MANY "GADGETS."

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 277, 22 November 1934, Page 7

MANY "GADGETS."

DEVICES ON MACHINE.

Hose Pipe in Fuel-Feeding System. SPACE AT A PREMIUM. When Messrs. Nicholl and Whitehead first announced 011 November 14 that they intended to hop off that evening for New Zealand in the tinv machine that they had rebuilt themselves, they caused a sensation in Sydney aviation circles. Unfavourable weather, however, caused a postponement of the flight, and nothing fur-

ther was heard of the venture until yesterday.

A week a.sro yesterday tlie airmen were ready for the start. For some days tliey had been working feverishly 011 their small, single-engined Puss Moth, but only a few friends were aware of the fact that they had New Zealand as their goal. The installation of the extra petrol. tanks was not compjeted until the morning of the day 011 which the start was originally to have been made, and one of the last jobs done by the adventurers was the painting of the name "Faith in New Zealand" on the sides of the machine.

Tlie 'plane being used by the flyers is said to be the first Puss Moth to be brought to Australia, and is at least four years old. It was purchased some time ago for Mr. Whitehead by his father, a businessman in Wellington, but is now owned jointly by the two young men, who in reeent weeks have practically rebuilt the machine. In the work of getting the 'plane ready for its Tasman flight the owners were aided at night by a few friends. Hose Pipe for Oil Feed. A report from Sydney states that no machine ever used in attempting such a flight shows such make-shift ingenuity in its equipment. The oil pipe in the machine, for instance, is simply a piece of hose pipe fed with a tin funnel when oil is required and stoppered with a plug of wood at other times. With so much space in the 'plane occupied by the extra petrol tanks, the accommodation for the occupants is amazingly small. The flyers sit on rubber cushions wedged together 011 the top of a board seat only ISin wide, with their backs against the petrol tank. The mode of changing seats in the confined space presented a difficulty until the young men evolved a method which call* for considerable contortions. When a change-over in the ■ control of the

machine is to be made, one of the men slips down from the seat and doubles up hits legs while his companion crawls over the top of him to take the controls. In order to gain a few more inches of room the men planned to make the flight with their boots off. Priest's Gift as Mascot. Each of the flyers carries a mascot. Mr. Whitehead, who was born in New Zealand, has a St. Christopher's Medal with the patron saint of travel in bronze relief, which was given to him by a priest when he crashed into a monastery garden at Goulburn early this year. As his good luck token, Mr. Nicholl treasures most a half-sovereign given to him by a friend. As a joint charm, the airmen have a black cat badge attached to their thermos flask by a length of ribbon.

Holder of a "B" license, Mr. Whitehead left Wellington in 1030 for England, where ho trained with the Royal Air Force. On arrival in Australia some time ago he engaged in joy flighting in country towns and at Mascot, flying particularly for Kingsford Smith, Ltd. He is 24 years of age, and has 400

flying hours to his credit. Mr. Nicholl, who is two years older than his companion, is a member of the New South Wales Aero Club, and lives at Manly. Night Flight Intended. In deciding to carry no radio, the aviators were guided chiefly by the fact that the less weight on board the better. They originally planned to hop off from Gerringong Beach, which is 75 miles south from Sydney, and provides an excellent runway, at dusk, and to make a night flight, with hopes of being at New -Plymouth at 6 a.m. Commenting on the fact that they intended to travel in the dark, Mr. Nicholl said they could not get landmarks off the sea or sky during the day, and that they would have the stars to help them at night.

"My people in Wellington don't knowthat I am hopping over this evening," said Mr. Whitehead on Wednesday last, shortly before the airmen left Mascot for Gerringong Beach. "Perhaps they would worry if they did, but there is really no need for that," he added. Mr. Nicholl said that his people knew of his intentions, and had faitii in the pilots and the machine. Before they left Mascot they purchased from a chemist tablets of caffein, intended to counteract any tendency that they might have to sleep. On their original start, however, they encountered poor visibility, and returned to Mascot the same evening. At Gerringong they intended to take' in 120 gallons of petrol.

A Puss Moth machine only slightly resembles the well-known Gipsy Moth, being of the high wing folding monoplane design. It has accommodation for three in a sedan cabin, which has a transparent roof. A Gipsy 111. inverted engine develops 120 li.p. and gives a maximum speed of 130 miles an houi and a cruising speed under normal conditions of about JlO miles an hour.

LOOK-OUT AT MANGERE

At the Mangere aerodrome a look-out will be kept for the flyers in case they make the New Zealand coast further north than New Plymouth and decide to come on to Auckland.