THE TRANS-PACIFIC FLIGHT

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 222, 20 June 1928, Page 14

THE TRANS-PACIFIC FLIGHT

The New Zealand head office of the Atlantic Union Oil Company at. Wellington has just received a cablegram Irom Captain Kingsford Smith stating that the actual flying time from Oakland, United States of America, to Eagle ran' l ; Brisbane, Australia, was S 3 hours L-> minutes, and the total distance covered was 7305 miles, which means that the Southern Cross averaged 87.78 miles per hour. The hop from Oakland to Honolulu was completed in 34 hours, from Honolulu to Suva iu 33 hours, aud from Suva to Brisbane in 16 hours 13 minutes. •Captain Kingsford Smith adds: “Atlantic motor oil, extra heavy, used ; pressure on three motors never varied throughout the journey, though extreme rise and fall in temperature. Changed oil each post of call, and condition was perfect and consumption remarkably low. Union. motor spirit was the only fuel used; consumption 32 American gallons per hour. In the hop from Suva to Brisbane abnormal flying conditions were encountered at high altitude, which were responsible for variation, but the three motors never missed a beat. Atlantic lubrication grease was never changed, and is as good as when we left America. We eannot speak too highly of your products, and'without your co-operation and service ou the route we would have been unable to maintain schedule.”