ANTARCTIC VENTURE

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVIII, Issue 292, 7 November 1928, Page 6

ANTARCTIC VENTURE

BYRD EXPEDITION.

AEROPLANES TO BE USED

WELLINGTON, Nov. 7. Yesterday was an extremely busy day fdr Commander R. E. Byrd, leader of the Antarctic Expedition, and his men, and for all who had to do with the big whaling factory ship G. A. Barsen. A start was made in the morning with the unloading of the expedition s great crates and cases containing the four monoplanes and their engines and spare parts, and about 100 tons of other equipment and supplies. 1 e Harbour Board has placed at the disposal of Commander Byrd all the facilities of the port for the free use of the expedition. All the cargo landed from the C. A. Larsen yesterday has been placed in the Thorndon stores to await the arrival of the expedition ships, Eleanor Bolling and City of JNew York. . r xu Some idea of the great size of the Ford all-metal three-motor monoplane was afforded yesterday by the bulk ot the crates in which it is packed, those containing the sections of the wing «t the plane, which lias a spread or 76 feet and a width of about 10 feet, measured, roughly, 40 feet by 12 feet. The cases containing the motor were also of impressive bulk. The wing portion of the Fokker super-Universal monoplane was removed from its crate in one of the sheds for inspection, and although it has a spread of only 50 feet, compared with the 76 feet of the Ford giant, it made a very impressive showing in its glistening coat of yellowish paint. The Fokker super-Univer-sal, which was given a severe and successful test of 8000 miles flying in America, is said to be a very fine ’plane. Fitted with a 400 horse-power Pratten-Whitney “Wasp” engine, it has great climbing capability and is very fast. It is probable that most of the crates containing tlie ’planes will be opened up in the slieds for inspection and for the greasing of the exposed metal fittings to prevent any corrosion. None of the ’planes will be assembled here, so that there will be no chance of seeing any of them in flight. Time ls very short for all the work that has to be hurried on, and in any case there are no flying fields available.

SPECIALLY. BUILT “SKIS.”

0 very interesting, portion of the flying equipment to be seen in the slieds yesterday were the specially-built “skis” which will bo fitted to the ’planes for taking off from and landing on the ice in the Antarctic. Most ot the skis are as big as an ordinary sledge in length and breadth. They are of exceedingly strong construction to stand the hard usage qf the Antarctic and the strain of the weight of the big ’planes, which in the case of the Ford, fully loaded for the Polar flight, will be to 7J tons. When preparing for his flight from Spitzbergen to tho North Pole, Commander Byrd was forced to use skis for tho big Fokker monoplane Josephine Ford, which had to lift a total weight of about 10,0001 b. Several times the skis were broken in attempts to take off, and another difficulty which had to be overcome was the excessive friction. The under-side of the skis had to be treated with a mixture of resin and tar. The skis of the Antarctic venture have been specially designed from the experience gained by Commander Byrd at Spitzberben. Constructed of special three-ply wood and metal, they are fitted with stoUt struts to secure them to the ’plane. The skis are very slightly arched to give resilience and “life,” and they curve upwards at the ends, which are rounded. Another section of the expedition’s outfit stacked •in tho shed is a large number of sledges of the most approved type, based on the experience of previous Polar explorers. Several are of special design to carry large loads for hauling by motor-tractor. Most of the runners of the sledges are fitted with metal strips.

SPECIAL OIL AND SPIRIT,

In addition to all the equipment already mentioned, about 100 tons of other goods, including orated cans of special oil and motor spirits, and large quantities of canned and bottled foodstuffs were unloaded from the C. A. Larsen. When the City of New New York and Eleanor Bolling arrive at Wellington some intricate problems of stowage will have to be solved by Commander Byrd and Mr Brophy, the business manager of the expedition, who will have a final checking up of everything. The ’planes and most of the bulky and weighty packages will be carried by the Eleanor Bolling, the large crates probably on deck. The stowage capacity of both ships will be heavily taxed to accommodate all the stores and equipment of the expedition. When the ships reach the Bay of Whales further problems will be involved in getting everything safely on to the ice, and, as far as possible, everything will be done before leaving New Zealand to makb this work as easy ias possible.

The members of the expedition had a large home mail to send by the Makura for San Francisco yesterday. That Americans are not only airminded, but make full use of the air facilities in their country was shown by the number of letters posted yesterday endorsed “ajr mail,” which will ensure that when, they reach San Francisco they will be sent on by the trans-Continental Air Mail services.

C. A. LARSEN SAILS TO-DAY

The whaler C. A. Larisen, (having discharged the expedition’s goods and taken in 150 tons of oil-fuel and about 1500 tons of water, will sail to-day for Stewart Island and the Ross Sea. A warm friendship exists between the officers and crew of the whaler and Commander Byrd and his party. Last night Captain Nilson and his principal officers were the guests of Commander Byrd at a fafewell dinner.