Flying Magazine - Aug 1920

In order to practically prove the feasibility of opening up new trans-continental lines of communication which will materially aid in the growth and economic development of the country. the army has planned an air trip from New York City to Nome, Alaska and return, a distance of 8,690 miles.

The start was made July 15 from Mitchel Field, Long Island, and the route will be as follows:

The expedition is composed of four aeroplanes of the DH-4B type which have been specially selected and equipped for the expedition.

As the course to be covered is in a great measure virgin flying territory, many difficulties were encountered laying out the route. A controlling factor in any such undertaking as this is the question of adequate landing fields.

Captain Howard T. Douglas, Army Air Service, left Washington on June 5th en route to Nome, Alaska, for the purpose of arranging for landing stations and supplies. His reports to the flyers will give them full information of every station and the location of emergency landing places between regular stops. There has been extreme difficulty in finding proper places in the far north, but from the reports of Captain Douglas these obstacles are being rapidly overcome.

There are many advantages that will come from this expedition. One of which in particular will be the fact that following this effort both commercial and mail aircraft may utilize this route so that the scenic wonders and natural resources and the many advantages of Alaska which have hitherto been forbidden to all but those courageous pioneers who were willing to cope with the hardships incident to such a trip will in the future be obtained with a few days' travel in luxury and comfort.

Where the mail at present from the interior of Alaska is thirty days or more in reaching the United States, it will become a mere matter of a few days to bring this mail from the very heart of Alaska to the very heart of the United States. Ranchmen and others along the line of the route have co-operated magnificently with those in charge of the preparations for this expedition and are awake to the tremendous possibilities and advantages to be derived from contact between their small local communities and the great metropolitan centers of the United States. A successful culmniation of this expedition will mean the closest sort of cooperation between the Air Board of Canada and the Army Air Service to the end that the North American continent may be served by commercial aircraft from one end to the other.

A second reason which indicates the utility of this expedition is the co-operation of the Army Air Service with the Engineering Corps and the Geological Survey for the purpose of photographing inaccessible areas in Alaska which have heretofore not been mapped. One area in particular which the Geological Survey especially desires to have photographed from the air comprises 3,500 square miles, lying north of the 66th parallel between Fort Hamlin and Circle. This area includes the upper Yukon flats and is a district which can only he surveyed by ground methods with extreme difficulty. Representatives of the United States Geological Survey have estimated that it would cost as an absolute minimum of over $10,000 and would take one surveying party at least three seasons which would mean three years to accomplish this work by the present ground methods, and it would then only be partially accurate. Allowing for a 50 per cent. overlap of the photographs from the air, this area can be photographed from one aeroplane in ten hours of flying or approximately three days' time at a cost of about $1,500 and the data assembled from such a photographic map would be more accurate than could be obtained from the ground in the short time available each year.

Cameras will be used by the expedition for taking ground views at the stops and obliques and vertical views while en route. In addition cameras and films are to be provided for the photographic mapping of the area north of parallel 66* which includes the Yukon River where it crosses the parallel between Circle and Fort Hamlin. The photographic phase of this expedition will utilize Fairbanks, Alaska as a base of operation for its photographic work. Fairbanks will also be used as a base for all major repairs to aeroplanes fur the Alaskan end of the flight. The United States Weather Bureau has arranged a very elaborate plan whereby weather reports may be obtained by members of the expedition along the entire route traversed, and the Command. ing Officer of the flight will in addition he supplied with local weather reports. The maps for the expedition have been carefully arranged and prepared by the Information Group of the United States Army Air Service.

Arrangements have been made with the U. S. Weather Bureau and the Canadian Weather Bureau to send weather forecasts each day as the flight progresses, thus giving valuable data to the flyers which will aid them in not taking unnecessary risks by running into severe storms.

The feasibility of such an expedition as this by land acroplanes to Nome. Alaska, has been very carefully considered and even preliminary estimates of the route and landing facilities indicate the excellent possibilities of successfully carrying out the flight. With this definite information in hand permission was given by Hon. Newton D. Baker. Secretary of War, to make the flight. The Canadian Dominion Govern. ment welcomed such a flying expedition and gladly gave its authority for this expedition to tly over such parts of Canada as were necessary. The route that will be flown is the most direct air route possible.

The ships will carry 117 gallons of gasoline and 12 gallons of oil which gives them a cruising radius of 4 1/2 to 5 hours. Each plane will have an insignia of a polar bear, significant of the expedition, painted on the side of the fuselage.

