FAMOUS FLIGHTS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 48, Issue 77, 11 January 1928, Page 6

FAMOUS FLIGHTS.

A-QUARTER CENTURY'S RECORD. REMARKABLE PROGRESS. Following is & list of the flights that have marked stages in the development of aviation during the last quarter of a century:—

Dec. 17, 1903—Orville Wright. Distance 850 feet (world's first controlled flight on power-driven aeroplane). Time, 58sec. Machine, 12 h.p. Wright biplane. , July 25, 1909 —Louis Bleriot. Distance, 26 miles (first cross-Channel aeroplane flight, from Les Baraques to Dover). Time, 37min. Machine," 25 h.p. Bleriot monoplane. April 27-28, 1910—Louis Paulhan. Distance, 183 miles' (London-Manches-ter flight, with one halt en route, which won the £IO,OOO "Daily Mail" prize). Time, 4hrs 12min. Machine, 50 h.p. Farman biplane. June, 1919—Sir John Alcock and Sir Arthur Whitten Brown. Distance, 1890 miles,-(first non-stop Atlantic iL. aeroplane St. John, '-J Newfoundland,:to Ireland, winning '•Hhe "Daily Mail's" £IO,OOO prize). Time, 16hrs 12-min. Machine, twin- \ engined Vickers biplane. Nov.-Dec, 1919.—Sir Ross Smith. Distance, 11,295 miles (flight in stages from England to Australia. Time, 124 flying hours. Machine, twinengined Vickers biplane. 1924:—U.5. Army airmen. Distance, 27,000 miles (in stages round the world). Time, 336 flying hours. Machines, Douglas biplanes. 1924—Captain Pelletier D'Oisy. Distance, 12,000 miles (from Paris to Tokio in stages). Time, 124 flying hours. Machine: Breguet biplane. 1924-25—Sir Alan Cobham. Distance, 17,000 miles (London to Rangoon and back). Time, 210 flying hours. Machine, 240 h.p. De Haviland biplane 1925—Marchese de Pinedo. Distance, ' 34,000 miles (Rome - Melbourne-Tokio-Rome in stages). Time, 360 flying hours. Machine, Savoia flying boat. 1925-26—. Sir Alan Cobham: Distance, 17,000 miles (England to South Africa and Back). Time, 175 flying hours. Machine, 385 h.p. De Haviland biplane. X 926 —Oommandante France. Distance, 6259 miles (in stages from Spam to South America, including non-stop ocean flight of 1500 miles). Time, 59| hours. Machine, Dormer flyingboat May 9, 1926—Lieutenant-Commander ' R. E. Byrd. Distance, 1300 miles (from Spitsbergen to ' North Pole and back). Time, 151 hours. Machine, 3-cngined Fokker monoplane. June-October, 1926—Sir Alan Cobham. Distance, 28,000 miles (England to ■ Australia and back). Time, 230 flyino- hours. Machine, De Haviland biplane. May 20-21, 1927—Captain Lindbergh. "Distance, 5639 miles (New York to Paris, non-stop). Time, 33| hours. Machine, 220 h.p. Ryan monoplane. June 4-6, 1927—Clarence Chamberlain (with Mr Charles Levine as first Atlantic passenger). Distance 3923 miles (New York non-stop to Eisleben, (Germany). Time, 42f hours. Machine, 220 h.p. Columbia monoplane. June 29-July 1, 1927—Commander R. E. Byrd. Distance, 3600 miles (New York non-stop to Ver-sur-Mer, France). Time, 42 hours. Machine, 3-engmed Fokker monoplane.