AN AIR FLIGHT

Hokitika Guardian, 10 February 1934, Page 3

AN AIR FLIGHT

ROUND M t - COOK

MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE

The desire of a guest at Wciho

Hotel, Franz Josef Glacier, to fly to

the Hermitage at aioun- C'ook, and thereby reduce the travelling time from three days to one hour, resulted in a thrilling flight taking place. Pilot Arthur 11. NanCekivell, of West-

Coast Airways, L-d.,‘ decided to fly over

the mountains to ascertain if conditions were suitable on the c stern’s cie of the Alps for a landing at Mount Cook. -He took with him as passengers Mr Eric N. Rowley, of Sydney, and Mr Carl Sclieidt, of Germany, both of whom were staying .at the Waiho Hotel.

They started off at 6.30 a.m. on a perfect morning, with excellent visibility on the western side, of the Alps. Lake Mapourika wrs- first encircled, and when the altitude w?. s : sufficient the sea coast was followed in . a southerly direction under the shadow of t**»e mountains, the plane rising continually a'l the time, Turning to the left Mown. Tasman and Mount Cook came into view. The plane then .continued past the Weheka and the Fox Glacier. The IvarangaVua River was then followed right to its s° urce among the ice. This brought the plane to Mount Sefton, which it encircled and turned farther south, .passing over the Balfour, La Perouse, Strauchon and Marchrnt Glaciers,

On reaching the top of the range at about 10,000 feet, the flyers were met with a vast blanke; of .white cloud reaching as far to the east as the eye could see..

The plane then ascended to 11,000 feet and cruised over the ice and cloudg 1000 feet below, endeavouring to see the Tasman Glacier and the Hermitage at Mount Cook. Bo h were entirely hidden from view beneath the vast blanket of cloud which had blown up against the mountains from the east. It was soon obvious that it was impossible to see the' Hermitage, end the trip . from the Waiho Hotel could not be done - without descending bemeath the clouds at a great risk.

The view from the mountains to the West Coast was perfectly clear, while nothing hut cloud could be seen to the east. Had the visibility been the same on both sides of the range the flyers could have looked, across New Zealand from coast to co^st.

“TWO GIGANTIC SXETINELS.” The majestic peaks cf Mount Tasman and Mount Cook stood out Above the clouds like two gigantic sentinels. The plane then climbed up the back of Mount Cook, and rose another 500 ft. to soar triumphantly over thp fop of Mount Tasman. It then returned, and at 11,500 ft. encirced the summit of Mount Cook in all its .alpine glory. 1 Only who were fortunate enough j to be in the plane could possibly conceive the thrills of flying round the summit of “The Cloud Piercer.”

Having cruised round the peak for some time, the 'flyers went on to the head of the Franz Josef Glacier, and obtained a splendid view of the ski-ing field thousands of feet below. Having descended t 6 the top of Franz Josef, the* next thrill was coas ing down the face of the glacier in circles within a few hundred feet of the crevasses and ice pinnacles, the plane finally arriving at the landing ground in front of the Waiho Hotel,' after being-one hour and 3.0 minutes in the air. :

GRANDEUR BEYOND WORDS

Mr Rowley staled that no words could adequately express the" noble grandeur, the rugged beauty, and the awe-inspiring magnificence of that amazing flight. Soaring over tree-covered gorges, yawning chasms, and ice-cover-ed mountain peaks glittering in th e sunlight of ,a perfect morning, and passing over numerous glaciers, where the slightest mistake meant certain death in regions where a forced landing was impossible, provided thrills which nothing could describe. The conquest of the majestic peaks, including Mount Tasman, and the encircling of the summit of Mount £'°ok in all its glory, was an exhilarating experience, which cannot he t/dd in words. ] To look down upon the vast se.a of clouds, to view ice glaciers from many 1 thousands of feet above them, to find oneself above those rugged peaks conquerable only from the a-ir, were feelings entirely indescribable.

Behind it all and in the midst of danger, and the possibilities of what would have happened had anything gone wrong, was the feeling of supreme

safety and confidence, which the careful piloting of Mr Nancekivell inspired. Whether rising yover mountain peaks, encircling Mount 'Cook, clipping into gorges, sliding down mountains of ice, or volplaning in circles down the very face of a glacier, he had his machine .always in perfect control. Mover for a moment was there any thought that anything could go wrong. “I love Mew Zealand very much. There have been many sights of grandeur and 'beauty to remain in my memory, but nothing lias stirred me so much as the wonderfully thrilling experience of that utilizing mountain flight,’’ <aid Mr Rowley.