AIR RECORD

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 120, 17 November 1937, Page 13

AIR RECORD

LONDON TO THE CAPE

CLOUSTON'S SUCCESS

LESS THAN 2 DAYS

(United Pres3 Association —By Electrle Telegraph—Copyrlßht.) (Received Nov. 17, 10 a.m.)'

CAPE TOWN, November 16. Flying Officer A. E. Clouston and Mrs. Betty Kirby-Green, who left Croydon on •November 14 in an attempt to break the flight record to Cape Town and back, arrived at 8.55 p.m., after beating the record of Miss Amy Johnson (Mi;s. Mollison) from London by 1 day 8 hours 55 minutes. A message from Johannesburg stated that the flyers reached there in the record time of 40 hours 13 minutes, beating the time of Messrs. Scott and Guthrie in last year's air race.

The time made by Scott and Guthrie in the Johannesburg air race was 2 days 4 hours 56 minutes. Mrs. Mollison's time to Cape Town, put up in May last year, was 3 days 6 hours 26 minutes. Clouston's time is therefore indicated as 1 day 57 hours 31 minutes.

Flying-Officer Cloustpn was born at Motueka, New Zealand, and went to school at Collingwood. At the age of 14 he went to sea, and he followed this calling for some time, until he suffered an illness. Returning to land, he became engaged in the motor business at Nelson and on the West Coast. He later took up flying at Blenheim, training under Mr. N. Chandler, and after a few months, at the age of 21, he sailed for England, where he was with the Fairey Aviation Company for some months until he joined the Royal Air Force. He occupied the position of test pilot to the Air Ministry, and was given time off to participate in the Johannesburg air race at the end of last year. He was the last competitor in that race after C. W. A. Scott and Gijes Guthrie had reached Johannesburg, and made ah effort to complete the course within the time limit, but crashed at Gwelo, 130 miles south-west of Salisbury. He was fourth in the Paris to Damascus race last August, and planned to compete in the Lindbergh transatlantic air race, which was cancelled.