FLYING OVER EVEEEST.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 62, 9 February 1933, Page 6

FLYING OVER EVEEEST.

The preparations which have been proceeding 1 in England for the assault by aeroplanes on Mount Everest have concluded with most satisfactory altitude tests. A height of 35,000 feet, 1000 feet higher than the altitude required by the expedition, was reached in one test at Yeovil, last month, when the leader of the expedition, AirCommodore Eellowes, acted as observer. The machine carried the full equipment designed for the flight, and at the highest point reached the external temperature was 60 degrees Centigrade below zero—more severe cold than is anticipated in the regions above the summit of Everest. The hydrogen and oxygen equipment worked ' admirably. Two biplanes have been constructed for the great adventure, and both carry engines of the type used by Captain C. E. TJwins when he established an altitude record of nearly 45,000 feet at Bristol last September. The expedition’s plans provide for both aeroplanes to take off from the Eoyal Air Force base at Purnea, 160 miles from Mount Everest, and it is estimated that six hours will be required to complete the flight. Accessary precautions are being taken in the event of a forced landing in the remote valleys. No more picturesque endeavour has been planned by flying men than this expedition. The greatest of the world’s peaks, Mt. Everest has defied human effort to reach its summit and return, though high hopes are held that this year’s climbing- expedition which has no connection with the aerial adventure will achieve this supreme task. Everest, majestic and awe inspiring, lies remote in the heart of a range of terrific peaks, many of which rival it in stature, and the stoutest pluck and the peak of physical endurance are required for a successful assault, for the wind blows with hurricane force around the summit, tremendous storms rage, and often the peak will be suddenly lost to sight as the snow clouds envelop it. This makes the adventure one of the most perilous in aviation. But the flight is not a mere stunt, and if successful, as everyone will wish it to be, the intrepid pilots and observers of the two machines will return with a wealth of information of the world’s roof. The flight over the summit will be pnotographed and a dictaphone will record the observers’ impressions. The chief pilot will be the Marquis of Douglas and Clydesdale, and Lady Houston is providing the financial resources. No doubt many experimental flights will be made at the base before the great adventure takes place to familiarise the aviators with the conditions under which they will make the voyage. Interest in the project has been heightened by a recent achievement of five R.A.F. aeroplanes from the Indian Army. In a remarkable demonstration flight they were floivn along 1 the Hunza Valley and over Mt. . Ealcaposhi, 25,550 feet in height, returning safely to their base. Such an adventure could only be accomplished under favourable weather conditions, but the fact of its achievement suggests that the project to conquer Everest by air should not fail as the greatest of mountains is little less than 4000 feet higher than Itakaposki, and the preparations are greater and more intensive than those of the Air Force pilots who have proved that inaccessible country in the Himalayas can be conquered by British pluck, en durance, and aviation skill.