Specks

Every week, every day, a bird's-eye view of the world contains many humans soaring off the earth, flitting about, coming to grief or glory. Last week's bird's-eye view included the following sights:

In Central America, a half-dozen specks capable of landing on either land or water progressed southwards in hops and jumps. They were the six U. S. Army amphibian planes bearing their crews on the first legs of their proposed "friendship flight" around South America.

In Illinois, dimly seen in fog that blanketed Chanute Field (Rantoul, Ill.), two rapid specks collided head on, crumpled, fell together 400 feet to earth where they wrecked themselves but did not catch fire. They were planes manned by four Army officers--Capt. Harold G. Foster, First Lieut. Henry W. Kunkel, First Lieut. Albert J. Clayton, Second Lieut. Ralph L. Lawter--all of whom were killed. A board of inquiry found that the pilots had approached each other at their ships' "blind angles," each being invisible from the other's cockpit.

At Lake George, N.Y., a speck that had crawled swiftly over the map from Long Island descended upon the lake ice, which crackled, boomed, broke through. Natives pushed out in a rowboat, rescued the half-sunken plane's three people, who registered at a hotel as A. L. & Mrs. Caperton, and Pilot J. P. Herman, of Garden City, L.I.

In New Jersey, a greyish bubble swaying over Lakehurst broke its anchor (a ground winch), sailed up and away toward the Atlantic. Three specks--an auto, an airplane, a blimp--gave chase. A figure in the passenger basket manipulated valves, lowered the bubble so that its dangling cable trailed across the landscape. Within four miles of the sea, the cable finally tangled itself in a tree. Rescuers pulled down Lieut. Frank J. Uhlig, U. S. Marines, deflated his kite balloon, took both home uninjured.

Near Windermere, England, a speck circled, hovered about and landed upon the 300-ft.-by-20-foot plateau which is the summit of Mount Helvellyn, third highest eminence (3,118 feet) in England. Later the speck ascended again, soared away. It was Pilot John Leeming Of the Lancashire Aero Club who, with a bonfire on the snow to indicate the wind and crosses marking possible landing sites, sought to demonstrate upon what a small place an airplane can land.