Safe, Sane and Significant

Safe as a county fair was aviation's winter meet, the All-American Air Maneuvers, at Miami last week. A half-dozen speed events went off like buggy-races. The ships that flew in them were not freakish rocket ships, but ordinary sport and businessmen's airplanes. At the finish at week's end, no open speed records had been broken, but no flier had been killed or maimed, no ship demolished. It was aviation's first big safe and sane get-together.

Most impressive and significant event of the week was the light plane cavalcade of some 550 Pipers, Taylor Cubs, Aeroncas, mobilized by Major Al Williams and his flying staff of the Gulf Oil Corp.'s aviation department. On the opening day 325 of these little fellows flew into Miami on free gas and oil from the East, the Middle West and the Southwest, settling like flocks of gulls on Florida's sands. By the meet's end most of the stragglers had joined the first 325. Of the rest, forced down en route by weather, low fuel or motor trouble, none suffered serious mishap.

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