AVIATION

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 March 1934, Page 7

AVIATION

N.Z. PLANE MISSING

[PEE PBESS ASSOCIAT-ON.J

BLENHEIM, March 17.

Telephonic enquiries from all parts of the Sounds failed to secure any news of the Moth aeroplane Z.K.,AAL, piloted by Bourcher of Auckland Aero Club, which left Wellington for Nelson this morning and is missing. No settler has even sighted the machine.

NEW PLANE’S SUCCESS.

BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYBIGHT.]

LONDON, March 16. Edgar Percival, of Sydney, flew a new gull monoplane, designed by himself, at Gravesend, when all other machines kept to the ground, owing to a gale. The plane, which had never been flown before, behaved wonderfully well. It is described as having proved itself to be without any vices, a rare thing in a hitherto untested aircraft, with a wind that ap-

iroacfied a speed of 255 miles an our.

N.Z. AIRWAYS SERVICE.

CHRISTCHURCH, March 16.

New Zealand will have aerial passenger services early in the spring, probably in September, in the opinion of Mr Wilfrid Kingsford Smith, business manager for Sir Charles.

The following have consented to act as directors of Dominion Airways: Messrs Ernest. Davis. Marsden: Caughey, Eric- Rhodes, J. W. Hutchison, E. R. Boucher (all of Auckland), and C.

B. Norwood (of Wellington). Sir Charles Kingsford Smith would act in association with these men of making a

board of seven directors. Mr Boucher is President of Auckland Aero Club, and Mr Hutchison is Mayor of Auckland.

U.S.A.’s AIR HERO

CRITICISM

President Roosevelt has classed Colonel Lindbergh, the United States’ No. 1 air hero, as one of the country’s leading publicity seekers. The President declined to pay any serious attention to Colonel Lindbergh’s protest against cancellation of air mail contracts. He did not consider that the airman’s bitter letter needed a formal reply. The President told his secretary merely to say that Colonel Lind-

bergh was regarded as a propagandist for aviation interests which were found to have done much public plundering. Mr. Roosevelt adheres to his previous decision to cancel all air mail contracts.

Which hero will last with America, Colonel Lindbergh or President Roosevelt? Many people are asking this question, and the Kansas City Journal suggests that President Roosevelt, admittedly the most astute politician who ever occupied White House, probably has erred seriously this time. Other newspapers refer to the clash between Lindbergh and the President as distressing. The New York “Herald Tribune” attacks President Roosevelt bitterly, while the New York “Daily News,” in a column entitled “Kindly Advice to Young Men.” says with the kindest intent in the world: “We suggest to Colonel Lindbergh that he keep out of this dirty air mail mess ” Senator Morris, though a Republican supports President Roosevelt. The Senator says: “Air lines which have lost vast national contracts are trying to use Colonel Lindbergh’s influence with the public to suit their own ends. At last Colonel Lindbergh is earning that £50,000 gift which, he received from the aviation industry for the use of his name.” Congressman Shoemaker, representing Colonel Lindbergh’s native State, Minnesota, “doesn’t know why this whippersnapper of a kid should take a bean-shooter and aggravate the President.” The Hearst newspaper protest, like Lindbergh, that the innocent are condemned with the guilty, that President Roosevelt acted precipitately, and that the whole thing is unfair and un-American. White House has not formally replied so far, but the Post-master-General (Mr. Farley) said that he was preparing a public statement, exposing details of the fraud and collusion, which, he said, attended the awarding of the contracts. He promises the full story of how airline officials sat around a table in Washington in May, 1930, and parcelled out among themselves the rich gravy of air mail contracts.