel Pont Langley this was number five in a series of machines which he called aerodromes powered by steam this model flew 3200 ft above the pomac river based upon this design Langley built a full-sized man carrying aerodrone under a war department appropriation 193 brought the official test of the big Aerodrome and the test brought disaster discouraged Langley ceased experimentation but the same Aerodrome was reconstructed and successfully flown by Glenn Curtis in 1914 nine days after Dr Langley's disastrous experiment came the first controlled human flight on December 17th 193 at kitta Wilbur and Orville R took off for the first stain flights continuing the successful gliding experiment in liliental the R Brothers had built and flown efficient gliders and it was experience gained in glider construction that aided them in developing the first successful airplane in the right airplane the elevators were placed in front of the main structure on Outriggers while the rudder was similarly mounted on Outriggers behind instead of aerons which were a later development the Wright brothers employed wires and pulleys for twisting the tips of the Wings to tilt the ship from side to side in Flight the plane was launched from a monor rail by means of a rope and falling weight and now having reached the moment of Man's first flight let us see what it is that keeps an airplane in the air the lifting element of an airplane is called the wing the outline shape of the wing determines its flight characteristics let us consider the wing immersed in the air the airplane wing is set at a small angle to the fuselage which angle is called the angle of incidence the angle of attack of the wing will vary as the airplane takes off climbs Maneuvers and descends a propeller starts the airplane moving through the air now it must be understood that air is a fluid somewhat like water but less dense and being a fluid it cannot be separated like a solid but moves around any object immersed in it the air striking the lower surface of the wing is slowed down and deflected downward and as a result we have a force tending to push the wing upward in the opposite direction let us now consider the action of the Wind on the upper surface of the wing you will note that the shape of the upper surface is such that the air following its Contour has farther to go than the air following the Contour of the lower surface the air traversing the upper surface must therefore move at a higher velocity than the air following the Contour of the lower in order to arrive at the trailing Edge at the same time then since an increase in velocity of a liquid or a gas results in a decreased pressure against the surface along which it is Flowing it follows that the pressure of the air on the upper surface of the wing is less than the pressure against the lower thus we have a difference in pressure which is the force tending to lift the wing measurements show that the upper surface contributes about 2/3 of this Force while the lower contributes 1/3 every wing has drag caused by its shape and the friction between the air and the wing surface the force of the propeller counteracts the drag and the lift counteracts the weight of the airplane now with the main element explained that of the wing and how it lifts the other great factor of flight namely control needs to be explained the control is affected in three directions namely side to side as governed by the rudder up and down as governed by the elevator and lateral balance as governed by the aerons and now with the engine running the propeller pulling the wing ready to lift and the pilot operating the controls the airplane flies now that we have investigated The Secret of flight Let Us return to a avation [Music] history the first sustained flight in Europe was made in September 196 by Alberto Santos Dumont the Box kite construction of his plane lent a certain amount of lateral stability most Europeans doubted reports of successful American flights until a wri Brother's flight in France finally convinced them in 198 Van Curtis Advanced America's lead in aviation with a new type of construction which introduced aerons or little hinged Wings to control lateral motion this development eventually replaced the wing warping arrangement of the Wright brothers the celebrated monoplane antoinet developed by levur of France was one of the first single-winged airplanes and it proved Superior to other designs so far evolved particularly as a wind fighter with ler himself swinging the propeller the antoanet was first flown by laam in November 198 [Music] improvements in design during 199 brought about increased maneuverability particularly in the case of the famous blairo monane which set a high standard of performance on July 19th 199 Louis blero designer and pilot of this remarkable little airplane startled Europe with a flight of 31 miles blero was one of the greatest Personalities in the developmental period of heavier than aircraft Santos Dumont successfully completed several short jour Journeys in the famous monoplane demoiselle by this time actual flying competition had begun with a French air meet in August 199 in October 