DARWIN TO ENGLAND

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 100, 29 April 1937, Page 9

DARWIN TO ENGLAND

BROADBENT'S PLANS

ATTEMPT-ON SOLO RECORD

(From "The Post's" Representative.) SYDNEY, April 21.

With a view to attempting a record solo flight from Darwin .to England Mr. H. F. Broadbent left Sydney for Darwin on Monday.

Probably the most experienced of Australian long-distance aviators, Mr. Broadbent holds the round-Australia record and held the England-Australia solo record iintil Miss Jean Batten broke.it.last year.. He may, attempt to regain that record on the return flight. Mr. Broadbent made his Eng-land-Australia flight about the-time of Kingsford Smith's last tragic flight, and declared, on its completion, that his experiences had been so severe that he would never again attempt such" a feat. .But 12 months of hum-drum commercial flying >as erased the' memories of. death-cheating -hours aloft. The old urge to beat time across the globe has returned. Mr. Broadbent plans to reach England from Darwin in 6 days 16 hours 30 minutes, compared w.'th the present record of 7 days 19 hours 50 minutes j held 'by H. L. Brook, nn English airman. 'His schedule .'is: —First day: Dar-win-Sourabaya (1322 miles), Batavia (410 miles), total 1732 miles. Second day: Batavia-Alor Star, 1000 miles. Third day: Alor Star-Rangoon (912 miles), Allahabad (1156 miles), total 2068 miles. Fourth day: AllahabadKarachi (951 miles), Gwadar (314 miles), total 1265 miles. Fifth day: Gwadar-Basra (1.065 miles),- Bagdad (273 miles), total 1338 miles. Sixth day: Bagdad-Nicosia (687 miles), Rome (1268 miles), total 1955 miles. Seventh day: Rome-Lympne (England), 973 miles. His arrival at Lympne is timed for 11 a;m. on the seventh day, giving a total time for the flight of 6 clays 8 hours, which will be increased by B£ .hours to allow for the difference in English and Darwin-times. The longest hop will be between Darwin and Sourabaya, 1322 miles, but the machine has a range of 1600 miles. He will do considerable night flying. Ho will fly each day until late in the- afternoon, but will ascertain beforehand whether he can reach his next stopping place before nightfall. He does not propose to undertake any hazardous short cuts, such as the crossing of the Bay of Bengal, but will fly all. the way.along the recognised routes. Mr. Broadbent's plane, the Windella is a D.H. 85 Leopard Moth, with Gipsy Major engine. Its fuel capacity has been increased to 90 gallons, giving it a range of 1600 miles. He is not taking any emergency flotation gear, for use in a forced descent on the sea. During the flight he will restrict himself to one meal a day, in addition to beef and chicken essences, malted milk tablets, and-water, which he will carry with him.