TO PICK UP AIR MAIL

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 94, 22 April 1931, Page 9

TO PICK UP AIR MAIL

KINGSFORD SMITH STARTS

OLD SOUTHERN CROSS

Dnited Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. SYDNEY, 21st April,. Air-Commodore Kingsford Smith left Mascot a littlo after midday 'in. the Southern Cross for Koepang, to pick up the air-liner City of Cairo's mails. He expects to reach Darwin on Thursday,- travelling via Brisbane. He will proceed next day to,Koepang and return to transfer the. mails to a Quantas 'plane, after which the Southern Cross will go from Darwin to Akyab with Australian mails, connecting with an Imperial Airways machine. Kingsford Smith will then return home. His co-pilot is G. Allan. ' The, aeroplane service from Darwin will be conducted, by the. Australian National Airways for some time. "We simply must put up a good show," exclaimed Kingsford Smith while donning an oil-stained cap that has. been round tho world and the tattered flying* coat in which he flew the Tasman and the Atlantic. HISTORIC OLD BUS. "This old bus," ho added, patting the blue fuselage of tho historic Southern Cross, "knows the road so well that I believe she could nose her way over the Timor Sea without a pilot. "I am mighty glad of this chance. It is up to us to show the British Government that we can be relied on to handle this end of this important mail service. '' , Tho Sydney agents of Imperial Airways Limited express deep appreciation of the public-spirited action of Australian National Airways and Kingsford Smith in meeting the emergency so promptly. A message from Koepang states that tho main engine of tho City of Cairo is intact, but both side engines are broken and will have to be shipped to England. Only four and a half gallons of benzine wore left when ,the aeroplane crashed, this amount being insufficient to carry tho machine to the lauding I field.

The pilots are now awaiting further instructions.

The Imperial Airways liner City of Cairo, en route to Australia with the first direct air-mail from England, made a forced landing near Koepang on Sunday. Stones under grass on an open space deceived the pilots, who were obliged to land because of petrol shortage, and <he big machine was badly smashed.