"ZERO HOUR"

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 96, 20 October 1934, Page 10

"ZERO HOUR"

6.30 P.M. (N.Z. TIME)

THE SPEED MACHINES

CLAIMS AND RECORDS

The MacKobertson International Air Raco is to start from the Mildenhall Aerodrome, about sixty miles from London, at 6.30 a.m. (Greenwich time) on Saturday. That is, to New Zealand the race starts this evening, for New Zealand time is twelve hours ahead of Greenwich time and 6.30 a.m. at Mildenhall coincides with 6.30 p.m. in New Zealand. The machines will take off at intervals of 45 seconds in the order announced yesterday.

Melbourne is ten hours ahead of London, and those who are guessing at the finishing time must keep that in mind. A two days' race will see the winner in Melbourne at 4.30 p.m. on Monday, two and a half days at 4.30 a.m. on Tuesday; three days at 4160 p.m. on Tuesday, and so on.

To calculate the probable racing time is almost impossible, and even the people who know most about it widely disagree. Pangborn, one whe should have a fair idea, said that the course could be covered in 50 hours. Fitzmaurice, who has had considerable experience in the air, said two and a half days. Kingsford Smith, who may know better than them all, was more cautious with 3J or four days. English authorities have said that at least four days will be necessary, and Anthony Fokker, who does not believe in racing but knows what modern machines can do, said that the' distance could be covered in from 50 to 60 hours. Mrs. Mollison recently talked about the Comet giving 230 m.p.h. and of flying open throttle all the way, and still more recently Fitzmaurice's Bellanca reached 250 m.pJi.' on test, with tho undercarriage not hoisted.

There are stops on the way with all sorts of possible delays and troubles; the weather may bo good, bad, or worse; the course is so far on the map, but the true course may not bo kept. About as good a way as any of making up one's mind is to write odd times on 'slips and draw from a hat.

Such astonishing claims hsivu born made for certain of the machines that it is most difficult to decide where facts

end and ballyhoo begins, but it may be that none of those claims are exaggerations.

Naturally the England-Australia records with which wo arc most familiar arc those mado by Kingsford Smith (solo), 7 days, 4hr 47min; by C. T. P. ■ Ulm and crow in the Faith in Australia, (i days 17hr 45min; or Miss Jean Batten (women's record), 14-J days, and in the face of these record times two, three, or four days may seem ridiculous, but there arc other distance records. The Pander machine competing in tho race was flown by the same pilots, Asjes and Geysendorffer, over the 9000 miles from Amsterdam to Batavia in 46 flying hours (i.e., with rests and fuelling time deducted). London to Darwin, by the shortest route through tho control points, is only 162 miles further. The Pander, with three Wright Whirlwinds (total 1200 h.p.) is fast, over 195 m.p.h. cruising speed, but it is by no means the fastest machine entered. COMETS AND AIRSPEED. The British Comets are believed to be faster, but they are not proved machines over long distances. The Comets are in fact a big gamble, as every new machine is, for "bugs"' abound in new aeroplane designs. Normally aeroplane builders work for many months in tracking down and dispelling "bugs," but thero has been no time for this with the Comets. The name of do Havilland stands very high, and do Havillands have confidence in this special speed model. What the- Comets (two special Gipsy Sixes, total 450 h.p.) will do on longdistance flights and how they will stand up to difficult landings on small fields (the landing speed is said to be high) remain to be proved. Much more has been hoard about the Comets than about the other British speed hope, the Airspeed Viceroy (two Siddeley Cheetahs, total 580 h.p.), to bo flown by Neville Stack, S. L. Turner, and McArthur. Tho Viceroy is very similar to the Envoy, but has higher power. With two 185 h.p. engines, tho Envoy has a maximum speed of 170 m.p.h., and with more powerful engines the ■Viceroy should be much faster. It is of particular interest that tho handicappers have placed Stack's machine on the scratch mark, estimating that it will have a higher speed than the Comets. Theory and fact do not always square. Stack has a very full wireless equipment and has had an automatic pilot installed. TRANSPORT PERFORMANCES. The Douglas Airliner (two Wright Cyclones, total 1430 h.p.) entered -by X.L.M. (Royal Dutch Air Lines), is a faster machine than tho Pander and is well proved. Douglases consistently maintain 200 m.p.h. and better on regular passenger service in tho United States, and a few months ago a TWA Douglas, with two pilots, thirteen passengers, and luggage, flew from Chicago to New York at an average <5f 23G m.p.h. The director of X.L.M. (Mr. Plessmau) has stated definitely that the Douglas will not press tho race as a race, but will fly to show how efficient passenger machines may be. Three passengers and a mechanic will bo carried. Still, even without hurry, at 230 m.p.h. or thereabouts, tho Douglas may be hard to keep in sight. Eoseoe Turner originally entered a Douglas, but later changed to a Boeing Transport (two Pratt and Whitney Wasps, total 1100 h.p.), stating that the Boeing would be a faster machine. Like the Douglas, it is a multiplaco passenger machine. ■ Boscoo Turner is the Hollywood representative, but he is not merely a good-looking film star; he is the leading high-speed pilot in America, and holds the world's record for land aeroplanes, 308 miles an hour, and is also the holder of tho transAmerican Tecord at a speed of 256 miles per hour, which is also a world 's record over a long distance. Eoseoe Turner occasionally flies about with a lion cub as a mascot, thus adding to his good looks and the general air of ballyhoo, but ho is a great deal more than. that. Clyde Pangborn, who will fly with him, stands almost as high in American aviation, and apart from flying in the United States has done a great deal of long-distance flying, including crossings of the Atlantic and the Pacific, from Japan to Vancouver. ANOTHER CHANGE ROUND. Tn the first place Pangborn entered a Granville (Hornet, 525 h.p.), but later withdrew and joined Turner, but his entry appears again, with a very experienced team, Miss Jacqueline Cochran, one-time nurse and dress-designer, and now America's leading woman pilot, with a list of successes, and two American air-mail pilots, Wesley Smith and Koyal Leonard. Apparently Miss Cochran has any amount of money behind her, for her preparations arc most complete. Smith will drop off the* machine at Allahabad and Leonard will I tako his place, as is permissible under I

tho rules, only the chief pilot having to see the raco through. She has her own mechanics stationed at main points. Pangbovn had tho Granvillc machine in mind when he spoke of reaching Melbourne in 50 hours.

