RETURN FLIGHT TO INDIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20332, 13 August 1929, Page 9

RETURN FLIGHT TO INDIA.

RECORD MUCH REDUCED.

BRITISH ENGINE USED.

DUCHESS ACTS AS PILOT. (Received August 12, 5.5 p.m.) British Wireless. HUG BY. Aug. 11. By (lying to India and hack in seven and a-lialf days the Duchess of Bedford and Captain ('. D. Barnard, lirr pilot, have reduced the previous record for the, return journey hy no less than seven and n-lialf days, the previous best time being 15 days, taken by the voyage of Air Vice-Marshall, Sir Vyall Yyvyan, Director of Imperial Airways, last year. On the return journey (hey established a new record for the flight from India to England, which was accomplished in three and a-lialf days, as compared with four and a-lialf days taken by Captain Barnard and FlyingOfficer Alliott in tho same machine last year.

The record for the journey from England to India still stands to the credit of the two Ikiyal Air Force pilots, Squad-ron-Leader Jones Williams and FlightLieutenant X. H. Jenkins, who flew from Crariwell, Lincolnshire, to Karachi in April this year, non-stop, in 50i hours. Tho Fokker monoplane Spider, in which the Duchess of Bedford and Captain Barnard have accomplished their remarkable performance, is now nearly fivo years old. It was originally acquired for the abortive attempt to fly across the Atlantic of Captain Mcintosh and Colonel FitzMauricc.

For this last flight its speed had been considerably increased by fitting a new type of 500 horse-power geared Bristol Jupiter air-cooled engine. Tho actual flying time of the journey of 10,000 miles was 88j hours. The stages of the flight were:— Friday, August 2, Lympne to Sofia, 1350 miles; Saturday, Sofia to Aleppo, Syria, 850 miles; Sunday, Aleppo to Bushire, Persia, 1090 miles-} Monday, Bushire to Karachi, 1060 miles; Tuesday, Karachi to Bushire; Wednesday, Bushire to Aleppo; Thursday, Aleppo to Sofia; Friday, August 9, Sofia to Croydon.

The start was made at dawn each day from the respective stopping places, and the flying occupied .sometimes as much as 15 hours before the aviators landed for a brief night's rest.

Captain Barnard in his log remarks that the Duchess frequently took complete control of the aeroplane, while ho and the mechanic, Mr. B. Little, slept. He says: "1 usually put her on a compass course, and then got back into the cabin with perfect confidence. I know many good pilots who are quite incapable of steering a good course by compass, but the Duchess has so far not made a single mistake. In fact, instead of being ,i passenger, she has been a tremendous help to ui on the flight."

Squadron-Leader .Tones-Williams and Flight-lieutenant N. 11. Jenkins landed at Karachi on April 26 on their attempt to make a nou-stop long-distance flight from (.'ranwell. They had been in the air for 5011. 38m. and covered 4130 miles, which is 500 miles less than the Italian record.

Tho airmen apparently flow past Karachi. but returned owing to the approach of darkness, and it is presumed a shortage of petrol. The first mm stop tlijrlit to India was thus successfully accomplished and the previous British long distance record beaten. This was the fiieht of MightLieutenant Carr in 1927, in which he covered 3419 miles non-stop, before coming clown in the Persian Culf.

On July 4-5, 1928. Captain Pertain and Major Delprete made the longest non-stop journey in an aeroplane yet accomplished. Thev flew from Rome to Natal, Brazil, 4632.8b miles, ir» 51 hours. The previous record was held by Mr. Clarence Chamberlin, who, in June, 1927, piloted Mr. Charles Levine on ii flight from New \ork to Eisleben, Germany, a distance of about 3923 miles, in 42J hours. In May. 1927. Colonel Charles Lindbergh flew from New oik to Par's, about 3630 miles, without a stop, in hours.