WAITING ON BRITAIN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 189, 12 August 1935, Page 7

WAITING ON BRITAIN.

Australian and N.Z. Position on

Tasman Air Mails.

CONFERENCE IN SYDNEY. SYDNEY, August 11. The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mr. G. W. Forbes, discussed Tasnian air mail matters with the Federal Minister of Defence, Mr. R. A. Parkhill. Afterwards Mr. Parkhill stated that both had agreed that their decisions must be postponed until information is forthcoming from the British authorities. Mr. Forbes spent to-day sightseeing, including a visit to the Zoo. To-morrow he will visit the Royal Military College, where there are 11 New Zealanders. AIRMAN'S FAST FLIGHT. LONDON-CAIRO, ELEVEN HOURS (Received 11 a.m.) RUGBY, August 11. Mr. Campbell Black, noted British airman and co-winner of the Melbourne Centenary race last year, covered the first stage of his attempted record flight to the Cape in record time. He flew the 2240 miles from Hatfield aerodrome, England, to Cairo in 11 hours 18 minutes. CRASH TO DEATH. AIR PASSENGER'S DIARY. LONDON, August 11. The "Daily Telegraph" Amsterdam correspondent says a diary unique in the history of aviation has just been published. It describes the approach of death as seen by a Dutch journalist named van Langlen, a victim of the disaster of July 20. The writer disclosed the fact that there was incessant rain in the early stages of the flight. He recorded climbing to escape storm clouds and seeing blue sky at an altitude of 13,000 ft. Rain recurred at 15,000 ft. The diary continued: "My watch says 12.30. An explosion. Rain, rain. We are descending rapidly. The rain changes to snow. I can see nothing. Our height now is 9000 ft. More snow. How we are dropping. Lightning shows the mountain peaks. We are just above them. Lightning again. Now we are 6300 ft high." It was at that height that the aeroplane struck the hillside. The notes were begun in clear handwriting, but this developed into a scrawl and ended with a faint pencil mark made at the moment of death. RECORD TIME FOR FLIGHT. CLIPPER 'PLANE'S VOYAGE. HONOLULU, August 11. The Pan-American Clipper aeroplane, which flew to Honolulu and on to Midway Island and returned in June, again hopped off from Alameda, California, on Friday and landed at Honolulu after a record flight of 17 hours 9 minutes, even though it deviated from the charted course several times to make special surveys of air conditions. It will leave for Midway Island probably on Tuesday and fly thence to Wake Island. It will not proceed to Guam.