Page:The Fun of It.pdf/80

62 preparations are apt to be long drawn out and worrisome. On the Friendship Flight everything had to be tested from the performance of the plane itself, its carrying capacity, speed and other quali­fications, to the accuracy of the instruments on which the pilot depends. Then there were the specially installed radio and the three motors with all their many accessories.

Behind the preparations of the moment lay hun­dreds of hours of flying which Stultz had done, and on Lou Gordon’s part, years of experience with en­gines. There were three in the actual crew of the Friendship, though a host of others were employed in the preparatory details. Stultz, originally sug­gested by Commander Byrd, had an exceptional record as a pilot, and Gordon was selected by Stultz as a thoroughly first-class mechanic.

All work on the project was shrouded in secrecy. That created difficulties for everyone. For in­stance, no one knew—not even my family—that I had anything to do with the Friendship. And as to the plane itself, outside of our own group there was no knowledge of what was planned for it. Os­tensibly the Fokker was still owned by Byrd and was destined for the South Pole expedition. That alibi effectively covered the physical preparations of the ship.

I did not dare show myself around Boston Air­port, where the ship was being worked on. Not once was I with the men on their test flights. In fact, I actually saw the Friendship only once be­-