MISS BATTEN LEAVES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 273, 16 October 1936, Page 7

MISS BATTEN LEAVES

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SOLO TASMAN FLIGHT

INTENT ON NEW RECORD

PERFECT TAKE-OFF AT RICHMOND

(United Press Association.—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.)

Received October IG, 9.25 a.m

SYDNEY, Oct. 16

Miss Jean Batten left Richmond Aerodrome at 4.35 o’clock this morning on the last stage of her epic flight from London to Auckland. Her arrival in New Zealand will mark the first occasion of a solo flight from England to New Zealand.

In a farewell message, the famous aviatrix said:—“lf I succeed in reaching NeAv Zealand in ten hours I will, have created a record for the crossing and, frankly, 1 will be bitterly disappointed if' I do not establish it.

“Do not worry; I will be Auckland on time. The Tasman holds no terrors for me. The Tasman is little more than double the Timor Sea crossing, and 1 have floAvn that three times, so it should not be too bad.” A SKILLED NAVIGATOR. Discussing navigation, Miss Batten recalled that on hei flight from West Africa to Brazil she Avas less than a mile off her course Avhon she arriA'ed at her destination.

“So navigation holds no real terrors for me,” Miss Batten remarked.

After a refreshing sleep, Miss Batten Avas aAyakened by Royal Australian Air Force officers at 3 o’clock this morning. She looked thoroughly fit, and Avore her now famous white flying suit.

Heavily laden AA r ith 14 1 gallons of petrol, the Rercival Gull machine made a perfect take-off after a run of 500 yards betAA-een long lines of flares.

After circling the field in a farewell salute, Miss Batten headed east toAvards the rising sun, and in a few' minutes the machine Avas out of sight and hearing - .

Many cars and hundreds of people AA'itnessed Miss Batten’s departure.

Miss Batten carries sandwiches, a thermos flask of coffee, and a couple of oranges. Asked if the flight over the Tasman would be monotonous, Miss Batten pointed out that she would be kept busy attending to the fuel tanks, the altitude, Avind direction, and drift indicators, and writing up the log, which she says kept her from going to sleep on many occasions. CONFIDENT OF SUCCESS.

Miss Batten carries a lifebelt in the ’plane, but when intervieAved just before her departure said:—“lf I go down in the sea I don’t Avant anyone to fly out and look for me. I have chosen this flight, and I am confident that I can make it; but I have no wish to imperil others or cause trouble and expense to the country.”

Miss Batten has sufficient and half-Avay back again. She about 600 ft.

petrol to fly to New r Zealand intends flying at a height of

THE LATEST NEWS SIGHTED BY MAKURA. 600 MILES FROM SYDNEY. Per Press Association. CHRISTCHURCH, Oct. 16. The Makura reported having sighted Miss Batten at 11 a.m. New Zealand time, 600 miles out from Sydney. Her speed was 180 miles an hour.

AUCKLAND PREPARES. PROMISE TO FATHER. NOT DEFYING WEATHER, Per Press Association. AUCKLAND, Oct. 15. Arrangements have been completed for the reception of Miss Jean Batten at Mangere aerodrome to-morrow. The Postmaster-General (Hon. F. Jones) will represent the Government, while the Mayor of Auckland (Mr Ernest Davis) will welcome the flier on behalf of the citizens. The Mayor spoke to Batten by radio-telephone to-day. She said she intended to make the flight to-morrow if possible. She would fly toward the coast until she sighted Mount Kgmont and would then fly to Auckland, landing at Mangere. She seemed very cheery and bright, and said she was not at all tired.

A FOLLOWING WIND,

A civic reception will be hold at the Town Hall on Saturday flight. The Mayor is inviting the Governor-General (Lord Galway) and the Prime Minister (lit. Hon. M. J. Savage) to speak at the reception by telephone from Wellington. In order to assist Miss Batten financially the Auckland Aero Club has decided to make a small charge for admission to the aerodrome. From his dental surgery in Queen Street, Mr F. 11. Batten this afternoon conducted a three minutes’ radiotelephone conversation with his daughter, wdio was in her sitting-room at her Sydney hotel. Conditions were ideal aiid not a word was missed.

