HAZARDS TO BE FACED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21396, 20 October 1934, Page 9 (Supplement)

HAZARDS TO BE FACED

ENGLAND-AUSTRALIA COURSE RACE OVER HALF THE WORLD DETAILS OF DIFFICULT ROUTE Hazards abound along the route to be followed by the competitors in the great race. Separating Mildenhall, Suffolk, from Flemington, Melbourne, there are hundreds of miles of trackless desert, huge areas of treacherous country where a forced landing would mean destruction among jagged peaks or in dense forest, stretches of open sea with only remote chances of rescue should engines fail, and tropical swamps known only to savage natives. Over all these obstacles competitors are relying on their craft to carry them safely, and regardless of the dangers that may lurk below, each pilot is bent on flying over half the world in the absolute miniunim of time.

All competitors in both sections must land and check in at five controlpoints between England and Australia, but while pilots in the speed event are expected to follow a "great circle"' course, landing as seldom as possible, handicap entrants are likely to choose a more roundabout route involving nearly 1000 miles' additional flying. Checking-points, at none of which it is compulsory to land, have been decided upon at intervals of roughly 500 miles along the course most of the competitors in the handicap division are expected to use, and in addition the rules provide that landing between checking or control-points will not disqualify competitors, although any time spent at such places will be counted as flying time for the purposes of the event. The for the speed pilots is comparatively straight for its 11,323 miles. From Mildenhall, the first con-trol-point is at Baghdad, a distance of 2553 miles; the second at Allahabad, 2300 miles; the third at Singapore, 2210 miles; the fourth at Darwin, 2084 miles; and the fifth at Charleville, 1389 miles, leaving a distance of 787 miles to Melbourne. The checking-points for the handicap event are as follows: —Marseilles, 615 miles; Rome, 384 miles; Athens,

654 miles; Aleppo, 751 miles; Baghdad, 450 miles; Bushire, 486 miles; Jask, 485 miles; Karachi, 584 miles; Jodhpur, 381 miles; Allahabad, G42 miles; Calcutta, 462 miles; Rangoon, 639 miles; Bangkok, 362 miles; Alor Star, 533 miles; Singapore, 409 miles; Batavin, 570 miles; Kambang, 682 miles; Koepnng, 495 miles; Darwin, 511 miles; Newcastle Waters, 384 miles; Clononrry, 514 miles; Charleville, 536 miles; Narromine, 420 miles; the final hop to Melbourne being 425 miles. The total for this course is 12,277 miles.