TRANS-ATLANTIC FLYERS

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 September 1927, Page 7

TRANS-ATLANTIC FLYERS

A DISASTER FEARED ARRIVAL OVERDUE (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) (By Cable —Press Assn. —Copyright.) NEW YORK, August 31. At midnight no word had been received from the Princess Lowenstein’s plane Saint Raphael, which is crossing the Atlantic to Ottawa from Wales. It is estimated the St. Raphael should now be 400 miles east of Newfoundland.

The weather reports indicate that the plane is now within an area of cloudy skies and showers and fog, and that she will be battling with adverse winds, that will slow up her progress.

LINDBERGH & PRINCES ANXIOUS.

OTTAWA, September 1.

Anxiety for the safety of the, Saint Raphael increased rapidly during the afternoon. Experts feared that the absence of reports of the plane’s whereabouts indicated the expedition had met with mishap.

The headquarters of the Air Force, late this afternoon, stated it had not received any word, but refused to admit officially that they feared disaster. Lindbergh is in the field ready foiS the Princess and her companions, but there is an increasing belief that they would not arrive. This anxiety is extended to the Prince of Wales and Prince George, who proceeded to Montreal, displayfng keen concern. Marine officials ordered all merchant craft to watch for the overdue plane. Reports of high wind, thick fog and rain off the coast increased the anxiety.

CANADA TO ENGLAND.

OTTAWA, September 1.

The monoplane Sir John Carlin, Captain Terry Tully, pilot, Lieutenant James Medcalf, navigator, hopped off at 6.34 this morning from London (Ontario) for ’'London (England) via Harboui* Grace, Newfoundland. Another monoplane, The “Royal Windsor,” piloted by Duke Schiller, with Phil Wood as navigator, started from Windsor (Ontario) for Windsor (England) at 9.55 this morning. Favoured with a west wind, the take off was perfect. LONDON TO CAPE TOWN. LONDON, September 1. Lieutenant Bentley left London for Cape Town in a Moth plane, equipped with extra tanks. He hopes to do the journey in 14 days, flying over Sir. A. Cobham’s route. It is anticipated that the Soudan will be the most difficult part. The Moth is capable of 850 mile hops, which Bentley believes to be sufficient to cover the jungle stretches.

U.S.A. TO AUSTRALIA

NEW YORK, Sept. 1.

Giles has postponed the flight from Detroit to Australia. He declared that he expects to start next week.

REDFERN’S ARRIVAL?

VANCOUVER, September 1.

An unconfirmed report received from Para states that Redfern landed in the vicinity of Alemquer, Brazil.

ROUND THE WORLD.

' CONSTANTINOPLE, August 31. Brock and Schlee’s journey from Belgrade took six hours. They were delayed for 45 minutes by a head wind.

When they had refilled here, they wanted to proceed, but they were obliged to spend a night in Constantinople to comply with the formalities of the permission to fly over Turkish territory. This makes them a day behind the prearranged itinerary. IMPERIAL AIRSHIPS MISSION. AUCKLAND, September 1. Group Captain Fellowes, Leader of the Imperial Airship Mission, flew to Hamilton to-day with Captain Findlay as pilot, in the Bristol Fighter machine from Sockburn. The airline distance from Mangere to Hamilton is 65 miles ,and the journey there and back, without stopping,. was made in one hundred minutes. The journey was made in furtherance of a search for a suitable site for an airship base. The mission may possibly leave for the South on Saturday.

SOVIET’S AERIAL ARMY.

LONDON, August 31.

The “Daily Mail’s” aviation reporter says: The Soviet is plotting a titanic future struggle, in which a high-speed conflict will be fought and won mainly in the air. Aiming at a military fleet of three thousand planes, backed by numbers of convertible commercial planes, which are being built in closely guarded national factories, the Soviet is establishing eight military air bases, and is reopening and building new poison gas factories and manufacturing more varieties and a greater volume of poison gas than any other country. There have been many delays in the construction of the Soviet planes, but the French estimate that the Soviet possesses more than one thousand planes, apart from reserves for aviation and otherwise. The Association of Friends of the Red Air Fleet, which consists of three million members, has raised funds to supply the Red Army with two hundred machines. The workers are giving additional sums, after propaganda, declaring that Russia’s future lies in the air, and that flying will enable her to precipitate a universal revolution, and that if used relentlessly, flying will prove invincible.