AMBITIOUS FLIGHT

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 98, 20 January 1938, Page 10

AMBITIOUS FLIGHT

Attempt On Erigland-New Zealand Record CLOUSTON TO LAND AT MOTUEKA Although no definite advice has been received in New Zealand of the date on* which Flying Officer A. E. Clouston will commence his flight from England to New Zealand in an attempt to lower the existing record, it is thought that the departure will be made on February 1, and preparations are being made at Motueka for a landing there about February 5. Originally it was thought that Flying Officer Clouston would make his landing at Wellington after crossing the Tasman, but the authorities at Motueka extended an invitation to him to land there as his parents, Mr. ami Mrs. R. E. Clouston, live at Neudorf, near Motueka. Plans of the aerodrome and all necessary particulars have been sent to England, and advice has been received' by the Motueka Borough Council accepting the invitation. No further news of his plans has yet been received, but the council is working on the assumption that the landing will be made at Motueka. Although it is appreciated that Flying Officer Clouston will land there under normal conditions, the New Plymouth Airport Board, in association with the aero club, has invited him to make his landing at New Plymouth in the event of bad weather or other circumstances making it desirable. An invitation has been sent to him at London and plans and further details of the airport will await him on his arrival at Sydney, where Mr. S. E. Nielson, former secretary of the New Zealand Aero Club, will act for the board. Although a permit has not yet been issued for a landing at Motueka, it is considered most unlikely that any objection will be raised by the Civil Aviation Department, as the aerodrome is recognised as being one; of the finest second grade aerodromes in the country, and the recent removal of a line of power lines has still further improved the approach. A meeting of the Motueka Borough Council was held on Monday night to consider arrangements for the arrival of the plane. Tentative arrangements were made with the Air Department and the Transport Department for the handling of traffic to and from the aerodrome, and to provide for the handling of the large crowd which it is expected will witness the arrival. Arrangements are being made for the council to make use of the A. and P. Association grounds bordering the aerodrome as a car park, and local bodies throughout the district are to be asked to co-operate, in every way possible. An invitation has been extended to aero clubs throughout the Dominion to send planes to Motueka, and it is expected that most of the major clubs will be represented. Staying Only One Night. Although there is no hangar accommodation at Motueka, the aerodrome having been completed only recently, arrangements are,being made to have the plane protected against the weather and a guard will be placed over it. Flying Officer Clouston aims to complete the return flight from England to New Zealand within 10 days, and it is thought therefore that he will spend only one night in New Zealand, arriving in the afternoon and leaving on the return flight across the Tasman early the following morning. No record has yet been established for the return flight from England to New Zealand, but the England to New Zealand record is at present held by the New Zealand airwoman Miss Jean Batten, who completed the flight in 11 days 1 hour. The record from England to Australia, which. Flying Officer Clouston will also challenge, is held by Mr. 0. W. A. Scott and the late Mr. T. Campbell-Black, who covered the route in 2 days 4 hours 33 minutes, using the same machine that Clouston will be flying. The machine is a De Havilland Comet specially constructed to compete in the Melbourne Centenary Air Race, anfl was recently fitted with new engines. It was recently successful in setting up a new record from England to Cape Town and return, piloted by Flying Officer Clouston. Victor Ricketts, one. of England’s foremost aviation experts and journalists, will be the co-pilot on the New Zealand flight, which is being arranged by the “Daily Telegraph,” London, and the Australian Sesquicentennial Celebrations Committee.