FLIGHT OVER POLE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 112, 13 May 1926, Page 7

FLIGHT OVER POLE.

AMUNDSEN'S NORGE. IN TOUCH WITH THE BASE. FIRST TIME IN HISTORY. (By Cable.-JPresa Association. —Copyrtg-t.) (Received 9.30 a.m.) NEW YORK, May 12. Dispatches from Oslo advise that Captain Amundsen's airship Norge passed the North Pole at 1 a.m. The weather was good to 88.30 degrees and then became foggy. No land was discovered. The Norge made an average speed of 107 kilometers (about 60 miles) per hour. The airship is now believed to be proceeding to Point Barrow and then to Fairbanks, which is her ultimate goal, and from which easy access to railroad is obtainable. Radio messages from the Norge stated that the airship flew for hours through clear, favourable weather, but that fog was encountered when nearing the Pole. It is the first time in the history of polar exploration that an expedition has maintained constant communication with its base. — (A. and N.Z.) Three reasons why seven expeditions are hurrying into the Arctic—racing towards the unexplored wastes around the top of the world —have been outlined by Vihjalmur Stefansson, who commanded the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913-17. The explorers of 1926 are not only seeking the North Pole, but a_ spot more inaccessible to man. Their objective lies at 84 N 160 W, __- is known among scientists as the V>le of relative inaccessibility." In other words, this spot is the centre of unexplored Arctic ice-fields. It lies on a direct line between Western Alaska, and the North Pole. There is one reason—the lure of the hitherto unattainable, Stefansson expressed as he lolled in tweeds on a stuffed divan at the Harvard Club and visualized, with a far-away look in his face the hardships and dangers that lie ahead of his fellows in the frozen North. "The second reason is to discover new land." continued Stefansson. "But not a 'new corttinent.' There is no continent there. As well try to find a cow in a canary's cage. "Land here may be. with grass that can be converted into beef and minerals beneath the ground. But it will be an island that is found, nothing large enough to warrant the name of continent." ! There i 3 a third reason, more important than either of the others, the explorer said. New Route to East. "The chief reason is to demonstrate the experience of a short commercial air i route over the top of the globe," | Stefansson continued. ! "The man who succeeds in doing this ! will have done as much for trade with the Orient as Magellan did. The new way to the East lies over the top of the ; world—it merely remains for man to j demonstrate this. j "To claim that there are dangers involved is to exaggerate. To say that an aeroplane can fly across the Atlantic and not the Arctic is just as ridiculous •as to say that a machine can fly to ; Chicago but not half-way there." I Stefansson says tnat an aeroplane encounters no unusual difficulties in [ tbe Arctic, and that the dangers are largely imaginary. Will Avoid Pole. "Probably the first party to fly across the "top of the world will swing ! around by way of the North Pole just | for the interest that that will arouse." he said. "But Captain George Wilkins I told mc that if a miscalculation should lead him towards the Pole he would i turn aside and avoid it. ' "Since Peary discovered the North I Pole 17 years'ago. scientific explorers ! have not been interested in reaching it. That is done, and they turn to something ' harder, the discovery of this inaccessible I-bit of territory amidst the broken ice ;' fields between Alaska and the Pole." i Stefansson explained that Arctic- expeditions now preferred cold weather to the warmth of summer. "When the frost congregates over the l open water, progress can be made with I dog sleds," he explained. "It is the broken fields of floating ice that prej sent- the great difficulties."

Aeroplane Ideal Way. ] "There will be the Robert Anderson | Pone crowd, flying from Point Barrow j early in iune," Stefansson continued. "To i cay'nothing of an expedition organised by* the French Ministry of Marine, which plan?, to try out mechanical sleds as well as airplanes. "I have no faith in mechanical sleds." he commented. "In mv ..oinion the aeroplane presents the ideal way to cross the North Pole." Stefasson disclosed the existence of two Polar expeditions, one in which a Norwegian lieutenant and sergeant are taking part, and another involving several Russians and eight airplanes in all. " Russia is alive to the advantages of an Arctic trade route to the East," he said. " The great, demand in connection with tr?do between New York for instance, jtpd Ihe Orient, is for speed. A saving of time and distance can be effected by eross : .ng the top of the world. It is only a matter of a few years before that wi'l be the accepted route. "I look to see the time when air- ! planes, speeding across the Arctic to ! China and India, will carry messages j faster than tbe cables. | "It is to lay ihe foundation for such | ispeedy communication with the East j that all these expeditions are setting out.''