NEW ZEALAND AIRMEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20521, 24 March 1930, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND AIRMEN.

FINAL STAGES OF FLIGHT.; APPROACHING AUSTRALIA* (Received March 23. 5.45 p.m ) SYDNEY, March 23. Private advices state that Flight-Lieu-tenants Piper and Kaye, the New Zealand airmen who are en route to Australia, arrived at Atamboea, from Sourabaya, last night, and expect to reach Darwin tonight.

Messrs. 11. C. Piper and C. Kayo left England at 6.3 a.m. on February 9. They flew via Lyons, where snow delayed them, Italy, Malta, Tripoli, Cairo, Bagdad, which they left on February 17. They had to make a forced landing before reaching Karachi, at a village near Jask, in Persia, and were delayed for a day. They left Karachi on February 22 for Calcutta, and had engine trouble in the flight over India. They made a forced landing soon after leaving Akyab, Burma, on February 27, on an uninhabited island, and were delayed while making repairs for over two" weeks, and did not reach Rangoon until March 17. Thev reached Weltevreden on March 20, and Sourabaya on March 21. They obtained leave from the Royal Air Force "to make the flight. Their machine is a Desoutter three-seater cabin monoplane, with a 105 horse-power CirrusHermes engine and a Fairev Reed metal propeller. The airmen hoped for ail aveiage speed of about 90 miles an hour. Mr. Kaye is navigator and Mr. riper engineer.