THE FLYING DUCHESS

Evening Star, Issue 20252, 13 August 1929, Page 9

THE FLYING DUCHESS

TO INDIA AND BACK RE3ORDS BROKEN v (British Official Wireless.) Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. RUGBY, August 10. In Hying to India and back in seven and a-balt days the Duchess of Bedford and Captain Barnard, her pilot, have surpassed the preyious. record,? return journey by no less than seven and a-half days, the previous best beiiig fifteen days—the voyage of Air Vice-mar-shal Sir Vyall Vyvyan (Director of imperial Airways) last year. On the return journey they established a new record for a flight from India to England, which was accomplished in three and a-half days, as compared with four and a-hal'f days taken bv Captain Barnard and Flying-officer A'hiott m the same machine last year. The record'for the England to India journey .still stands to the credit of two Royal Air Force pilots, who flew’ from Cramvell (Lincolnshire) to Karachi this vear without a stop in 50,Jj hours. The Fokker monoplane Spider, m which the Duchess and Captain Barnard have accomplished their remarkable performance, is now’ nearly five years old it was originally for the abortive transatlantic crossing attempt of Captain M.M ntosli and Colonel Fitzraanricc. For this la-sb flight its speed had been considerably increased by the fitting of a new type of 600 h.p. geared .Bristol Jupiter aircooled engine. ... The actual flying time lor the journev of 10.000 miles was 8131 hours. The .stages of the flight were; Friday, August 2— Lvmpne to Sofia, i,2,)0 miles; Saturday—Sofia to Aleppo (Syria), 860 miles; Sunday— Aleppo to Bnshire (Persia), 1,090 miles; Monday Bushird ' to Karachi, 1,060 grilles; Tuesdav—Karachi to Bushiro; ednesdav—Bnshire to Aleppo; Thursday— Aleppo to Sofia; Friday, August •9 Sofia to Croydon. A start was'made at dawn each' day from the respective stopping places, and flying occupied sometimes as much us fifteen hours bo fore the aviators landed for a brief nfit’s rest. _ _ Captain Barnard in his lo<i remarks that the Duchess frequently took complete control of the plane wlnffi he and the mechanic slept. He says: ‘ 1 usually put her on the compass course, ami I would then go back into the cabin with perfect i know many good pilots who arc quite incapable ot steering a good course by flic compass, but the Duchess Ims so far not made a single mistake, in fact, instead of being a passenger she lias been a tieinci.dous help to us on the flight.