Australia has no great hope left in the speed race, for Kingsford Smith is out of it and J. Woods aiid B. C. Bennett have apparently had a bad setback through tho application of the wing loading rule to their Lockheed Vega (Pratt and Whitney Wasp, 450 h.p.).. Tho cabled messages suggest that Woods will bo cut down to so small a load-of petrol that his range will bo limited to about 1000 miles, which will mean that he will have to make many more than the five compulsory stops. There is bound to be a .great deal of soreness over this wing loading limitation, and Woods and Bennett would seem to have as much room for comment as any, for the Vega which they are flying is the machine in which the late Glen Kidston smashed the England-Capo record and is a sister machine to the famous Winnie Mac in which Wiley Post flew round the world. NEW ZEALAND HOPE. . Squadron Leader Hewett and Flying Officer C. E. Kay are upholding New Zealand's end of the stick in the speed race in their D.H. Dragon (two Gipsy Sixes, total 410 h.p.). Baines and Gilman are also in the speed race, but theirs is a steep race, for their machine is admitted by them to be hardly in the speed class. McGregor and Walker are in the handicap race only. The Dragon has any amount of range and very fair average speed. Hewett is a curious man in that ho apparently never tires, although he is not a young man as racing pilots go. Ivay has been over the route before, and Stewart will be a valuable «third member in navigation and radio communieatiou, which will play a big part in navigation. The Dragon has a chance in the speed race, though not a brilliant one, but in the handicap of a winning place, for it has long section has more than a good chance range and has a proved reliability.

A United Press Association cable message from London, received this afternoon, announces the handicaps for the MacKobertson Air Race. They are based on the great circle distance between the cheeking points, that is, over a total distance of 12,314 miles. The handicap allowances, estimated speed of machines (calculated on the basis of engine power, total weight, pay-load, wing area, etc.)> and the estimated flying times are as follows:— Est. handp. Est. flying Racing Handicap. speed. time. No. Pilots. hr. m. sec. m.p.h. Ir. m. sec. 58 Stack, Turner, and McArthur (G.B.) sfcr 184.44 66 45 36 (Airspeed Viceroy) 63 The Mollisons (G.B.) 0 35 24 1S2.83 67 21 0 (D.H. Comet) 34 C. W. A. Scott and T. 0. Black (G.B.) 0 35 24 182.83 67 21 0 (D.H. Comet) 19 Waller and Cathcart Jones (G.B.).. 0 36 0 182.81 07 21 36 (D.H. Comet) 36 Woods and Bennett (Aus.) 2 31 4S 177.71 6!) 17 24 (Lockheed Vega) 44 I'annentior and Moll (Hoi.) 6 31 12 16S.03 73 10 48 (Douglas Airliner) 33 Wright and Polando (U.S.A.) 13 11 24 134.02 79 57 0 (Monocoupe) 15 Davies and Hill (G.B.) 17 10 4S 14G.0S S3 56 24, (Fairey HIP) 35 Parer and Hemsworth (Aus.) ..... 1!) 5 24 143.43 85 51 0 (Fairey Fox) i ' , : 14 Stodart Bros. (G.B.) 5 20 51-36 140.54 87 37 12 (Airspeed Courier) GO Hewett and Kay (N.Z.) 21 .9 0 140.10 S7 54 0 ■ (D.H. Dragon) ' . 2 McGregor,and Walker (N.Z.) 35 22 12 120.57 102 7 48 (Miles Hawk Major) 31 Brook and Miss Lay (G.B.) 37 27 3G 119.29 103.13 12 (Miles Falcon) 47 G. L. Shaw (G.B.) 39 54 36 115.44 106 40 12 (Klemm Eagle) :16 C. J. Melrose (Aus.) 40 58 12 114.32 107 43 48 (D.H. Puas Moth) 7 Hansen and Jensen (Den.) ..; 42 2 24 113.18 108 43 48 POINTS TO BE NOTED The handicap section of the race is to be. decided upon net flying time, that is, the gross flying time less the handicap allowance. The time spent at cheeking or control points will not be included as flying time. There, is still a good deal of confusion over the speed and handicap races. The courses are identical, in that all pilots, whether speed or handicap, must call at the five control points, Bagdad, Allahabad, Singapore, Darwin, and Charlcville, but all pilots may, if it suits them, make stops at the non-com-pulsory checking points, which are established simply for safety and convenience of pilots who cannot fly non-stop the great distances between the control points. . , " ■ ■ . ,. ".,'.''. ' It will be noted that the third New Zealand entry, of Baines and Gilman (Fairey Pox) does not appear in the handicap list above. As was indicated in an earlier cable, they arrived at Mildenhall too late to permit of the necessary survey of their machine for handicap checking purposes, though it was thought that thcro would be time to permit of the less detailed survey for tho purposes of the speed race. Eoseoo Turner and Pangborn (Boeing Transport), Asjes and Goyscn-doi-ffer (Pander), Jacqueline Cochran, Wesley Smith and Royal Leonard (Granville), and Fitzmaurico and Bonar (Bellanca) are competing in the speed race only.