1910 an American Aviation meet took place at St Louis Theodore Roosevelt climbed to a precarious perch beside the famous pilot Arch hawy Colonel Roosevelt's enthusiastic reaction to his flight focused public attention upon the advances made in airplane design and converted many Skeptics to interest in aviation many designs evolved from early European efforts the gyroplane of Lis bre achieved short flights L Pan's jate triplane was surely radical in construction somewhat better performance was achieved by the Sloan by curve and similar attempts to secure more efficient lifting Services 1911 saw the appearance of one of the first passenger transport ships the albad Airbus this year was also notable for the development in America of Curtis airplanes designed to take off from water instead of land cofin a well-known Pioneer flyer demonstrated an early Burgess right float sea plane in a notable flight which ended in New York Harbor it was obvious that the ability to operate from both land and water would add to the airplane's usefulness and safety and so came the development of the early amphibian PLS in the period just before the beginning of the world War the most efficient and popular airplanes still bore a strong resemblance to the earliest designs many famous pilots flew these planes as the use of aircraft became more widespread Miss Ruth Law and her Curtis biplane became familiar sites to thousands of enthusiasts in all parts of the United States with the increasing use of aircraft and particularly because of the impetus given the industry by the outbreak of the World War factories began to turn out large numbers of planes on both sides of the Atlantic by this time the design aircraft had become fairly well stabilized more efficient power plants had been developed and the stability and maneuverability of the average plane was much improved the harrowing years of the world war brought specialization to airplane design civil flying practically ceased while the aviation industry of the Waring Nations turned attention to the development of many types of military planes the war accelerated progress in man's conquest of the air but combat planes possessed qualities far different from those required for civil use speed and maneuverability were all important in War aircraft in 1914 70 mph was a very good air speed but by 1918 an English Pursuit plane was doing 160 mph monoplanes were almost entirely superseded by biplanes which were at the time stronger and better fitted strenuous Arab btics an important development during the last year of the war was the establishment of the first Air maale route from New York to Philadelphia Washington on May 15th 1918 lieutenants Webb and Edon brought mail through to Washington in a war type plane the first of many spectacular transatlantic flights was undertaken in 1919 by three United States Navy flying boats designated as the NC Squadron leaving North America at new Thunderland on May 16th they flew toward the [Music] aor on Route the nc1 and nc3 landed to take their bearings and were disabled by the Seas the nc4 was the only one to reach the azors by air after refueling and awaiting better weather Commander AC Reed and his five companions took off in the nc4 for England on June 14th 1919 John Alcock and aw Brown of England made the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic from St John's Newfound land to Clifton Ireland in about 16 hours despite a minor crack up on Landing the flight won a $50,000 prize offered by The Daily Mail a short time later headlines announced the establishment of a passenger service between Paris and London marking the start of commercial aviation in Europe in the United States after several unsuccessful attempts the first non-stop transcontinental flight began on May 2nd 1923 lieutenants mccredy and Kelly of the United States Army Air Service flew the t2 modified fker transport from New York to San Diego in 27 [Music] hours another memorable aircore achievement was credited in 1924 to the world flight Squadron led by Major Frederick Martin four Douglas planes left Seattle on April 6th 1924 the leading plane cracked up in Alaska but the flight continued under the leadership of Captain LEL Smith and two of the original planes finished the historic passage the first around the world flight was completed in an elapsed time of 175 days a period of experimentation which intervened at this time brought such developments as this flapper plane by pedaling furiously to gain momentum the inventor expected to take off with a flapping of wings but he [Music] didn't a contemporary effort was the cycle plane built by an American idea man the idea may have been good but the cycle plane wasn't so no records were broken later came birdlike planes built in a search for greater stability but few of them were successful for years the helicopter was classed with perpetual motion as a physical impossibility but with propellers mounted to lift the ship vertically the Terrace pescara of Paris actually made a flight of 20 ft at an altitude of 24 [Music] in a new era of geographical Discovery began with the first great exploration flight of Commander Richard