WITH BROKEN PROPELLER.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 15, 15 December 1932, Page 6

WITH BROKEN PROPELLER.

AIRMAN’S PLUCK. AUCKLAND, Dec. 14. A flight from Matamata to Tauranga, a distance of 25 miles, by air, with a broken propeller and a. hole in the fabric of one wing of his machine, was made by a private owner, Mr H. L. D. West, of AVhakata.no. Mr AA T est owns the only Compor Swift machine in the Dominion, a tinv single-seater high-wing monoplane. Immediately he took off from Matamata Mr AA r est noticed that his little machine was not climbing at its usual rate, and was at a loss to account for its indifferent performance. He experienced difficulty in gaining altitude and managed to clear the Kaima.i Hills only bv a small margin. In spite of the poor performance of the Com per, the pilot decided to continue his flight, but received a rude shock when, while crossing the Kaimai Hills, he noticed a gaping hole in the fabric of one wing. As a landing on the Kaimais was quite out of the question, Mr West was obliged to carry on, in spite of the fact that the hole in the wing fabric was growing in size at an alarming rate. Under the circumstances there was nothing he could do but hope for the best, and after a nervewracking trip the pilot made a safe landing at Tauranga.On making an inspection of his machine, Mr West was astounded to find that the tip of each propeller blade was missing, and that one blade was split almost to the boss. It was then apparent that in taking off from a comparatively rough field at Matamata the propeller had struck the ground, snapping the tips from the blades and splitting the airscrew.