RETURN FLIGHT TO ENGLAND

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 151, 23 March 1938, Page 11

RETURN FLIGHT TO ENGLAND

Clouston Reaches Darwin HOPES OF ESTABLISHING MORE RECORDS By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. (Received March 22, 9.30 p.m.) Darwin, March 22. Flying Officer Clouston and Mr. Victor Ricketts, who left Mascot at 3.39 o’clock this morning, arrived at Darwin at 2.30 p.m.; after landing at Charleville at 0.53 a.nr. They will probably have a long sleep and continue their return flight to England at daybreak to-morrow. Flying Officer Clouston said at Sydney before setting out that on his return flight he would follow the same route as on the out journey, but that the hops would be shortened to between 1500 and 1800 miles each. The machine so far had flown 14,200 miles in SI hours 48 minutes actual flying time, and he still had about 11,600 miles to go on the return to Gravesend. Roughly four days remained for him to complete the flight in the originally scheduled time of 10 days. The airmen had several hours’ sleep in Sydney last night, and arrived at the aerodrome early this morning, inspected their machine, took tlieir places in the cabin, waved to a couple of hundred spectators, and took off. With five records in hand, they hope to establish more on,the return flight to London. “We hope to be in England on Saturday afternoon,” said Flying Officer Clouston before leaving Mascot. Mr. Ricketts, discussing the New Zealand Hight, said : "The reception we had at Blenheim was really grand—it was worth coming across the world to see Flying Officer Clouston’s familL” The Premier, Mr. B. S. B. Stewns. said: “Flying Officer Clouston liasmade a truly magnificent Hight. Both he and Mr. Ricketts carry back to England the warmest wishes of al! Australians.” CLOUSTON’S PLANE Named For Fourth Time At .a cocktail party at the Croydon aerodrome hotel on February 3 Lady Welgall, whose husband was Governor of South Australia" in 1920-22, renamed the De' Havilland Comet, the plane flown by Flying Officer A. E. Clouston. Tlie new name Lady Weigall gave tlie plane is “Australian Anniversary,” its fourth. This particular Comet won the Melbourne Centenary Air Race in 1934 under the name of "Grosvenor House.” piloted by C. W. A. Scott and the late T. Campbell Black. It then flew into fourth place in the Istres-Damaseus-I’nris race as "The Orphan.” And next it made the standing official records to the Cape and back again as "Burberry.”

On the last two occasions the Comet was piloted by Flying Officer Clouston It is owned by Mr. F. E. Tasker, T/iudon, who hired it to the newspaper organisations sponsoring tlie flight from England to New Zealand and back again.