Fortunes of Fliers

Manawatu Times, Volume 59, Issue 247, 23 October 1934, Page 7

Fortunes of Fliers

INTENSE WORLD-WIDE INTEREST

United Press Association.—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright. Received Monday, 7.50 p.m. LONDON, Oct. 22. AVorld-wido interest in the air race is enormous and its progress is being followed with the keenest enthusiasm by all Continents. All arrivals at Eomc expressed grateful appreciation of the Italian arrangements which pleased the English residents in view of the silence of the newspapers about the air race, except tho Messagero, which resentfully declared that foreigners had not been given sufficient notice to build aeroplanes. Moreover tho pet regulations favoured British machines. France, though not represented in the race, is following tho competitors’ fortunes with breathless interest fostered by pictures and maps in the Sunday evening papers which are particularly appreciative of tho pluck of the Mollisons. None of the fast machines risked a direct course over the mountains be-, tween Baghdad and India. Even Scott entered India south of tho NorthWest Frontier. “Very dusty here,” ho had complainod on arrival at Kirkuk. “No wonder,” replied the Eoyal Air Force men. “The Alollisons have just loft.” Scott confessed that he didn’t like that dust, Scott’s Aero Club admirers here cabled enthusiastic congratulations. Scott, after leaving Mildenhall, covered 7000 miles, equalling the distance to New York and back in 39 hour 3 56 minutes, including refuelling two days less than Ulm’s record.

The Mollisons’ timo to Karachi, 22 hours 10 minutes against tho previous record of 50 hours, reveals the possibility of regular ouc-dny flights to India, while tho performance of the Douglas airliner, a veritable hotel, eclipses any previous commercial performance and indicates an early chance of a regular seven-day service to Australia. Cathcart-Jones and Waller made an enforced detour on route to Baghdad, due to a Black Sea tempest blowing them from their courso and compelling them to fly over unknown country in darkness.

Hewett said at Athens that they had had head winds all tho way from Rome. Before leaving for Baghdad after refuelling, he said: “Wo shall fly to New Zealand from Melbourne.”

Mollison was climbing into his aeroplane at Baghdad whon a zealous official, mistaking him for a Kurdish coolie owing to tho parachuto equipment being similar to a coolie’s dress,grabbed him by tho belt and pulled him out of the machine. Mollison turned in amazement and smilingly accepted tho apology. Asjos and Geyscndorlfcr in their Pander Jager were the fourth to arrive at Baghdad, and made good progress to Karachi. In landing at Allahabad they had the misfortune to crash thoir landing carriage. The pilots were uninjured. Tho undercarriago was eonipletely smashed, and left the propeller bent. Geysendorßer is not officially scratching until to-morrow. Ho considers scratching inevitable. The cause of the smash was that the retractable undercarriage failed to open, and consequently the machine landed flat. Geyscndorffer said: “I realised something was wrong when I attempted to lower tho undercarriage, which I then saw had only been partially opened on one side and not at all on tne other. I tried to land on one wheel, but tho task in the darkness at high speed was practically impossible. ”

Parmentier did not witness the accident to Geysendorffer, as ho left 20

minutes before tho occurrence. Parmentier intends to land at every important aerodrome en route in Singapore. Parmentier lost two minutes when taking off. After taxi-iug a few yards be found that one of his three passengers was missing. He slopped the machine, and tho passenger, who had run frantically across the aerodrome, was picked up.

Parmentier, interviewed at Alor Star, said he was extremely tired. Fraulein Easche, one of Parmentier’s passengers, said tho trip had been wonderful, especially tho night flying. She had been unable to get financial backing to compote herself.

At Allahabad Roscoe Turner stated that he and I’augborn had a close shave through missing Allahabad. A strong wind-drift- carried them 200 miles southward beyond the aerodrome. They spent three hours dodging about and got really worried just before picking up the aerodrome’s beacon light. Their gauge showed tho tanks to be about empty when they lauded. Scott landed at Singapore at 10.43 p.m. with heavy sinoko issuing from the exhaust. It was feared that tho aeroplane was on lire, but everything was O.K.

The spectators sighed with relief when the machine came to rest after bumping badly and nearly heeling over owing to a sudden change of wind.

Scott described the journey as appalling, but said tho cugino was behaving splendidly. “I am going mad with excitement,” said Scott, before taking off for Ivoepang at 11.3 p.m. Greenwich time.