Governors, Flying Promoters Will Treat Student to 80-Day Vacation

He got a free course in flying from the Army Air Corps, and he has been promised the free use of a half a dozen different planes, so Leopold Ackerman 2nd '48 is looking forward to a vacation of unfettered fun when he takes off from Boston June 10 to tour the country state by state.

Accompanying him on the 80-day aerial odyssey will be his wife, who could have been another to belie Billy Rose's recent broad generalization since she is both a Vassar alumna and an ex-Powers model.

Promotes Private Flying

As a booster of private flying, Ackerman plans to display the products of various aircraft manufacturers across the States and perhaps include them in technicolor movies with the many governors who have invited him in for a visit.

Through the pictures, the ex-captain hopes to make an educational film with a new perspective on state capitals and other historic spots for the benefit of school children and for the inspiration of other amateur fliers who might want to follow the crow-line route.

"While flying over vast expanses of the world as an Air Transport pilot," Ackerman says, "I had the idea that all the different peoples should be able to get closer together. There's a lot people right here in the U.S. can learn if they'll meet and understand each other.

Besides that, I think flying is the best way of seeing the country," he adds, "and if we can create a wider interest in private planes, there will be lower prices followed by still wider interest."

Publicity Angles Plle Up

The publicity snowball that Ackerman started rolling in March has already picked up sponsorship by the National Aeronautic Association, a plan to carry the good wishes of the six New England governors to the other 42, and perhaps even a "Life" photographer. He is still looking for an experienced movie-taker.

It's publicity every mile of the way, he admitted last night,--from Boston's International Airport to the Mississippi Fish and Game Association.