PERFECT FAITH IN ’PLANE,

PETROL FOR 2000 MILES

SYDNEY, Oct. 15. The weather report for Miss Batten is very satisfactory. It includes a following wind for 1000 miles, and she hopes to reach New Zealand in ten hours. Miss Batten is remaining in New Zealand for about three months, and will make personal appearances at theatres, for which a contract was signed here to-day The weather in Sydney to-night was mild and pleasant. Misa Batten flew her machine to Richmond Aerodrome this afternoon, and everything was in readiness for the big adventure. Intense public interest is being shown at Sydney owing to the widespread publicity newspapers have given Miss Batten’s Englaud-Australia triumph. Miss Batten has received every assistance from the technical staffs at Mascot Aerodrome, and has been assured that her machine is in perfect trim. She will carry petrol sufficient for 2000 miles. VESSELS ON COURSE. Should she get away in the morning the vessel nearest her starting point will bo the Makura. due at Sydney on Saturday. The freighter Kairanga should he half-way across the Tasman, while approaching New Zealand should l>e the Mariposa. Two other freighters, the Kaimiro and the Kaiwarra. should he slightly northward of Miss Batten’s course.

“Do you promise not to take off on your Tasman flight unless the weather is perfect ?” Air Batten asked. “Yes, Daddy. I promise,” came back the reply from over 1000 miles away. Miss Batten told her father she was feeling “in the pink” and that she was spending the day supervising the preparation of her machine for the Tasman crossing. “It was very nice to receive congratulations from Auckland in Mr Davis’s cable,” Miss Batten said. “It will be wonderful to see Auckland folk again to-morrow.” “One more minute to go,” said the operator, and Miss Batten finished the conversation with, “I’ll see you at Mangere about four to-morrow afternoon—and I won’t come if the weather is bad.”

BRILLIANT AIRWOMAN,

FEATS IN AVIATION

In a final interview to-day Miss Batten said : “I have perfect faith in my machine, but I will not leave if the weather becomes unfavourable.”

Miss Batten is the daughter of Mr F. 11. Batten, a dentist, of Auckland. She was born at Rotorua, and was educated at the Diocesan High School, Auckland, anil at Miss Moore-Jones s College, Remuera. She learned to fly with the London Aeroplane Club in 1930. and took an engineering course at the De liavilland school of flying in the following year. Her A license was endorsed for passenger carrying at Auckland about five years ago, and she now holds a B or commercial pilot’s ticket. Miss Batten is 25 years of age. small and graceful, and is a fine pianist and dancer. Her first attempt to fly to Australia was made in April 1933, but the flight ended when she ran out of fuel three miles from Karachi and had to make her landing downwind on a winding road. A few days previously she had had to land in a sandstorm in Buluchistan, and rode 27 miles on camel-back in the moonlight, escorted by wild tribesmen. her machine having been damaged. Miss Batten established a record for

DOMINION FORECAST. “FAIRLY FAVOURABLE” CONDITIONS. WELLINGTON, Oct. 16. From observations made at the Dominion Meteorological Office, it is considered that conditions over the - Tasman should he fairly favourable today when Miss Jean Batten makes her flight from Australia to New Zealand. A report on the observations made on conditions over the eastern portion of the Tasman, together with the weather reports for the New Zealand stations, was sent to the Sydney Meteorological Office, at 5 p.m., yesterday. In Sydney this information was made use of in the provision of a special report for Miss Batten.

a woman flier in May, 1934, when she flew from England to Australia in 14 days 23 hours 53 minutes. By her return to England in April, 1935, in 17 days 15J hours, she set up a record as the only woman to have made a return flight solo on the route. Miss Batten has now beaten by a full day the record set up by Mr H. F. Broadbent for a solo flight in November of last year. His time was 6 days 21 hours 19 minutes. The following table gives a comparison between Miss Batten’s present flight and the record flight of Mr H. F. Broadbent in November, 1935: Mr Broadbent Miss Batten Arrived Arrived Ist Day Home Brindisi 2nd Syria Iraq 3rd Karachi Karachi 4t.h Calcutta Akyab sth Rangoon Singapore 6th Koepang Kocpang and Darwin 7th Darwin SHORTER JOURNEY. The flight across the Tasman is shorter than Miss Batten’s crossing of the South Atlantic last year. The distance from Sydney to. Auckland is 1162 miles, from Sydney to New Plymouth 1206 miles, and from Sydney to Wellington 1142 miles. _ The young airwoman, in the same Percival Gull machine, with a Gipsy VI engine, flow solo from England to Brazil last November. She was the first woman to attempt it. Although she had to cross the South Atlantic, she carried no lifebelt or collapsible boat. The 1400 miles to Casablanca, Morocco, were covered without a stop. She then flew over a region where several French airmen had conic down and been held to ransom by tribesmen. From Thies, near Dakar (West Africa) Miss Batten then crossed 1700 miles of sea to Port Natal (Brazil) in 13 hours 15 minutes, beating the previous record of 16 hours 57 minutes. She also made the fastest flight from Eynipnc to Port Natal, her time being 61 hours 15 minutes, against Mr Momson’s 82 hours. Her sea crossing was a brilliant piece of navigation. Even a slight error in her calculations over such a long distance might have resulted in disaster.

