THE SECOND STAGE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 18 December 1936, Page 5

THE SECOND STAGE

ADELAIDE CENTENARY AIR RACE FOUR COMPETITORS FORCED DOWN ALL ENTRANTS COMPLETE HOP TO MELBOURNE (United Press Association— By Electric Telegraph—Copyright! MELBOURNE, 17th December. Four competitors, including Mrs Bonney, in the second stage of the Adelaide Centenary Air Race, from Sydney to Melbourne, to-day made forced landings in Victoria owing to severe storms. All 31 competitors completed the second stage of the course. The race is for a prize of £IOOO. The fastest machine 'entered is a Percival Vega Gull, of which the pilot is J. W. F. Collins, Queensland, this machine being similar to that used by C. W. A. Scott in winning the recent ar race to Johannesburg and by Miss Jean Batten on her flights across the South Atlantic and from England to New Zealand. H. F. Broadbent is one of the best known and most capable pilots in Australia. He held the England-Australian record before it was broken by Miss Batten. The five women competitors are interesting personalities. Miss Nancy Bird has flown over 20,000 miles and has 500 flying hours to her credit. She is flying a Leonard Moth, which she owns. Miss Freda Thompson, of Melbourne, was the first woman in Australia and the second in the British Empire to obtain an instructor’s certificate which entitles her to teach others to fly, and was the first Australian woman to fly solo from England to Australia. She arrived at Mascot on 20th November, 1934. Mrs Harry Bonney, Brisbane, who has a Klemm monoplane similar to that used by the late W. M. O’Hara in flying the Tasman, was the first Australian wo.man to fly solo from Australia to England. Miss Ivy Pearce, Queensland, is flying a twin-engined Monospar. She is noted in Australia for her skill as an acrobatic pilot. Miss May Bradford, Sydney, has a ground engineer’s as well as a pilot’s license, and is the only woman charter pilot at Mascot, Sydney. Thirty-five aeroplanes actually assembled at Archer Field Aerodrome to compete in the race, but five withdrew. The race consists of speed and handicap sections. The majority of the pilots are competing for the latter event. The race started from Archer Field Aerodrome, and the aeroplanes were required to stop at CofFs Harbour, where they were to be checked in and out, and Sydney was to be the end of the first day’s flight. To-day the machines will clock in at Cootamundra, completing the day’s hop at Melbourne. The third day includes a halt at Nhill before the finish at Parafield Aerodrome, Adelaide.

AIR LINER MISSING

IN UTAH MOUNTAINS AREA AN UNAVAILING SEARCH SALT LAKE CITY, 16th December. Hope has been abandoned for the seven passengers and crew of a Western Air express, which is believed to have crashed in the Utah Mountains thirty-six hours ago. The plane is believed to be down only 50 miles from here, but the search as yet has been unavailing.

INJURED PILOT

READ RECOVERING AT MELBOURNE MELBOURNE, 17th December. Pilot Officer Read, who crashed in an aeroplane, is recovering. On Monday Pilot-Officer Read went up in a single-seater Bulldog fighter at Melbourne to make meteorological observations. Visibility was bad all day, and he failed to report. Later he was found by a party of farmers. Both his legs were broken, he had a fractured nose, all his teeth were smashed and received severe facial injuries. He was trapped in the cockpit for 31 hours and suffered severely from thrist and mosquitoes. His condition was critical.