IN THE AIR.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16493, 7 March 1914, Page 12

IN THE AIR.

TIMARU TO CHRISTCHURCH. SCOTLAND'S SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT. FIRST AVIATION IN THE CITY. The air line from Timaru to Christchurch was officially opened yesterday by Mr J. W. H. Scotland, the young New Zealand aviator, and tho new route may be said to be ready for regular traffic. Aviation in Christchurch up to yesterday consisted of newspaper reports of flights in other places, moving pictures of aviators in the Old World, and a few visits from more or less known birdmen. No active flights had been made, and tlie mystery of man’s conquest of the air was still a matter of theoretical belief to the city. Yesterday Christchurch entered into the fast-swelling ranks of. towns which have seen , actual aviation. Mr Scotland flow in Timaru on Thursday, and it was announced that on that day he would commence to fly his Oaudion biplane to Christchurch, the longest cross-country fly attempted in the dominion. Tho weather conditions, however, were totally opposed to the journey. Rain and wind, bitterly cold, in addition to the difficulties of flight, made the possibility of tho aviator freezing very pronounced, and it was decided to postpone the effort until six o’clock on the following morning. THE FLIGHT STARTED. A wild night, with cold, driving rain, led into a calm but dull morning, with threats of rain. This was the case m Christchurch, and banked up round the sou’-west there were big, dark clouds, driving up in sullen battalions before a cold breeze. It looked as if the night would bo again deferred, but conditions in Timaru were quite different. The sky was clear and tlie morning calm. At six o’clock, therefore, the Caudron was sent up, and after a brief flight, in which tho aviator found everything suitable for a quick passage, the biplane was brought to earth for adjustments. At 8.35 a.m. he got away finally from Timaru, and at that hour the rain was falling in Christchurch in driving showers. AN INTERRUPTION. , The flight was soon interrupted. Mr Scotland fofind after leaving Timaru that the conditions Had changed. He ran into exceptionally cold weather, and he became benumbed with the cold. Coupled with th ; s disability the engine, which was lubricating too freely, gave trouble, and he descended at Orari at about nine o’clock.. A. message was sent for the mechanic at Timaru and he posted up by motorcar. The engine trouble took some time to rectify, alterations being necessary to the oil feed, and it was 3.20 p.m. before the aviator got under way again. Cold gusty winds made the flight dangerous, and the biplane’s stability was severely tested,' just as the birdmau’s powers of endurance were tried. ARRIVAL IN CHRISTCHURCH. Mr Scotland followed tlie railway line, flying at heights that varied from 1000 to 6000 feet. He passed over Ashburton at 4 p.m. At R-akaia he had a very bad time, the cold being so severe and the humpy winds so strong and irregular that he thought of landing. ,He decided to hold on and at 5 p.m. he was over the Show Grounds, circling over a gathering of about a hundred people. Five minutes was spent in getting into position for landing and at 5.5 p.m. the aeroplane dropped quietly to earth and Mr Scotland was standing in the midst of a knot of men cheering excitedly. The flight from Timaru to Orari occupied twenty-five minutes, and the second stage was covered in 100 minutes, so that Mr Scotland’s actual flying time was 125 minutes for 'a flight of 98 miles. Although what wind there was near the ground was sou’-west and should have helped the flyer, up in the higher levels, lie said, he found that, he was meeting a head wind, because lie was compelled to keep depressing the machine to counteract the lifting tendency. The speed on the journey varied slightly, but the average for the flight worked out at about 47 miles per hour. WAITING FOR THE ARRIVAL. At the time when Mr Scotland was making his first preliminary flight over Timaru yesterday the only sign of activity at the Show Grounds was three men busily engaged in erecting a big marquee to shelter the aeroplane. At eight o’clock, Mr Mann, the mechanic at the Christchurch end of the flight, discovered that the first leap into the air had found adjustments necessary. It had been intended that the flight should commence as early in the morning as possible, hut the threatening weather made the prospect very remote of seeing the aviator that day. At 9 a.m., however, it was discovered that the cross-country flight had commenced, and two large strips of canvas were placed in the oval to show the aviator where to land. People began to gather at once, and there were many eyes turned towards Timaru, eagerly scanning the sky to catch the first glimpse of tlie pioneer of the new route. Experts, that is to say, people who had seen aeroplanes in flight, generously instructed tlie expectant watchers to look for “ a speck looking like a man’s hand,” though the ultimate arrival disproved the expert knowledge with undeniable swiftness. The morning was raw, and before noon the grounds were deserted by all except some Pressmen, who waited patiently for the arrival. At two o’clock news came through of the halt at Orari, but at four o’clock, after it was known that Mr Scotland was in the air again, the Show Grounds commenced to show signs of life. Motor-cars brought up about a hundred people. THE FIRST GLIMPSE. All eyes were glued to tho southwest, and finally at 4.51 p.m., according to the impeccable timepiece of one of the most exact of the watchers, the first sight was obtained. It took keen eyes to distinguish the aeroplane, which was about seven miles away. All that could he seen against the cumulus clouds in the bright evening sky, with the sun in the west, was a pair of parallel lines, faintly drawn. They appeared to be two scratches, and the eye could only pick up the scratches on the clouds, they were nothing more, at irregular intervals. A minute sufficed to bring the distant machine into the view of all the people on the ground, but it was still" too far away to appear as anything more than two lines, which broadened as the biplane rushed forward faster than an • express train. Five minutes after the first view it was possible to distinguish the outlines of the machine, and when it was about three-quarters of a mile distant the noise of the engine, like the roll of a kettle-drum, was heard. The smoke from the open exhaust was seen streaming out behind, the planes in a line of little blue cuffs, and in front of the swiftly gliding machine could be seen a haze, whore the propeller was revolving at its high speed. All these things could be seen when the bi-plane first crossed the ground at a height of 500 ft. ! OVER THE SHOW GROUNDS. Mr Scotland turned when over the Show Grounds, and circled round outside the oval at an altitude of about 300 ft. , The impressiveness of the spectacle of man in actual flight loft

