About eleven o’clock one night, as Jack got his weather reports and checked them up from his chart, he called the Skipper over and said:
“Things look as favorable now as they have for some time. There is a storm near Chicago moving this way, but I don’t think it can possibly arrive until about eight in the morning. There is another one directly in our path in about the middle of the Atlantic; but from the reports I have it is moving northward and should be well out of our way by the time we get there. If you say the word, I’m for starting in the morning.”
The Skipper replied, “The plane is ready. The weather is up to you, Jack. Let’s go!”
Telephone calls were put through to the field and to the official who was to seal the barograph[[5]] before they started. They sent word to Old Bill at the lunch wagon to pack the food and to get the thermos bottles filled.
[5]. Barograph—An instrument which records on a chart the variations in height above sea level.
About twelve-thirty, when everything was packed and ready and they were about to start for the field, they got another report from the weather man. In the two hours that had elapsed since the previous report, conditions had changed for the worse. The mid-ocean storm which they had known about, had altered its course and was heading in toward Newfoundland.
Jack and the Skipper talked it over and decided they had better put off the attempt until there was a better chance of having favorable conditions. This meant more telephone calls to tell of their change in plans.
When they talked to Billings on the phone, he said that the field was already covered with people and cars, and that it was more than likely the crowd would refuse to believe the take-off had been postponed. He said the plane was in perfect condition, and that he believed he would stay at the hangar the rest of the night.
The Skipper