About Aviation

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21866, 20 August 1936, Page 5 (Supplement)

About Aviation

I SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Two readers of “The Press Junior” have sent in the following questions about' flying. Who made the First Flight Across the Atlantic? Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitton-Brown made the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic on, June 14, 1919, from Newfoundland to- Ireland; they won the £IO,OOO prize which was offered in 1913 by the “Daily Mail” for the first successful airman. A few weeks before this flight a huge American flying boat, NC4, piloted by Lieutenant-Commander A. C. Head, made the first crossing of the Atlantic. But Commander Read made stops on the way; he flew from Newfoundland to the Azores, then to Lisbon and then to England. Did the European War of 1914 Advance Aviation? Mr C. G. Grey, editor of the British magazine, “Aeroplane,” says this; “The fact is that those four years of war set back the progress of aviation by, I should say, at least

10 years.” Mr Grey is a man who has a thorough knowledge of aviation. , He . continues: “Performance—speed and rate of climb—mattered mere than money or human life or mahrhoufs. So we got performance by squeezing more and more power but of our motors, regardless of reliability, or of the efficiency of the aeroplanes. The only things we did learn were what human nerve and muscle and endurance will stand, and what certain materials can be trusted to stand.” What is the Hornet Moth? The Hornet is the latest Moth to be built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was built to replace: the old Gipsy Moth with the open cockpit, for training pilots. This Moth is a light cabin biplane With dual control; its wings are tapered. The*two seats are set side by side. This is a great advantage, in a training aeroplane, for the pupil sits next to the instructor and does not need to wear helmet, goggles or speaking tubes as he does when he sits in a separate open cockpit in front of the instructor. The aeroplane has a cruising speed of 111 miles an hour when flying at a height of 1000 feet and a top speed of 126.5 miles an hour when flying at 5000 feet. It has a petrol range of • 658 miles. An Auckland man has ordered" a Hornet Moth, which is due to arrive in New Zealand before very long. .Who Holds the Record from England to Australia for Light Aeroplanes? Mr H. F. Broadbent, a young Australian airman, created a record fOr the England to Australia record in a light aeroplane, last

BARREN

November. His time was six days 21 hours 14 minutes—seven hours 33 minutes better than Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith’s time. Mr Broadbent used a Percival Gull aeroplane for the flight. What are the Aeroplanes Used by Union Airways from Palmerston North to Dunedin? The aeroplanes" used by Union Airways are de Haviiland fourmotor Express Air Liners; the company owns three of these _ aeroplanes which are named Korimako, Kotuku and Kororo, This type of aeroplane is commonly known as the DH 86; it has four engines of 200 horsepower each, and accommodates 10 to 16 passengers; it is the most economical passenger machine manufactured. The _ top speed is 173 miles an hour, cruising speed 147 miles an hour. How many solo flights have been made across the Tasman? Three solo flights have been made across the Tasman. Mr Guy Menzies made the first solo flight

in January, 1931.' His was a sennational flight which roused a great deal of enthusiasm, but it was not a very practical flight. He flew the Southern Cross Junior, a Moth, in which Sir Charles KingsfordSmith had flown from England to Australia, from Sydney to the West Coast of the South Island in about 12 hours, beating Kingsford-Smith’s record by two and a-half hours. In March of the same year, m a Moth to which floats had been fitted, Mr F. C. Chichester set out for Australia. His was a leisurely flight and the route he chose was considered a very practical _one. Mr Chichester took off from Hobsonville, Auckland, called at Parenffarenfiflf flew to Norfolk Islsno, then to Lord Howe Island and then to Jervis Bay, Australia. At Jervis Bay he had engine trouble and squashed his hand. so he travelled the remaining few miles to Sydney thej aircraft carrier Albatross. In October of last year Pilot •X, Mr. W. M. O’Hara, a New Zealander, took off - from Sydney in a small Klemm Eagle monoplane and arrived at Auckland about 122 hours later. ;

(By A. B. Cooper)

The windy paddocks are brown. Brown in the sun,. Brown every one; • No wheat rustles her golden gown;. Stubble sticks there. Else all is bare— . , Gorse-hedged paddocks on , hiE and down.