The huge snow cruiser of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition cuts across Akron Airport enroute to Boston after picking up two spare tires in the air dock. (Compare its size with that of the automobile.)
Rarely has anything attracted as much attention throughout the nation as the huge snow cruiser made by the Research Foundation, Armour Institute of Technology, to be used in the exploration of the region about the South Pole by members of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition.
Biggest motor vehicle ever built, the cruiser has been the subject of columns of space in newspapers and magazines, has been talked about by radio commentators everywhere, and has appeared in countless stills and newsreel pictures. Starting from Chicago, where it was constructed, the cruiser moved slowly over the highways to Boston, encountered a number of minor breakdowns, slid off into a ditch in Western Ohio, was seen by millions of interested spectators.
Coming into Akron, it spent the night in the air dock on Akron Airport, where it picked up two spare tires. The tires, the largest ever built for practical use, are size 120x33.5-66.
Reaching Boston on November 13, it was loaded aboard one of the expedition’s vessels for shipment to the antarctic. Also included in the cruiser’s equipment are six Airfoam mattresses and the driver’s seat is also of Airfoam. Goodyear airplane tires, tubes, wheels and brakes are used on the Expedition’s single-engined Beechcraft plane.