The personnel of the expedition is as follows: Captain St. Clair Street, Commanding Officer of the Alaska Flying Expedition; First Lieutenant Clifford C. Nutt, Second Lieutenant Eric H. Nelson, Second Lieutenant C. H. Crumrine, Second Lieutenant Ross C. Kirkpatrick. Sergeant Edmond Henriques, Sergeant Albert T. Vierra, M. E. Joseph E. English.

Captain St. Clair Street will pilot ship No. 1 and his passenger, Sergeant Edmond Henriques, will be his mechanic. Captain Street is eminently qualified to command a flight of this kind since he is a flyer of long experience. He was one of the first American flyers overseas and was stationed most of the time at the great American training center at Issoudun, France. His work overseas was of very high character and of such merit that he was given a citation for his good services by General Pershing. Captain Street has flown practically every type of modern flying machine and is thoroughly conversant with any emergency that would he apt to come up in a flight of this kind. Sergeant Henriques, mechanic for Captain Street. is one of the most experienced mechanics, having had extensive experience on all types of motors, being a specialist on the Liberty 420 h.p.

Ship No. 2 will be piloted alternately by First Lieutenant Clifford C. Nutt, U. S. A., who is second in command of the expedition, and Second Lieutenant Eric H. Nelson, A. S. A., who will be Engineering Officer. These two pilots have perhaps had more experience on the DH-4 Liberty motored plane than any other pilots in the American Air Service. They have had approximately 600 hours flying in this type of machine and are thoroughly conversant with all details of this type of ship. During the summer of 1919, Lieutenant Nutt was placed in charge of a recruiting expedition of four De Haviland-4 planes, being accompanied by Lieutenant Nelson as assistant. This expedition left Houston, Texas, flying to San Diego. Calif., thence to San Francisco, Calif., thence to Salt Lake City. Utah, thence to Denver, Colo., thence to Omaha, Neb., and returning to Houston, Texas. During this trip, a distance of approximately 7,000 miles was covered. This expedition in charge of Lieutenant Nutt left without any previous preparation as to landing fields, supplies. etc., and were obliged to pick their own landing fields and arrange for all supplies, gasoline, oil and any spare parts necessary. The entire trip was successfully completed without any accidents, all four ships returning intact to Houston, Texas, which was certainly a very excellent record. There is no doubt that a trip of this kind has eminently qualified Lieutenants Nutt and Nelson to take part in the Alaska Expedition.

Ship No. 3 will be piloted by Second Lieutenant C. H. Crumrine, who will act as Photographic Officer on this trip. He will be accompanied by Sergeant Albert T. Vierra. Lieutenant Crumrine is an old pilot of much experience. He has done a great deal of instructing and has had a vast amount of experience in cross-country work. Lieutenant Crumrine. stationed at Carlstrom Field, Arcadia, Florida. practically all of the time since he began his flying, has had experience over the wide and uncharted everglades of Southern Florida. He was one of the officers who was directly responsible for the finding of Lieutenant Niergarth when he was lost in the everglades a short time ago. During this hunt Lieutenant Crumrine flew a De Haviland-4 and in order to penetrate the dense growth of the everglades he was forced to fly at a very low altitude which made it doubly difficult not to lose the course. Lieutenant Nutt, piloting ship No. 2. was also in the Niergarth hunt. Mechanic Albert T. Vierra is no doubt one of the very best Liberty motor mechanics in the Air Service. Sergeant Vierra accompanied Lieutenant Nun and Lieutenant Nelson on their 7,000-mile recruiting trip and much of the success of the expedition was due to his care of the motors.

Ship No. 4 will be piloted by Second Lieutenant Ross C. Kirkpatrick, A. S. A.. who will act as Information Officer of the Expedition. He will be accompanied by Joseph E. English who will act as mechanic. Lieutenant Kirkpatrick is an old flyer with several hundred hours' flying to his credit. He took part in the recent Trans-continental Reliability and Endurance Test in which he made a good showing. He flew a DH-4 in this test and was obliged to fly wider adverse weather conditions throughout his entire flight notwithstanding which he made a wonderful showing. He will he accompanied by Master Electric English who will act as a mechanic. He is a specialist on the Liberty motor, a fine mechanic and has devoted most of his time to work on the Liberty 420 h.p. motor.