“BOX OF TRICKS” ARRIVES IN JAVA

Manawatu Times, Volume LIII, Issue 6539, 22 February 1928, Page 7

“BOX OF TRICKS” ARRIVES IN JAVA

Australian Hinkler Nears Bimdaberg Heme THIRTEEN DAYS ALREADY ON FLIGHT [By Electric Cable-Copyright] lAn st. and N.Z. Cable Association.] (Received Tuesday, 5.8 p.m.) WEDTEVREDEN (Java), Feb. 20. Bert Hinkler in the “Box of Tricks” arrived this afternoon from London, via Singapore, bound for Australia. HINKLER’S PLANE COSTS ONLY TWOPENCE HALFPENNY MILE TO FLY. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, Feb. 20. By arriving a’: Singapore yesterday, only twelve days after leaving London Captain Hinkler has obtained for British aviation a remarkable new world’s record. Hinkler hns kept to, his programme of long hops with absolute regularity and by covering over 8000 miles he has accomplished the longest solo flight .ever made in any machine, and made the London-Singaporo .tourney in the quickest time on resorcl. • This ho has done with a light British Avro Avian airplane v .th a Cirrus engine 'of only 28 horse-power. He has encountered mixed vßather during the flight and has passed from extreme cold during.the earlier part of his. journey to tropical heat which made,.the wings of the machine too hot tO tOU;Q. In flying from Victoria Point, Burma, to Singapore yesterday a distance of nearly 900 miles he met violent rain storms. He left a/,?. Batavia ct dawn to-dev and hopes to reach Port Darwin on Wednesday, in which event he will, have fulfilled his original intention of flying- to Australia in 18 days, with a, safe margin. He hopes to continue his flight to hia home at Bundaberg, Queensland. Hia little machine costs about 2]d a mile to fly. . Later. Hinkler left Bandoeng at dawn for Bima and departs thence for Darwin to-morrow if the weather is favourable. London to Paris (British Official Wireless.) v RUGBY, Feb. IS. All commercial air speed records for the flight between London and Paris were broken yesterday when a Handloy-Page Jupiter air liner on the Imperial Airways “Silver Wing” service covered 230 miles from London to the French capital in 80 minutes. Jape to Cairo and Back Again (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, Feb. 19. The flight across Africa, which has now become an annual exercise in the normal training of the Royal Air Force, will begin on Ist March, when four Fairey Napier Three F biplanes will set' out from Cairo to Cape and back. They will travel in formation and to time-table. Fairey Three F is of the so-called general purpose type, and can be converted from a seaplane to a land airplane In under an hour. It Is equipped with the well-known Napier Lion engine. Smith Preparing to do Pacific OAKLAND (California), Feb. 20. Captain Kingsford Smith is preparing tho airplane “Southern Cross” for a flight to Australia. Ho states that he would make the attempt early in April, with Honolulu as tho first stop. The ’plane was transferred to Oakland from Mills Field on 19th February.