TASMAN CROSSING. PAST ACHIEVEMENTS. With the flight across the Tasman by Miss Batten, another world-lamed name may bo added to the already imposing list of fliers who have crossed from Australia to New Zealand, or from the Dominion to the Commonwealth. She will be the fixst woman to have attempted the flight, and the fifth pilot to have used a single-engined machine. The history of Tasman crossings in the past few years is a history m the main of brilliant triumphs. -; lie tragedy only mars a list of hne achievements —the first attempt on January 9, 1928, when two Wellington men, Hood and Moncriefl, "ere lost and never found. Although an intensive search of the hill country in the lower part of the North Island was carried out by ’plane, and although ’planes Hew far out to sea and ships and warships searched, no trace was ever found of the machine. The flight by Miss Batten will be the eighteenth across tiic 4as man. The late Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, with the late Mr C. T. P. Ulm as copilot, flew the Tasman in the famous Southern Cross for the first time in 1928, and flew hack after a hazardous trip of nearly 23 hours. The last to cross was the late Mr V . M. O llara who, in October last year, landed at Mangcre after flying from Australia in a Kleinm Eagle single-engine machine. . Between the first flight of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and the last by Mr O’Hara, there have been two truly remarkable achievements —the solo" flight in 1931 of Mr Guy Menzies, and the flight in 1934 of Messrs R. G. Whitehead and E. R. Nicholl. The greatest secrecy surrounded the flight on January 8, 1931, of Mr Menzies. A fortnight before his flight he bought the Southern Cross Junior from Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. It was not until Mr Menzies "'as on his way to New Zealand that the first information was received hero that a flight was even contemplated. Even more remarkable was the flight of Messrs Whitehead and Nicholl in November, 1934. The announcement of the young airmen’s intention caused a sensation in Sydney aviation circles. Their ’plane was a Puss Moth, which they named Faith in New Zealand. The fliers sat on rubber cushions wedged together on the top of a board seat only 18in. wide, with their backs against the petrol tank. In this cramped position this amazing flight irom Sydney to New Zealand was accomplished in 14 hours 40 minutes. They landed on a northern beach, spent the night there and flew to Mangere early next morning. THRE TIMES FLOWN SOLO.

Three men alone hold the distinction of having flown the Tasman solo —Messrs Menzies, O’Hara, and F. C. Chichester. The latter did the trip in three hops, calling at Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. His machine was also powered with a single motor. The three other craft that have accomplished direct crossings are Sir Charles Kingsford Smith’s Southern Cross, Air Ulm’s Faith in Australia, and Captain J. D. Hewett and Flying-Officer C. E. Kay’s Tainui. Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Air Ulm crossed the Tasman each on six occasions. So far the Tasman has been crossed by air 17 times —10 times from Australia to New Zealand and seven times the other way. Smith and Dim were the only pilots to make the double journey. Following is the list of flights:— TO NEW ZEALAND. Time. 1928—Sir Charles Kingsford Smith 12h 25m 1931—Air Guy Alenzies 12h 12m 1933—Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Llh 10m 1933 Flight-Lieutenant C. - T. R. Ulm llh 23m 1934 — Sir Charles Kingsford Smith 15h 25m 1931 —Flight-Lieutenant C. T. P. Ulm lGh 38m 1934 —Flight-Lieutenant C. T. P. Ulm 15h 26m 1934 —Squadron-Ldr. J. D. Hewett and FlyingOfficer C. E. Kay 12h 14m 1934 Air 11. G. Whitehead and Air E. R. Nicholl 14h 40m 1935 Air W. At. O’Hara ... 12h 47m TO AUSTRALIA. 1928 —Sir Charles Kingsford Smith 22h 51m 1931—Air F. C. Chichester . 1933 Sir Charles Kingsford Smith 13h 9m 1934 Flight-Lieutenant C. T. P. Ulm 14h 10m 1934—Sir Charles Kingsf<vd Smith 13h 25m 1934 —Flight-Lieutenant C. T. P. Ulm llh 58m 1934 —Flight-Lieutenant C. T. P. Ulm 10k 35m