E bur lyd Bennett taking off from Kings base pittsbur in a fulker tri motor transport plane on May 9th 1926 these two Pioneers flew North Pole and acted in 15 hours this was the first important flight through of heavier than air machines in [Music] Exploration with the posting of a $25,000 prize for the first non-stop flight between Paris and New York two French aviators captains nuner and Ki set out from Paris on May 8th 1927 in an attempt to cross the North Atlantic and a non-stop flight to New York they had planned to fly a direct course to America but somewhere on Route they met with unforeseen difficulties and vanished forever May 20th 1927 is the date of the most romantic adventure in the history of Aviation on this chilly gray morning on Long Island a young a mail pilot announced his intention to fly to Paris with his plane groaning under a tremendous load of fuel he barely cleared power lines at the edge of the field Charles Lindberg was on his way to Paris [Music] alone a crowd of thousands surged over the Paris airport at Labour cheering wildly when they cited the small silver monoplane in 33 and a half hours Lindberg had completed his historic flight of 3610 Mi and the people of France made him the man of the [Applause] hour upon his return to America New York gave Lindberg a welcome that has never been equaled in the history of that enthusiastic City lindberg's Trail breaking flight was followed shortly by Eastwood crossings by Clarence Chamberlain and Richard E bird and his companions it was not until 3 years later that a Paris to New York non-stop flight was made in a bre plane on September 1st 1930 dudon cost and Maurice bant flew to New York in 37 hours and 18 minutes Amelia Earhart who had already flown the Atlantic as a passenger determined to be the first woman to make a solo hop to Europe on May 20th 1932 she took off on the Eastward [Music] pass flying almost the same course as that taken by Lindberg she headed along the shortest path which lies well up in the North Atlantic but her plans miscarried and on May 21st she came down at London Derry Ireland after a flight of 2,26 M in 15 hours and 18 minutes an amazing spectacle was the mass flight of 24 military sea planes from Italy to the United States under the command of atalo Balbo this air Armada flew in seven hops from arabello Italy to Chicago in July 1933 successfully completing the westward hop the Italian Flyers were received with much claim in several American cities before the beginning of their return Journey the roundtrip mileage of this great Mass flight was about 12,000 Mi spectacular in 1933 flights of this caliber have since become routine for example in July 1939 a crew of 105 officers and Men delivered 15 longrange bombers assigned to Hawaiian Patrol Duty in an uneventful non-stop flight across the Pacific from the naval Airbase at San Diego such flights as this are common and little publici in America's present day Naval and Military Aviation one of the most Gallant flights in the annals of Aviation took place immediately after balo's Mass flight from Italy on July 15th 1933 the American Aviator Wy post started on a lonely hazardous solo Flight Around the World in 1931 post had completed a record world flight with Harold gatty but this time in the same plane the famous Lockheed monoplane Winnie may he flew Alone 7 days 18 hours and 49 1/2 minutes after his takeoff Wy post completed a 15,600 m Journey which earned for him a permanent place among aviations [Music] Immortals one of the most significant flights in aviation history is around the world Dash made quite recently July 1938 Howard Hughes equally well known as a pilot and as a movie producer decided to make the most complete preparations possible for every stage of the journey his plane and especially fitted Lockheed monoplane was equipped with every known modern instrument for aerial navigation when the flight was completed in 3 days 19 hours and 8 minutes Hughes had conclusively proved the value of adequate preparation High gr equipment and efficient navigation operating through such agencies as the national advisory committee for Aeronautics which maintains developmental Laboratories at Langley field Virginia science and research continue unceasingly their contributions to safety and efficiency in aircraft design the development of wind tunnels in which accurate scale models and even full size airplanes can be exhaustively tested has accelerated progress in both civil and Military Aviation a system of charted light beacons marks the safe path from City to city and radio communication between plane and ground keeps the flyer in contact with control stations at all times under the Civil Aeronautics Authority a complete radio range beacons guides traffic along the commercial highways of the air and a new and interesting development the radio Landing beam guides the incoming plane to a safe landing even when the ground is invisible to the pilot the source of the landing beam and Runway localizer beacons is a small house at the edge of the field The Landing beam is projected Upward at a small vertical angle the true Landing path is in the lower half of the beam