MELBOURNE AIR RACE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21742, 6 March 1934, Page 8

MELBOURNE AIR RACE

The Melbourne centenary air race upon which national interest in New Zealand must be concentrated, if there is to be a national entry, is the speed race. The handicap race will probably attract a very large entry of all classes of machines, and while the result will arouse great interest in aviation circles, the sporting spirit of the world will be stimulated by the speed race.. Whatever New Zealand pilots may plan in respect of the handicap it should be definitely decided that no appeal for financial support will be submitted to the public for anything but the main contest. It should be the aim of New Zealand to secure a British machine capable of winning the speed race, and to man it with two New Zealand pilots, one of whom must be a competent navigator. Seeing that elaborate organisation will be necessary, and that little enough time remains, prompt action is called for and the aero clubs should lose no time in drawing up a definite plan for submission to. the Government and then to the public. The cost has been estimated by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith at £IO,OOO. Certainly it will be much more than the cost of a handicap entry. But with ordinary luck the money will not vanish at the conclusion of the race. The machine will still be of high value, and in view of the fact that the New Zealand Air Force equipment must be greatly increased in the near future, it should be possible for the Government to subsidise liberally the sum that may bo raised by public subscription, on the understanding that the machine will be taken over by the Air Force upon its arrival in the Dominion. The Government might well give a lead in this project. OiSficial encouragement is justified, for the participation of a New Zealand-owned and New Zealand-piloted machine will put New Zealand aviation "on the map" in a most effective manner. There are a number of Dominion pilots who are competent to contest the race, and whatever measure of success the selected pair might achieve would bring renown to themselves and to their country. As has been already mentioned, few opportunities have been presented to New Zealand airmen, who in the Great "War gained an enviable reputation as resolute pilots, to carry the colours of their country in spectacular flights. Now is a particularly appropriate occasion. To have a New Zealand entry in the centenary speed race would be a tribute to Victoria and an affirmation of New Zealand's nationhood.