In 1930, there was a new excitement about flying in airplanes. In "Flying the World's Longest Air-Mail Route: From Montevideo, Uruguay, Over the Andes, Up the Pacific Coast, Across Central America and the Caribbean to Miami, Florida in 67 Thrilling Flying Hours," National Geographic Magazine, March, 1930, Junius B. Wood captures this wonder. "In this age earth and water unroll like a reel below, a reel which can stretch a thousand miles in a day, over peaks so high that they have never been climbed, mines and rivers, turbulent seas and fever-ridden jungles, thriving cities and fertile plains, secrets of man and Nature glimpsed by a bird on the wing" (p. 261).
The author's transcontinental flight started on a grass runway in Montevideo, Uruguay, headed west to Santiago, Chile, then proceeded north, stopping many times on South America's western coast for refueling. Reaching Panama, the trip then went west and north to Belize, Honduras, with the end in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. This trip was 7,000 to 9,000 miles; it was made once per week by the United States Post Office.
Taking off during rain and lightning, Mr. Wood, the passenger, was wary, but his traveling companion was a former pilot who assured him that "without a ground connection, only a direct hit will destroy a plane" (p. 264).
Flight in 1930 was risky business. The plane flew a few hundred feet above land, sometimes with clouds above and clouds below. "We'll follow the railroad; it hasn't any windmills," said the pilot, and not two seconds later he went up another hundred feet to clear a water tank which had one" (p. 265). I think my heart was in my mouth as I read that! Imagine: low flight and very little navigation equipment!
There were four men in the small plane: Mr. Wood, his companion, the pilot, and the mechanic. Before crossing the peaks of the Andes Mountains, over 20,000 feet tall, they consulted the weather report. "Snowing, blowing a gale, and 38 degrees below zero. . .The snow would turn to ice on the wings and bring us down. We'll ask them again, " in another hour, decided the pilot (p. 270). Even when weather is clear and a plane is in the air, "Sometimes a storm comes which was not expected, and the flyers are forced to turn back. . .It is a gamble, none better, for crossing the Andes has thrills all its own" (p. 276).
While the travelers wait for the weather to clear, the mail and plane are guarded by "a gendarme with a rifle" (p. 276).
The trip over the Andes was difficult; the cabin of the plane was not pressurized. The author reports, "My head is aching, muscles seem taut; I've a great longing to sleep that's amusing - sleep while crossing the Andes, the trip of a lifetime" (p. 278). The oxygen in the air is very thin at over 20,000 feet.
What a trip! "Might be easier if the plane wasn't bumping so. . .we're dropping hundreds of feeet with each bump; then the pilot catches it and we crawl up agaiin. Certainly plenty of wind; that's why we're so high. It's the pilot's worry, not mine. . .never be a back seat driver, either in an oxcart or in an airplane four miles up in the air!" (p. 280).
All at once, the mechanic left the cockpit and shouted to the two passengers, "Don't move from your seat! The last time you looked out the other side we dropped 1,500 feet." He yelled at the top of his lungs to be heard above the roaring motors" (p. 280). The four plane occupants were very cold and somewhat disoriented. "Ought to have oxygen tanks for pilots on these planes. Let the passengers go into a trance; they've no responsibility except to sit still" (p. 280).
They flew over one of the last of the Andes Mountains on their trip. "Our plane was the only sign of life in the vast void above the world, higher than anything which moves, except man with his machine-made wings; higher than all else there, except Aconcagua's frozen 23,098-foot top. Only a few peaks in the Himalayas and elsewhere in Asia are higher" (p. 282).
After the Aconcagua Mountain, the plane descended rapidly: "19,000 feet in eight minutes. . .Ears were cracking like a battery of machine guns, and the back of the head seemed squeezed in a hydraulic vise" (p. 283). They changed to a smaller, faster plane for the trip to Santiago, Chile. Then, in 45 minutes, they saw the Pacific Ocean.
There were many interesting sights on the trip north. The mountain volcano, "El Misti often sends clouds of sulphurous vapor a thousand feeet into the air" (photo caption, p. 288). In Peru is a coastal desert. The ancient Inca fortress of Paramonga is intact. The plane flew strictly in daylight; the four spent their nights in local hotels.
"Callao, the principal port of Peru, has one of the finest harbors of the Pacific" (p. 300). In Chile's earthquake zone, the Mr. Wood concludes, "From my experience with earthquakes, to use an airplane is the best way to see one" (p. 300). Another impressive snow-capped mountain is Chimborazo, near the Equator above Guayaquil, Equador.
The group entered the country of Columbia at the port of Buenaventura, reputed to be "one of the wettest cities in South America" (p. 317). In Nicaragua, the capital city, Managua, is situated next to an extinct volcano (photo caption, p. 318). In the Republic of Cuba, Havana was the new capital, clean and magnificent in its buildings.
At several places, the plane flew low and a bag of mail was dropped without stopping. It was dangerous to fly over the jungle and volcanoes of Central America because there were no places to land in case of an emergency. When the plane landed on the field at Miami, the customs man asked, "Any liquor in your suitcase?" Florida is 'dry.' The author answered, "Not at $1 a pound excess baggage."
I have truly enjoyed all the articles in National Geographic Magazines I've read so far. I can picture myself in exotic places, except in the plane in this mail run! It seemed far to dangerous to me!
Have you had adventures in an airplane in these modern times? I generally try NOT to fly in winter due to all the bad-weather delays. Once, I was on a plane that left Chicago in the rain. Halfway to Kentucky, the plane developed mechanical problems and landed in an Indiana town. Passengers were put on another plane back to Chicago. After we landed, we were told it started sleeting and we would have to spend the night in the airport. It was NOT very fun being inches away from the next cot and having to cover my head with a blanket to block out some of the light in an attempt to sleep. Oh, well: I should have no complaints. Travel is very safe, usually comfortable. Guess I'm spoiled!
Do you still have any wonder about experiences 30,000+ feet high in a jetliner? It was a revelation for me to see that the Ohio River was not fairly straight but very winding. To realize that giant green circles in the southwestern desert were irrigated crop circles took several trips to California for me. My favorite sight is passing close to the Irish Shore after a long flight and seeing the lighthouse close to the shore. What are some of your favorite air experiences?
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