along the solid line when the plane about to land reaches the landing path the horizontal pointer of the instrument actuated by The Landing beam stands at the central circle the vertical needle operated by the runway localizer Beacon gives horizontal guidance and intersects the central circle when the plane is on the true Runway course regardless of its altitude at an altitude of 1,000 ft the incoming plane penetrates the landing beam but it continues past the actual Landing path whereupon the horizontal needle goes up for above the path the plane is nearer the core of the beam where the energy is greater seeking his true course the pilot drops lower the panel instrument receiving a weak impulse from the beam sends the horizontal needle below the central circle and again indicates an error the pilot then increases his altitude finds the true Landing path and follows it unerringly to a safe landing on a surface that may be totally [Music] obscure the many safeguards which science and research have contributed within the past few years have made possible the great network of airlines that serve the people of America today carrying passengers mail and Express on regularly scheduled flights between major cities and from coast to coast the nation's commercial airlines provide Speedy transport unrivaled Elsewhere on the world's Airwaves the first airplanes successfully used by United States commercial operators were the Ford and Folker Tri odors which are already Museum pieces yet to these sturdy reliable ships of 10 years ago we owe much of the success achieved by commercial Aviation during its first period of expansion America's great Air transport with its magnificent equipment its unrivaled record and its highly trained Personnel is the backbone of civil aviation in this country every member of an airline staff knows his job from start to finish and a high sense of personal responsibility and teamwork produces typically American efficiency and operating safety regulations require the frequent dismantling and overhauling of the powerful engines to eliminate the possibility of mechanical failure and expert mechanics SE to it that no plane leaves the shop until it is in absolutely perfect condition for flight servicing operations on the field before departure are completed with equal care each man has a specific job to do and he is proud of his ability to carry out his work to Flawless [Music] perfection the brain center of the airport is the control tower from which all field operations are controlled by [Music] radio when the ship is on the line passengers and baggage the powerful radial engines have been warmed up and checked and they roar their Readiness to lift their burden Skyward a salute from the dispatcher gives an okay for the takeoff and the big plane rolls [Music] away as the ground sinks below passengers settle down to the pleasant monotony of flight confident of their security in the cabin of one of America's great airliners from the ground below thousands gaze a loft to Marvel at the familiar but thrilling sight of the silver Giants flight even greater things are in store for us as the nation's Airlines Foster progress this gigantic transport ship the Douglas DC4 was developed at the cost of a million5 dollar to fill an order placed by the four major transcontinental operating companies thus greater luxury and speedier and safer aircraft are produced to meet the needs of an air-minded people the government's program of air preparedness has given great impetus to an already thriving aircraft manufacturing industry in the United States civil aviation 2 has increased its demand for more and better planes foreign Airlines and governments are anxious to buy quantities of American ships designs of which our aeronautical Engineers have already declared Antiquated everywhere American engines and airplanes are famous for their efficiency and reliability so factories in many parts of the country are working day and night striving to keep up with the demand but the production of more airplanes is only one phase of the growth of aviation in present day America today we need more pilots both for National Defense and to man the nation's civil [Music] Airwaves many young people are discovering the magic of Flight by learning to soar In Sail planes or gliders the modern glider is very similar to power-driven aircraft there are controls to direct flight the same as those found in motor powered planes there are two simple controls a Rudder bar operated by the Pilot's feet and a hand operated control stick which Rises between his knees from the bottom of the cockpit when moved forward or back the control stick raises or depresses horizontal tail surfaces called elevators which control up or down motion of the plane the foot operated bar controls the rudder which steers the ship from side to side just as a Rudder guides a boat through water side to side motion of the control stick moves hinged panels called aerons in each Wing when one Aeron goes up the other goes down thus raising One Wing and lowering the other to tilt or Bank the plane by the use of these three control services the balance of the glider and