tho concourse of people without any means of expression. One man did applaud, but ho alone mado a move. Everyone else gazed in silence at the majestic flight of the biplane as it 6ped down over the Lincoln Road, sinking gradually closer to tho earth. It turned gracefully with a short sweep, and the engine was shut off. The only sound accompanying the winged machine had ceased, and with its gleaming motal front dipped towards the earth tho descent was commenced. Tho propeller slowed up until it could bo detected, and then the roar of the engine burst out again. _ Tlie machine was too high to strike the spot marked by the canvas “ T.” The machine lifted at once, and soared swiftly to the north-west, passing over the incoming express train from Dunedin, which it had passed previously at Bankside, twelve miles out. The newest form of locomotion passed over the train at an altitude of a hundred feet. Passengers on the train clambered out on to the platform and stood oil the stanchions of the platform guards to gain a better view, even if the railway regulations were disobeyed. THE LANDING. Another turn in the air,’and once more the engine was silenced. This time the big machine was low enough, and with one unerring sweep to earth it landed gracefully and quietly, running along on its wheels for about ten feet and stopping finally about three feet over the mark made for it. The flight over the Show Grounds was impressive, but tho close view of the biplane as it finally rested on the ground, under perfect control and the servant of one New Zealander who had conquered the air was even more so. The little crowd rushed the aviator, cheering as they went; and as he left his seat in the aeroplane he was welcomed as a successful pioneer' with three cheers. Tlie landing, jt was generally agreed, was the feature or the afternoon. A GOOD VIEW. RAILWAY PASSENGER’S STORY. “ We had a fine view of the aviator from the express from the south, ’ said a gentleman who arrived by the 6.8 p.m. train from Dunedin yesterday. “We saw the biplane first when the express was at Rolleston. It was then a mere 6peck, but it rapidly overtook us and at Hornby, while the train was standing, Mr Scotland flew overhead at a low level. We all left the carriages and had a splendid view. All the way from Rolleston, however, tho passengers on the express were wildly excited, and some clambered on to the roofs ,of the carriages to see him better. I know this is so because I was ono of them. We had another fine glimpse when he passed over the express by the Show Grounds, but I should have liked to have seen the landing. “ All along the route the people were out watching for him, and he caused a great deal of excitement everywhere.” COLD AND WINDY FLIGHT. MACHINE TOSSED ABOUT LIKE A CORK. MR J. W. SCOTLAND INTERVIEWED. When he stepped out of his pilot’s seat on the aeroplane, Mr Scotland was attired in a light tweed overcoat, with leather gauntlet gloves. The one thing about him which betrayed him as an aviator was his leather helmet, which takes the place of goggles. The helmet fitted right over the aviator’s head, and tho rim came down far enough to cover his eyes. It was only by looking straight up under tho rim of the headpiece that the observer could see tho twinkle cf the birdman’s dark eyes. When in the machine the aviator can see below him, but to anything higher than the level of his nose he is practically blinded. The coldness of the journey up from, the .south was stamped upon the features of the aviator. _ They were white, and absolutely bloodless, and even the lips showed up but a very pale pink. He was not.heavily wrapped, an ordinary overcoat and a muffler alone supplying protection against tlie cold. Speaking to a reporter shortly after his arrival, Mr Scotland said that his journey had been a bad one. “I went up first in Timaru at 6 a.m., but I had to go back to make adjustments in control, and I got away finally at 8.35. The conditions were then very bad, and I experienced severe cold. I went up 2500 ft, and from that height I dropped a parcel into Temuka addressed to Mr Andrews. I rose up to between 4000 ft and 5000 ft, but at Orari a. slight engine trouble made me go down. My propeller stopped, and I volplaned down about 300 ft into Bell’s Paddock. After my mechanic had fixed up the engine, i left Orari at 3.20 p.m., and flew up to about 6000 ft, but the wind was very humpy. It was catching my planes, and tossing the machine about like a cork. First I would rise suddenly, and then sink, and the effort to keep control was severe. lam sure that but for the excellent stability of the aeroplano 1 would have turned turtle. The conditions were so bad that I sank down to about 1000 ft, and found the wind better, although it was still gusty. The railway line was my guide, and I passed the express at Bankside. All along the route people were out watching for me, and I waved to some when I was low enough for them to see me. It was a very gusty, bumpy ride, and I was glad when it was over.” Talking of weather conditions, Mr Scotland said that it was almost impossible to judge the force of the wind in the higher levels from the ground. It might be calm near the earth, and yet be totally unfitted for flying higher up, especially in New. Zealand, where there were so many hills. The crosscurrents were very strong, and the topographical peculiarities seemed to act like funnels, and as his machine was fitted with only a 45 horse-power engine, the winds had to be watched. TO-DAY’S FLIGHT. To-day the aeroplane will be on exhibition at the Show Grounds, and at 3.30 p.m. demonstration flights will be made, when spectators in the Show | Grounds will be able to see the aviator' rising and landing. . The flights will probably be in the direction of Riccarton.