Experimental Trip to Prospective Airport 1 FROM Our OWN ContesponDens Haichow, Ku., May 11.
Haichow has been astir to-day over the arrival of the China National Aviation. Corporation's amphibian plane No. 5. About eleven o'clock in the morning, all eyes were on. the sky, and tongues began to wag. Excited groups gathered and Hogan discuss the Dossiility" of it being a Japanese plane that was circling the city. Suddenly, the centre' of interest was transferred to the Haichow River, for the plane slowly circled the river oppo: compound sion, The Sat its height Just' as the landing wa mot knowing the eccentricities of the river, the" pilot stopped. the big amphibian near the shore at the Hai chow side of the river. Before he mew it, the tide had started out, and the' plane was left to sink into mud, making it necessary to wait {for the next tide to get the machine into the middle of the river in a place favourable for starting off 'A tremendous crowd soon gathered on the bank of the river, this being only the second time an aeroplane hag landed at Haichow. 'The first time was when Pluchow, the famous German ace, flew over from Tsingtao and landed' near the north gate of the city, later dismantling his. plane the engine out of com-to keep it from falling into the hands of the Japanese. This was in 1914, The people of Haichow have never forgotten that first sight of an aeroplane and this old memory primed them for a keen interest in. this second landing.
The plane was piloted by Mr. E. M. Allison, the chief pilot of the National Aviation Corporation, and with him were Mr. W.L. Bond, operating manager for the company; it. M.S. Polin, a director of the company; Mr, John Tseng, engineer; and Mr.' Kao, mechanic.' The first. of finding out whether or not proper Janding fields were available' here. The company hopes to open a, regular yun from Shanghai to Haichow, thence to Tsingtao, Trentsin, and probably on to Peking.
The party first took dinner at the homes of Messrs. E.8. Currie and W.C.. MeLauehli hen went out to Took overs al landing. fields which were ay ble, They. finally decided that, a rie field between Haichow a PU, only afew ace, would be ideal as a except possibly in the summer, when the heavy rains might make the field too miry for use, Between nine and ten o'clock that night, when the night tide came in, the plane. "was driven out tothe of, the river, "this rather a dificult operation, because the mud was deep and very sticky. With the help of a boat, ropes, amd chains, and various manipulations, the feat was accomplished, and the machine was "put in position for starting off the next day.
After rising from the river, the plane circled over the, landing' field which had been spied' out. the day landed there, After taking MeLauchlin it "children Gay and. Ed Currie and Catherine McLauehlin, up. for'a. flight over Haichow, Hina: and the adjacent territory, the big plane took off a second time from the newly-discovered landing field and went up, high in the air its Journey to Tsingtao, expect. fields' there, and then goon to ing, 0 mok over prospective landing Tientsin, {much interested in The people of Haichow are very proposed establishment of an running to Haichow, three hours, and the operation of the Tine would bring the Shanghai newspapers to Hi chow on the day they are published.
Apparently the bandit situation in the section south of Haichow has improved, for. the buses. are again Anumber of the bus lines have running fom here to Tsingliangps.
Yesumed operations.
Light rains, with very cool weather still mark the progress of the spring months. In much of the!"Haichow section, crops are going to very poor, on account of lack of sufficient. rain." In the sections. in which the rains have been heavier, the crops are up to normal, but-such, actions ave only a small part of the Haichow territory.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.