AIR MAIL FOR ENGLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 21029, 13 November 1931, Page 10

AIR MAIL FOR ENGLAND.

NEW ZEALAND LETTERS. COLLECTION BY AEROPLANE. FLIGHT FROM INVERCARGILL. AUCKLAND REACHED IN DAY. Eight bags of mail from southern centres arrived at Auckland by aeroplane yesterday afternoon to connect with the Ulimnroa, which will sail at ]1- a.m. today for .Sydney, where the special air mail for London will leave next Friday. The mail is due in London on December 3. Thi* machine, a Spartan Arrow, piloted by Captain M. C. McGregor, left Invercargill at 3.50 a.m. yesterday, and followed the usual air route to Auckland. Perfect conditions were experienced throughout the trip, although it was still dark when the machine took off from lnvercargill, and the pilot flew in darkness for the first half-hour. Captain McGregor arrived at Duncdin at 5.10 a.m., Christclnnch at 8.10, Blenheim at 10.45, and Wellington at 11.45. He wa.s in the air ligain shortly after noon, and landed at Palmerston North at 1.30, reaching New Plymouth two hours later.

The machine was expected at Auckland at 6 p.m. and at about 5.45 the instructor to the Auckland Aero Club, Flight-Lieutenant D. M. Allan, took off to meet Captain McGregor. He had been in the air tor only a few minutes when he saw the Spartan flying low toward Auckland. Mr. Allan ranged alongside (he Spartan and the two machines arrived at the aerodrome in company, the mail machine landing at 5.55 p.m. Captain McGregor said the machine behaved perfectly throughout the trip, which had not proved tiring in spite of the good average speed maintained. The eight bags of mail were carried in the front cockpit, covered with a sheet of canvas, which had worked loose, and was flapping in the slip-stream as the machine neared Mangere. Although there were only eight bags of mail in the Spartan when it arrived at Auckland, at one stage the cockpit was completely filled. Apart from the mail intended to connect with the Ulimaroa, Captain McGregor carried several other bags between some of the centres at which he called. He will probably take off on the return trip at 6.30 this morning, and will carry special mail for Wellington and other centres en route. The flight bv Captain McGregor was made under the auspices of the New Zealand Air League, which supplied the machine. The mail from the South Island was dropped at Wellington, to connect with the Marama, which leaves there to-day for Sydney.