HAZARDS OF FLYING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21548, 20 July 1933, Page 11

HAZARDS OF FLYING

INVISIBLE MOUNTAINS WILEY POSTS EXPERIENCE PROSPECT OF NEW RECORD By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received July 20. 12.45 a.m.) MOSCOW, July 19 Mr. "Wiley Post, Ihe American airman who is Hying round the world, left Novosibirsk at 8.55 a.m. yesterday and later arrived at Irkutsk. He remained at the former aerodrome only long enough to refuel. He had no sleep. Mr. Post left Irkutsk at 7 a.m. today on a further stage of his journey. The airman said lie had encountered bad weather in the Urals and was forced to rely on the automatic pilot while he steered by instrument. He was hopeful that if he could maintain the gruelling pace lie had an excellent chance of beating the record of 8 days 15 hours 51 minutes, established by himself and Mr. Harold Gatty in 1931. In a copyright message to the North American Newspaper Alliance, from Novosibirsk, the airman said the flight over the Urals was worse than the last half of the Atlantic. The densest clouds ho had ever seen rose to 21,000 ft. In vainly trying to get clear he flew blind for seven hours, and once almost scraped a hillside which loomed up suddenly through the fog. "I believe if I had had a parachute I would have jumped on two or three occasions when it seemed impossible to get through," said the airman. "The feed pipe and the automatic pilot became disconnected, but the invisible mountains were the real danger." FOUND BY ESKIMO? MR. MATTERN'S ADVENTURE TIMELY AID RENDERED MOSCOW, July 11 A copyright messago to the North American Newspaper Alliance states that Eskimos taking furs to market were dumbfounded to find Mr. James Mattern, the American round-the-world flier, floating on a raft in the fiddle of the Anadir River, opposite their camp. Mr. Mattern, who was forced down in Siberia, lit a huge fire, making the Eskimos think the whole forest was burning. Ho was suffering from privation, burns and a broken ankle. Ho had been without food for days, lying on the freezing ground. The airman was given a bed on a dog sledge and covered with bear-skins and caribou hide. His rescuers administered primitive medical comforts and fed him on dried fish, when he was able to eat. The Eskimos later rowed him to Anadir, after which his progress was favourable, in spite of an attack of influenza.