Busy Time for Planes

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 97, 27 April 1938, Page 6

Busy Time for Planes

FOOD FOR SETTLERS Per Press Association. HASTINGS, Last Night. To-day was one of the busiest days ever experienced at the Hastings aerodrome. Stranded visitors were flown to Gisborne, food was dropped at the homesteads of the isolated Esk valley settlers, and yeast delivered to bakers at Wairoa. The machines of Union Airways and East Coast Airways as well as those belonging to the Aero Club and the New Zealand Mapping Co. were all pressed into the service. AIRLINER RELIEVES PLIGHT OF TRAVELLERS “The country is just water with trees sticking up,” said Commander A. G. Gerrand, chief Union Airways pilot, on his return to Palmerston North last evening from Hawke’s Bay, where he, with Second Officer G. Harvey, had been

piloting a DHS6 airliner between Hastings and Gisborne to relieve the plight of travellers who were held up by the floods. Commander Gerrand thought, however, that the waters were subsiding steadily during the afternoon.

The airliner left Milson aerodrome at 9.40 a.m. and during the day made four trips between Hastings and Gisborne. Each time capacity mail, freight and passenger loads were carried. The Napier aerodrome, being under water, was unworkable.

During their flights the pilots noticed that many groups of stock were completely isolated, but apart from being without feed, appeared to be iu no danger of being washed away. On the return flight to Palmers toy North the plane carried about eight passengers, several of whom paid tribute to the emergency service, which iu most cases enabled them to keep important business appointments.