“A ROUGH SPIN”

Grey River Argus, 29 April 1929, Page 5

“A ROUGH SPIN”

.. , SOUTHERN CROSS. i Arrival at Sydney. (Australian * N.Z. Cable Assn,. SYDNEY, April 27. The Southern Cross arrived at Richmond from Narroniine at 10.50 this maming, having covered the journey under two and a half hours. A larg.i crpivd witnessed the arrival, and gav.j them an welcome. The engines functioned perfectly, but the fabric and wings were in a bad state. The Canberra is on her way badfrom Bourke. She was last report.d passing over Nyngo. (Received April 28 at 5.5 p.m.) SYDNEY, April 28. The Southern Cross and her crew presented a changed appearance when they landed at Richmond yesterday. The machine and the men were bear ing evidence of the hazards and hardsJ|ip R to which they had been exposed during the month since they started flight for England. '“How are you going, Smithy?” shouted someone above the general clamour of welcoming friends. ‘‘We arc just about going!” replied Kingsford Smith.

.Drawn faces, with new lines graven thereon, tell more clearly than words how the four men suffered during their adventure. Ths reunion qI the fam ilies was invested with a graver and more touching character than any of the previous returns. * 1 We have had a pre’ty rough spin,” said Smith, adding that all felt numb. That was understandable, as the day. though line, wai bitterly cold on th'* ground, and it must have been freezing aloft. All of the crew are still feeling <he effects of their experience, ano th?y cannot stand the strain of continued effort. Though the Southern Cross looks shipshape to the ordinary ob erver. critical eyes soon discover many . hings needing an overhaul. Smith hopes however, that her reconditioning will not take long, so that they can make a fresh start on thr flight to England. Smith said that he flew the South ern Cross as low as fifteen feet above the All members of the crev wft’e quite definite it was An •deraonWr .body under the wing. From appeara'ih os, he had been dead many days. Smith and Ulm expressed delight that the Prime Minister had ordered a full inquiry into the circumstances attached to the forced landings of tin Southern Cross and Kookaburra.

CANBERRA REACHES SYDNEY. HOLDEN ON THE SEARCH. — (Received April 28 at 5.5 p.m.) SYDNEY. April 28. Captain Holden of the air liner Canberra, is of the opinion that Hitch cock’s body will not be found near the Kookaburra. Referring to the Southern Cross, Captain Holden said he believed that most of the search planes; flew too high, so that while their field of vision was widened, the objects on the ground became indistinct. The Canberra’s crew looked fit on their arrival at Mascot, but they had felt the strain. Pilot Brain arrived at Brisbane after a of four hours ten minutes, thus by ten minutes the late Keith AnWsoil’s Sydney-Brisbane record. The ground party, led by Lu utenant Eatp-i, is within ten miles of the Kookaburra. Captain Matheson, in the Goulburn Moth, arrived at Narroniine, and stated that had he not been marooned at Duchess, he would have been flying over tho route taken by the Quanta s plane, at least eight days before arrival »' the area for the search, and would probably have sighted the Kookaburra in time to bring succoui to its crew.

BRITISH ATTEMPT AT NON STOP RECORD. LONDON, April 2G. Thr non stop aeroplane land'd at Karachi, after being aloft 3048 mu. ntes It covered 4130 miles, which w 336 miles short of the Italian record. ORAF ZEPPELIN’S LATEST. LONDON, April 26. The Times Berlin correspondent Btates that the Grnf Zeppelin made 1 successful night landing after a fitly seven hours’ western Mediterranean cruise. -