A NEW ZEALANDER’S PLAN.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XII, Issue 239, 21 September 1922, Page 7

A NEW ZEALANDER’S PLAN.

POLE AND BACK IN A WEEK. London. Aug. 4. Major Roberick Carr, D.F.C., R.A.F. (Napier) who had considerable experience in the Royal Air Force during the war. and who went out in the Quest in charge of the Baby Avro seaplane, has readied London, and has made a report to Mr J. Q. Rowett who was mainly responsible for the financing of Sir E. Shackleton’s last expedition. On the subject of the possibilities of Polar exploration by air, Major Carr says: “I am fully convinced that wc have left far behind the old-fashioned methods, and that in future Polar exploration will bo done by aircraft during the summer months. Very few people realise how mild the Arctic and Antarctic summers really are and the wonderful improvement in aircraft. The German aircrift of to-day is capable of doing a trip to the North Pole and back from London, a distance of approximately 4580 miles, within a week. Fuel for the whole distance could be carri□d .and no landings need be made. This proves that before long we will have Arctice and Antarctic exploration without the years of work and hardship.” HOPEFUL CONCLUSIONS. Major Carr made a number of observations on flying conditions in the Antarctic, and his report tubs: “During the seven weeks we were in the ice.” he says, “the lowest temperatur reorded was sdcg Fahr and the average approximately 20(1 eg. The wind average was 8 to 10 miles an hour and the air and sky were wonderfully clear. So clear was the air that mirage was very frequent. Records I kept showed that we had more than 300 perfect flying hours. In conditions such as these the aeroplane could have been used without difficulty and valuable work could have been done. At 69deg. 18min. south we wc were blocked from going farther south by ice, and it was here that we could have done our most valuable work. The soundings had shown a shoaling of the sea of from 3000 fathoms to 1089 fathoms, thus showing that wc wore approaching the Antarctic Continent. It is the opinion of all on board that had we born able to fly south of this point another 100 miles we would have discovered new land and taken photographs.”