U.S. DAKOTA PROMISED

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27098, 22 July 1953, Page 9

U.S. DAKOTA PROMISED

PLANE FOR WOMAN - ENTRANT NEW YORK, July 20. Miss Betty Haas, a woman pilot, said today she had been promised a Dakota aeroplane to fly in the London to Christchurch air race. The plane will be flown in the race as an entry of the Australian woman flyer, Mrs Gertrude MacKenzie, of Melbourne. Several weeks ago Miss Haas, who bolds a commercial pilot’s licence, learned that Mrs MacKenzie, secre:ary of the Australian Women Pilots Association, was seeking an aeroplane to enter in the race. Miss Haas telephoned her, volunteered to join Mrs MacKenzie’s crew, and undertook to try to obtain an aircraft in the United States if Mrs MacKenzie failed in her efforts to obtain one in Australia. Mrs MacKenzie, having told Miss Haas that she had been unable to obtain the use of the machine she had in mind—also a Dakota —Miss Haas set to work to try to make good her undertaking. Mr and Mrs Bob Bixby, of California, offered the loan of their Dakota. The Bixbys gained prominence about two years ago by attempting to fly round the world in a Mosquito aeroplane. Mrs MacKenzie’s original plan was to enter an all-women crew for the race, but if Miss Haas’s plan is carried through, there will be two men in the aeroplane, Mr Bixby and his mechanic. Mrs Bixby will be a pilot Mr and Mrs Bixby operate a small airline in California. Mrs Bixby was formerly an airline captain, has logged 10,000 flying hours, and was founder of the Women’s Traascontinental Air Race, an annual event which has been running since 1947. .Miss Haas, Mrs MacKenzie, and possibly another Australian woman flyer will also be in the aeroplane for the race. Miss Haas said today there now remained the problem of securing a spony>r for the flight She estimated that Participation in the race would cost 30,000 dollars.

The President and all his major advisers repeatedly have declared that 90 days is long enough for a postwar political conference to do something about unifying Korea. South Korean sources said that Dr. Rhee has reacted angrily to Communist reports that the South Korean Government endorsed the “no time limit” proposal on the political conference. United Nations official sources have refused to confirm the Communist report because of the secret nature of the top-level truce meetings. But the hustle and bustle of preparations for the truce went on apace in Panmunjon today. Two groups of staff officers met during the morning—one apparently working on the cease fire line and the other on administrative details. Allied and Communist liaison officers met early in the afternoon and went into recess 22 minutes later without settling the time of a further meeting. Liaison officers usually exchange communications between the two high commands.