ROSS SMITH'S FLIGHT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17338, 9 December 1919, Page 9

ROSS SMITH'S FLIGHT.

SINGAPORE TO JAVA. ■ SURPLUS KIT DISCARDED. RECEPTION BY THE DUTCH. By Telegraph—Press —CoDyricht. (Received 11.50 p.m.) A. tod N.Z. SYDNEY, Dec. 8. The Sydney Sun has received a cablegram from Captain Ross Smith, Hated Singapore, December 5. It »tates: " I am working on the machine, preparing for the last stage. We have discarded most of our kit and/some spare parts, and are taking only necessities. Practically the whole population have visited the machine." Cabling on December 6, early in the morning, Captain Ross Smith, says: "We saw the Southern Cross, and regarded it as a good omen. We left at 7 a.m., a large crowd seeing us off from the small racecourse. The machine lifted splendidly, and after circling over the city, we proreeded south along the coast of Sumatra. The country was all dense jungle. The passage was very bumpy, and some rain fell. We passed over the Thousand Isles to Tangerang, and thence followed the railway past Batavia. We arrived at Kalidjotte at. four o'clock. We had an enthusiastic welcome and were received by the GovernorGeneral. Dutch flying officers presented laurel wreaths to us. We hope to reach Sourabaya tons orrow.'' LANDING AT SOUBABAYA. MACHINE IN A BOG. ONLY THREE MORE STAGES. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. fßocd. 12.45 a.m.) SYDNEY, D»o. & A cable message from Captain Ross Smith, dated Sourabaya, on December 7, states: "We left Kalidjotte at 7.30 a.m., and arrived at Sourabaya at noon after an uneventful and good trip. The aerodrome here ia on new reclaimed land which is very soft. After landing the' machine sank to its axles, and we had great difficulty in getting it out, and then we got bogged again. Eventually we had to build a bamboo road for the machine. Two hundred coolies ■ were employed. It took seven hours to push the Vimy 500 yards. We are all right now, and in the morning we will build a> road of bamboo mats for taking off. "The greatest assistance was given by Dutch officers and local officials, including the British Commissioner, Mr. Dalton. We hope to reach Bima, in Sumbawa, on the Bth, Timor on the 9th, and Darwin on the 10th. We will then take a few days rest. The crew are all well, but veiy tired, especially the mechanics, who have worked wonderfully well, sometimes all night. The. Vimy is going beautifully." AUSTRALIA ON WEDNESDAY. PREPARATIONS AT DARWIN. A. and N.Z. DAE WIN. Dec. 8. Elaborate arrangements are being made for the reception of Captain Ross Smith, who cabled from Singapore that he expected to reach Darwin on Wednesday. / The following messages sent by Captain Ross Smith to the Sydney Sun describe his flight from Allahabad to Rangoon, between November 27 and November 30 — Allahabad, November 27 :We spent yesterday at Delhi resting. We left Delhi to-day at 10.30 a.m., flew over the city for 10 minutes, and then started for Allahabad. Near Muttra one of the oil gauges gave us trouble, so we landed and repaired it, continuing our journey after 90 minutes. We landed at Allahabad at 5 o'clock, which was good flying. We passed the Taj Mahal at Agra and flew over Cawnpore. The crew and the machine are well. We will be at Calcutta to-morrow. Calcutta, November 28 :—We left Allahabad at 8.30 a.m. and arrived at Calcutta at 1.45 p.m. We had a good trip, with a following wind and a clear sky. The journey was uneventful. We landed on the racecourse, and were greeted ba large crowd. We are all well. We will be at Akyab to-morrow. Akyab (Burma), -November 29 : —We left Calcutta at 8.30 a.m., and landed at Akyab at 1 p.m. There was a large and distinguished gathering to see us off, including Lady Ronaldshay. Many cinematograph machines and cameras were used, and great interest was displayed in the machine, especially in those parts which flew over the Atlantic with Alcock and Brown. The racecourse at Calcutta 13 small, and when we were taking off many hawks were circling round close to the ground. We were very frightened that a hawk would hit the propeller and smash it. Just off the ground the machine struck two hawks, one hitting the propeller, and we had a nasty moment, as the machine almost hit the trees in avoiding more birds. No damage was done to the propeller, but there were pieces of hawk banging on to the machine for the whole ft the journey. We circled Calcutta, flew cast towards Chittagong across the mouths of the Ganges, and then south in good weather. Poulet is here, and both our machines should reach Rangoon to-morrow. All well. Rangoon, November 30 : —We left Akyab at 7.30 a.m. and arrived at Rangoon at noon. We were favoured vith good weather. We followed the coast for 100 miles, and then turned east across mountains rugged and heavily timbered. We struck irrawaddy, near Rrome, and thence went 6outh. We circled round Rangoon for 10 minutes and landed on the racecourse. We were received by the J.ieutenant-Governor of Burma and MajorGeneral Fowler, and an enormous crowd, which must have numbered 40,000. We received a great ovation. The Vimy was the first machine which ever landed at Rangoon. We were coming here yesterday direct from Calcutta, but races were in progress. The Turf Club, with fine sportsmanship, offered to postpone the laces, but we landed at Akyab instead. While I send this cable the racecourse presents a striking and picturesque scene. The most modern aeroplane, which has flown from England in 19 days, is surrounded by a great crowd of interested Burmese, gaily dressed in all colours. We are all well, and hope to be in Bangkok V>-morrow.