SUPPLIES FROM THE AIR

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25447, 19 March 1948, Page 6

SUPPLIES FROM THE AIR

Repairing Mountain Hute DAKOTA DIFFICULT TASK A Dakota aircraft of No. 4 Squadron, R.N.Z.A.F., yesterday undertook the difficult task of dropping hut repair materials at the Tasman Hut on the Haast Ridge at Mount Cook,, and at the Hooker Hut in the precipitous Hooker Glacier on the southern side of Mount Cook. The aircraft worked, at times, from a height of only 500 feet above the huts, and, in the case of the Hooker Glacier runs, cleared the southern slopes of Mount Cook by 100 yards when negotiating the difficult turn at the head of the glacier. This was the first time that a large airefaft had attempted to work between the rocky, snow-covered slopes of the Tasman and the Hooker glaciers. The Dakota was one of the squadron which dropped saplings for afforestation purposes in the Tararua ranges in the North Island last year, and the captain of the aircraft (Flight Lieutenant R. Weston) was present on that occasion as second pilot. The materials dropped in the Mount Cook prea yesterday were wooden planks, floorboards, and roofing materials, which will be used to repair the Tasman and Hooker Huts. The venture was initiated by the Government Tourist Department, whose responsibility the huts are, and the R.N.Z.A.F. was assisted by soldiers, and the Public Works Department, which supplied the materials. Four soldiers of the interim army prepared the bundles of materials by attaching parachutes and, under the guidance of the engineer of the Dakota (Flying Officer A. Hillman), dropped them through the opened side of the aircraft when the Dakota was over the •‘target”.

All Bundles on “Target” Although some doubts were entertained at first concerning the >practicability of the venture, the two trips were excellently organised and, of the total of 43 lewt bundles dropped over the «huts, only three landed without their parachutes’ opening,. and none was missing from the area,” so far as could be ascertained late yesterday,

Standard pattern American Navy type parachutes were attached to the bundles, which were pushed through the side of the aircraft when a bell was rung by the captain. The doors had been removed from the Dakota for the trip, and about a third of the port side of the machine was open during the whole flight from Wigram to Mount Cook. The bundles were arranged near this opening, and the parachutes were clipped on to wire loops on the bundles. A static line from the parachute to the aircraft acted as a ripcord which released the parachute when the bundle was thrust overboard.

Only one bundle struck the aircraft. This was the last one—a particularly cumbersome one—which was dropped on the Tasman Glacier run. The bundle struck the wheel below the tail and glanced off, sending an appreciable shudder through the machine. This was the only misadventure during more than 500 miles of flying in one day, in dangerous mountain territory; territory with which none of the aircraft’s crew was familiar. Although the weather over the Canterbury Plains was overcast and dull when the Dakota left Wigram yesterday morning, the sun was shining in the Mount Cook region and conditions were perfect for identifying the Tasman Hut and for flying. A huge circle etched in the snow near the hut indicated the "target area,” and the dropping runs were made across the Haast ridge in a south-westerly direction, the Dakota clearing the ridge at times by only SOO feet. The crew of the aircraft commented favourably on the weather conditions and expressed surprise that there were not more “bumps” from capricious mountain air currents.

Reports from the Tasman Hut heliographed to the Hermitage and telephoned to Wigram stated that all the bundles fell near the hut and were easily recoverable. The run across the ridge was done between 90 and 100 miles an hour, and the Dakota was over the dropping area for 45 minutes. Each run, up and back, across the target* area, was seven miles, and took three ana a half minutes. The aircraft followed the ridge and the shape of the Tasman Glacier when doing these runs.

Hugging the Cliffs The afternoon run up and down the Hooker Glacier probably established flying history in New Zealand. The Dakota, to drop the bundles above the Hooker Hut, nad to fly down the glacier from near the summit of Mount Cook, and had to lose 6000 feet *of altitude in two miles, hugging the southern slope of the glacial cliffs so that the parachutes would not carry their burdens into the glacier below the hut. The sun had cast heavy shadows across the area where the Hooker Hut stands at 4.48 p.m. when the aircraft arrived at Mount Cook. The watchers at the hut lit •> fire as a ground marker and the Dakota began a series of terrifying ascents and descents of the Hooker Glacier. The runs began at the top of the glacier and finished at the bottom, and the aircraft described a wide ellipse with each circuit. All the bundles landed near the hut, although one or two appeared to have fallen near the glacier. During this flight, the • copilot of the Dakota (Flight Lieutenant K B. Smith) piloted the aircraft. Others in the crew were the wireless operator (Flight Lieutenant J. M. Goddard) and the navigator (Flying Officer A. Tauwhare).