CARPET SLIPPERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 272, 16 November 1936, Page 9

CARPET SLIPPERS.

FLYER'S. FOOTWEAR. CASUALNESS PERSONIFIED. bed and silver monoplane (By Telegraph.—Proes Association.) BLENHEIM, Sunday. Landing at the Blenheim municipal airport at 0.23 o'clock this evening after crossing the Tasman, Mr. Clark completed the second direct Eng-land-New Zealand flight hard on the heels of Miss Batten's vocord-breaking dash. A crowd of 300 people had gathered when the Percival Gull vvas seen heading for the airport. The Marlborough Aero Club's Moth and Waco machines were sent aloft to greet the monoplane in the air and lead it into a landing. Mr. Clark brought his machine down , perfectly and taxied to the hangars, ; where he was greeted by officials and an ethusiastic crowd. The president of the A«ro Club, Mr. A. A. McNab, congratulated the flyer on a performance characterised by courage and ability. "Thanks very much," i vvas Mr. Clark's laconic acknowledg- , ruent. While enjoying a cup of tea at the aerodrome, Mr. Clark received a telephone -call from the Canterbury Aero ! Club, and although his first intention was to remain at Blenheim, he agreed to go on to Cliristchurch. Half an hour later the red and silver monoplane was in the air again, heading southward. Lean and bronze-looking, the flyer stepped from his maciiine wearing a pair of well-worn carpet slippers. His whole attitude was as if he had just risen from an armchair at his own fireside. He was casualness personified, treating his performance as all in the day's flying. "The worst part of the flight," Mr. Clark said, "was the first hour and a half after taking off in the pitch darkness, when I had to fly blind. I had not done mucli blind flying before." The airman said he had been informed that he would have a following wind when he left Sydney, but actually lie encountered head and side winds practically throughout, resulting in a longer crossing than he had expected. Admitting that lie had .done nothing much in the way of special training in navigation, Mr. Clark was delighted to discover, on making his landfall, that he had picked Tip Cape Farewell. "I aimed at the top end of the South Island," he said. "I picked it up practically dead right." Discussing the wisdom of transoccan crossing in single-cngined machines, Mr. Clark "stated that many people overlooked the fact that, unless a machine could keep its altitude, the question ol the numlier of engines was not important. Generally it was undoubtedly safer to use a multi-engined machine, but he did not think there was any great risk in a single engine, as long as previous performance had been fully j satisfactory and the capabilities of the machine were well known. After he had had his tea, Mr. Clark weighed the advisability of continuing to Cliristchurch, in view of the approach of darkness. He soon made up his mind. "I'll it a pop, he said, and walked to the machine, measured the fuel in the big extra tank in the cabin, climbed in, and sped off southward.