its motion in the air may be governed by the pilot the airplane can push or pull itself through the air to create the required relative motion but a glider must always be falling through the air under the pull of gravity when a glider hovers in space go upward in a climb it is because the ship is falling gently downward in a quickly Rising vertical air current which Rises faster than the glider descends an expert pilot knows from applicants for Advanced Training in schools and colleges throughout the United States Aviation classes have been established with a cooperation of the federal government young people everywhere are enthusiastically adopting wings and a new and greater generation of Flyers is already beginning to [Music] emerge the Army's Eagles earn their wings at the world's finest flying schools this is Randol field in Texas where The Pick of America's Young manhood arrives at the Gateway to Adventure their first lesson is to learn the military bearing required of a soldier two weeks of preliminary training in from school where he learns the principles of aerodynamics and the an army pilot is rated at the peak of his profession and he must learn many things before he graduates communication both in the air and on the ground is vital to efficient operation of the air core so the fledgling must learn the radio code so that he may receive and transmit messages while in flight 6 to 10 hours of dual instruction and many hours of solo flight are required before the student is ready to go up with a dawn patrol for practice at the art of [Music] arabad [Applause] [Music] in his Cadet is taught how to handle his plane under every possible condition Mass flights from point to point CrossCountry flights formation flying and navigation at night are all part of the curriculum during the 12 short months of the course at Randol field the cadet receives the most comprehensive in all branches of [Music] Aviation during training Pilots Learn to Fly blind in a miniature plane equipped with all controls found in a regulation plane an instructor transmits simulated radio Beacon signals while Maneuvers are recorded by a machine which traces the course on a map the flying standards of the airport are the highest in the world and when the cadet finally graduates he receives an army commission and becomes eligible for a commercial pilot's license he has mastered the Machinery of flight and he has learned to use the amazing instruments which have been developed to increase efficiency and safety in the air whether at the controls of a giant transport or in the cockpit of a flying fortress the new pilot is ready to do his part to maintain America's Supremacy in the air [Music] within the short space of 10 years United States Airlines have hurdled the Atlantic and the Pacific carrying both mail and passengers on regularly scheduled flights between five continents though gallant and ambitious attempts have been made by other nations to challenge our position in transoceanic transport these are efforts have so far produced no serious rivalry gigantic sea planes like Germany's famous DOI have been built and flown across the seas but the factors of safety and reliability characteristic of American Transport planes have always been [Music] lacking the product of endless research fine craftsmanship and great engineering ability is today's American Transport this is the China Clipper Trailblazer of the broad Pacific a larger version of the same general design is the famous Yankee Clipper which carries passengers and mail on regularly scheduled flights non-stop to Europe literally a boat with wings this giant sea transport has a massive boatlike hoe to support its 41 and 1/4 tons of weight on the water four 1500 horsepower engines provide Power to lift the streamlined mass and Propel it through space at 200 mph inside the Yankee Clipper are complete luxurious living accommodations for 32 passengers and a crew of [Music] eight even later design is this 50,000 lb flying boat built for long range passenger service 22 ft from top to ke she has two decks of Passenger compartments within her massive Hull and built into the wings are two engines which are miracles of power and dependability 4,000 thundering horsepower send the big ship Skyward to take her place on the highways of air Commerce from drawing boards wind tunnels and Laboratories come other new designs to challenge the outermost limits of Earthly space sealed against the cold and the rarified air of high altitudes powered for Swift flight in the lonely vastness of the subst stratosphere this is evidence of the unswerving ambition the high courage with which man pursues his Skyward course let us look backward in memory over the span of less than 40 years to Man's first feeble but successful attempts to fly let us never forget the faith and courage of those early pioneers of flight for their achievements Freed Man Forever from the bonds that held him Earthbound we have come far since the Wright brothers first challenge space in the year 198 and as we enter the fifth decade of the 20th century we turn toward the future with the question where now what conquests lie [Music] ahead