TRANSPACIFIC FLIGHT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19962, 2 June 1928, Page 10

TRANSPACIFIC FLIGHT.

Now that Captain Kingsford Smith's aeroplane flight from the United States to Australia is actually under way, its progress will be watched with keen and universal interest. It is, in many respects, the most ambitious venture embarked upon on this side of the world, and a successful voyage, according to plan, would mark another stage in the development of long-distance flying. One feature of the enterprise has been emphasised, and deservedly so—the careful preparations made, and the elaborate tests carried out before the actual beginning. So far as the layman can judge from what has been said about the preliminary work, failure at any stage will be the result of pure accident, or of some development which could not have been foreseen. It is this that gives the expedition its chief \%lue. If a long flight is attempted with inadequate preparation, if the aviators trust to luck and hope that happy chance may bring them safely to their destination, they may be proving their own intrepidity, but what contribution will they be making toward the development o£ flying as a regular means of long-distance communication? None. It does not need to be proved that the world has daring aviators. War-time flying, when readiness to take the air and count no risks was a virtue, left proof enough to last for ever. Now, when the elimination of risks is a much more important matter, there_i is no justification for taking unnecessary chances. If Captain Smith and his party succeed, as everyone hopes they will, their experience will provide valuable data concerning the organisation, precautions, and supplies needed for such a flight. If they do not succeed, they cannot be reproached with having started without due thought and careful preparation. Finally, it must be remembered that, even when everything possible to ensure safety and success has been done, they are still engaged on an enterprise demanding high courage and sustained endurance.