BY AEROPLANE TO THE POLE

Evening Star, Issue 19298, 10 July 1926, Page 3

BY AEROPLANE TO THE POLE

COMMAHDER BYRD'S STORY STAY OF FOURTEEN MINUTES Lieutenant-commander Richard It. Byrd, U.S.N., interviewed in London on Ids polar flight, spoke quite modestly of bis own effort, and was anxious to pay tribute to his workers. He sin tod that, he left Spitsbergen at 12.37. Greenwich mean time, on May 0, and reached the Pole, Got) miles away, at [], 2, Greenwich time, roughly about eight and a-half hours’ Hying. Ho remained at the Polo for Minin before beginning tho return journey. in view of comments that had been made about the difficulty of taking accurate observations without a long stay at one spot, his interviewer particularly drew attention to this point.. Commander Byrd said: “Jt_is not necessary, with* modern aviation navigation instruments, to stay for several hou rs in order to loeato your position, especially when tho sun is shining and the weather conditions are favorable. Commander Byrd described tho methods of taking a continuous line of observation, and explained that ho used the sun compass in order to keep an aenirato check on his position. “T could not have hit tho Pole with the ordmarj compass alone before f made this tnp. because I did not know the amount of variation, and even now it would be verv difficult; but, as 1 do know the variation from experience, I could now get very close to it by tho compass alone. AVo were very fortunate in Inlying sun all the way, with (ho result that wo could use the sun compass continuously, and as this is perfectly steady T could always keep track of my position. SALUTE TO PEARY. “ As soon as we got away from Spitsbergen wo had almost perfect weather conditions, and once we got clear of the land, over tho frozen Polar seas, we did not experience a single hump in tlie air. The Polar {teas were all leo, except for an occasional open lead of water, and in a number of places the ice showed green, indicating that tTwsrc had been loads there which had been frozen over recently. These were covered with snow, and were perfectly smooth, and I should not have cared to have taken the risk of landing on thorn. When wc had located tho Pole wo flew a little distance beyond, and then we flew round in a circle over the Toe. There was no open water at the J. ole. and when we reached if, and when I had satisfied myself as to our position, I shook hands with my companion, Aviation Pilot Officer Floyd G. Rmneit. who had been doing the ipi n S while I had been doing the navigating. I then went into the cabin and raised mv hand in salute to Peary. Jhat was T did not drop a flag at the Pole, | as Pearv had already placed the Amen-, mn flag there. T had never doubted! that Peary reached the Pole, and, now j Hmt I havo been there myself. 1 am , morn confirmed than oyer m my i opinion,.as.l found the conditions there; vero as he described them. A Her re-; maiuing at the Pole, for Umm, as ; was practically certain that we had done straight navigating all the way; mi the outer journey, J thought that wo could hit up on tho return journey : at tho point wc aimed at if tho sun j remained out. So, instead lor Amsterdam Island, .1 made lor Gray j Point, and wo were fortunate enough j to navigate on that mark.” I

Commander Byrd had some interest* ing statements to make on the weatbea* conditions. He said tho visibility a* I,oooft to 4,000 ft extended from 100 to IdO miles. “Wc could always ee® over all tho circle with a radius or sixty miles, and wc saw from the aeroplane during tho flight at least 100,000 square miles of Polar sea. On a conservative estimate, wo covered 10,000 square miles of unexplored regions. Wo saw no life anywhere, and the temperature at tho Polo was just zero; but tho average of tho flight was from Gdog to 7deg below zero.” AN OIL LEAKAGE. Tho aeroplane, a throe-engine Fokkoi* with air-cooled engines, got off from Spitsbergen on Hie flight, which lasted fifteen and a-half hours, with a weight of 9,4001 h. It carried petrol for twentytwo hours, and had on board concentrated provisions for two and a-half months, together with light but useful sledges in case of need. The motors ran perfectly until within an hour of the Pole, when there was an anxious time. Oil was leaking from tho starboard motor, and it was doubtful whether it wouM not overheat as it ran dry of oil. Commander Byrd said: “ Wo shut off the starboard engine., and found that wc could fly quite safely on two of the motors, but naturally tho speed was cut down. Having ascortairved that, wo opened up the third motor again in order to fly with full power an long as possible. Fortunately, as it turned ofit, tho leak in the oil tank was at a certain level, and onen the oil had got to that point wo Inst no more. I attribute our success in this respect largely to Hie engineering foresight of Lieutenant G. 0. Lovilc, who used a. much Jicavicr oil than one thought possible in the Arctic Circle, and by that means v« made the most of our oil supply.” Commander Bvnl was very anxious to give full credit to the arduous and unremitting work of his volunteer crew of Annv and Navy, and merchant officers and men, who worked till they dropped in preparing the ground for tbo machine to lako off. Ho run do light of his own part in Hie enterprise, hut it came out that ho had a very unpleasant time, while ho was navigating. Lieutenant Bennett piloted aw® machine most of the. way, as Commander Byrd had continuously fo study tha navigation. Ho found, when ho put his face outside the cockpit to take SH observation, that almost before he was aware of it tho tip of his nose had become frozen. He also suffered with frozen hands. As a Cnited States air officer, Commander Byrd was naturally _ pleased with tho success of the airship flight of Captain Amundsen a few days after his own dash to the Pole. He said: “I think Captain Amundsen’s flight was the most wonderful non-stop flight in tho history of the world, and the most remarkable bit of exploring that has ever been done. A.n airship would provide mors opportunity for acquiring scientific data and observations _o£ the Polar regions than the necessarily swift flight of an aeroplane.”