TWO ATLANTIC FLIGHTS

Hokitika Guardian, 10 June 1930, Page 7

TWO ATLANTIC FLIGHTS

EUROPE-A Al E RICA

KINGSFOK D-SAIITH AND COSTES.

Whereas Kings!ord-Smilh must be linked among the greatest of British pilots, il only lor his unique flight acioss the Pacific Ocean, Costes is certainly tlic greatest of French airmen. The. seven days’ flight from Tokio to lai is made by Coates, his non-stop record flight of 4940 miles, and his other pioneering flights place him in Hie fiont rank of the world's pilots As far as British pilots are concerned, only Sir Alan Cohluun can compare witn him from the general point of view of his performances, and only King.'lnrd-SmLh can compete with him as a long distance flyer.

ftlE UDONNE COSTES

.'Captain C'ostes whose age is thirty- ‘ Built years nr nmpuiiied by Captain le xirix, MIS tile first pilot to fly a.iross tliC Atilintle cn the southern route. He h»iS inucle many notable flights in different parts of the world. His principal flights are:

ULO Paris to Egypt, return, via Italy, 5750 miles.

1926—Paris to ..Task (Persia), non--Btop, 3372 miles; thence to Calcutta, returning via Athens and Borne awarded Dreyfus prize of 20,000 francs.

1027—Non-stop record attempted from Paris; descending in Siberia after 29J- hours’ flight; 3125 miles.

1927—First crossing of Atlantic to Brazil; -Paris-St Louis, Senegal (2672 miles) ; St Louis-Natal, Brazil (1988 miles): thence in stages to Buenos Aires; thence tour of America, including Panama, New York. San Francisco; by ship across the Pacific- to, Tokio, which they left on April 8, 1928, and flew to Paris via Hanoi. Calcutta. Karachi, Basra, Aleppo, Athens, Marseilles, arriving on April 14. They had covered 25,892 miles in 243 flying hours. Tokio to Paris was done in 103* flying hours. 1929—X0n-stop record of 4940 miles, Paris to Manchuria. 1929—-On a closed circuit, non-stop record of 50<52 miles.

kingsford-smith.

Squadron-Leader Kingsford=Smith is on his way to complete his circle of the globe- in his old aeroplanes the Southern Cross, by flying to Sail Frattci&ctL He will then, continue westward, re= peating his Pacific flight, finally reach;ng Melbourne whore he will tackle “the greatest advnnlure of all”'— marriage Kingsford-Smith’s principal flights are:— 1928—San Francisc-o-Honolulu, 2360 miles; Honolulu-Suva, 3180 miles;

Suva-Brishane, 1711 miles. Flying time—B3hr 56min. .September, 1928—vSydney-Cbristchurch, N.Z., 1660 miles; return to Sydney in October. March, 1929—Derby-Croydon, 11,630 miles, in 12 days.

THE NORTH ATLANTIC

The flight across the Atlantic from east, to west is one of the few air routes that remain to he conquered. Tiie northern Atlantic has been flown successfully only once. The flight to South America, has been achieved many" times, ow.ng to the more favourable conditions, and the assistance of the trade winds, but there is a drift towards the north on the direct route no.-.,veen Europe and the United States, about which no data is available, and the pievailing wind is tovvaitis the east and against the aviator.

The pioneer flight to America was accomplished in April 13, 1928, when the Junkers monoplane Bremen, piloted by Captain Kermen Kochi and Juiinnandunf James Fritziuaurice, J.iief of the Irish Free State Air idorce, with Baron Gunther vott Hueufeldt, made a forced landing on Greenlev Island, off the southern coast of Labrador. The difficulty of the- flight may be appreciated by the fact that in a distance of about 2COO miles they were 430 miles off their course!

In the previous year Captains Nungesser and Coli were never heard of ..fter they set off from Le Bourget, Paris, on the same flight, and other well-known people who have-d.if>appcur-ed over the Atlantic are Captain Hamilton, Colonel Minehin, and Princess Wirtheim; Captain Hinchcliff. and the Hon Elsie Mack ay; and two Swiss aviators, Oscar Kaesar and Kurt Lueschcr. ;

Among those who have attempted the flight and have been rescued after forced descents are Captain Courtenay; four Spaniards, Franco, Gallarza, Ruiz and Madariaga, who were rescued by the British aircraft carried, H.M.S. Eagle; the Frenchmen, Locoste and Bellecontes; the Polish flyers, Kubala and Idzikowski.